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Hummingbird Food

by Grammadot
(Barto,PA)

Cardinal Flower and .........

Cardinal Flower and .........

The elderly owner of beautiful old fashioned gardens at the NJ shore thanked us for buying Lobelia/Cardinal Flower plants; he said their beauty almost wiped them out, endangering the hummingbirds who depended upon them to fuel their trip South in the Fall. They have narrow leaves and the similar red flowering plant, which blooms a litte later and was included in a mixture for hummingbirds has multiple branches, no encapsulated seeds, and leaves wider at the stem end.

Does someone know what this plant is called?

Comments for
Hummingbird Food

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not fireweed
by: FellowGardener

definitely hummingbird salvia
Thank you!!
by: Grammadot

So many helpful people! I appreciate your time and expertise! I will report back next year; I saved seeds!
Possibly Fireweed
by: Lynne S.

Not absolutely sure, Grammadot, but this sure looks like Fireweed to me, also a member of the Lobelia family. It's one of those plants that grow in marginal or poor soil, getting its name from the fact that it's often the first (or only) plant to grow after the ground has been scoured clean by fire.
Salvia
by: mountaingirl

This is in the salvia family. There is an annual called hummingbird salvia but there are perennial types also. The annual variety will usually reseed.
HUMMINGBIRD PLANTS & WEBSITES
by: Ferne, B.C. Canada

I can't give you a one shot, sure, direct answer to your question. Maybe someone who specializes in this area or happens to recognize your plant will be able to do that. There are MANY red tubular flowers that appeal to hummingbirds. I did take a look on the web and chose these two links as good ones for you to find more information. There are many more sites. Simply doing a search for the three words: hummingbird; plants; food will bring up a ton of information in the area you are interested in.

From the Hummingbird Society: Attracting and Feeding Hummingbirds. This is good reliable basic information on the dos and don'ts with hummingbirds.
http://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/hottopics/attracting.asp




There are other sites which list plants suitable for specific geographic area. The geographic location is an important consideration. If you are looking to grow hummingbird plants, I would go this route personally, rather than picking out a generic seed from a mix and focusing on that. It is pointed out on many of these sites that hummingbirds will do best with a wide variety of plants, blooming at various times...not all of them food plants as some are used for nesting material.

Hope this helps a little...Ferne
looks like a salvia
by: crislafoto

I would need a closer look at the flowers, but it certainly looks like a salvia. let me know, now you've fueled my curiosity!
That's my Mommy! (again)
by: Leenie

i wish i DID know ... that reminds me ... i have a picture of a flower which needs identifying too ...

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