[lee martell]

A few related questions I’ve had for a while;
1. What flowers would you suggest to attract Hummingbirds?
2. Would these same flowers also attract bees, and does that put the birds in any danger?
Or have they learned to share the resources?

By the way, Morning Glory vines are coming on strong around here in the Bay Area after that nice wet winter we just had.

[greeneyes]

I don’t know the answers to your questions. I’ve never thought about bees vs birds. I’ve always just assumed that things co-exist.

We have a bunch of wild morning glory type vines going crazy here too.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’m talking Beau into giving me an outside south-facing wall of the barn where I can run string from the ground UP to the roof to grow Morning Glories. ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ is my favorite! I would imagine they’d be doing great by you after a super-wet spring - it takes a while for the hard seed shell to break down and germinate, so ‘wet’ speeds up the process, for sure!

I don’t plant for the Hummers here, because our growing season is too short, but I have Hummers because I put up feeders and go broke all summer making them sugar water, LOL! They are SO worth it! (1 cup sugar, 4 cups water - heat in a pan until it’s dissolved; cool and fill the feeders. Repeat Daily, all Summer long!)

Pretty sure these people know what to do as far as nectar-producing plants go:

http://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/hummingbird-flowers/

Bees are after dusty, yellow Pollen, versus the Hummers who are after liquid Nectar, so no, they don’t compete for food.

[Daffynition]

I've had great success with the Gartenmeister Fuchsia

Almost any *trumpet* shaped red flower might do.

Over time, I did some experimenting with going to a garden center, taking along a little black light [works better on overcast day]; shine the black light on the red blossoms of various flowers and what *you* see will be close to what a hummie sees ...as they are sensitive to a long-wavelength.

There is a lot of reading matter on the subject out there. :)

https://fieldguidetohummingbirds.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/do-we-see-what-bees-see/

I also like the test tube style feeders; they are a bit fussy to clean and fragile; it's fun to see their tongues slurping up the nectar [in the tube]

Good luck and have great FUN observing God's little miracle.!

[Excellence]

I trussed up my zucchini plants with orange construction twine used for leveling block runs and so forth. It attracts humming birds! In fact, one of them undid the bow I tied. My daughter got pictures of the bird pulling on the string.
I planted chrysanthemums to attract bees, but I haven’t seen any yet.

[Vigilanteman]

Hummingbirds are more of a threat to bees than bees to hummingbirds. Their mutual threat is near zero.

One of the nicest plants to attract hummingbirds is called trumpet vine. If you are interested in seeds, send me a freepmail for my address and a self-addressed stamped envelope about October and I'll send them when my seedpods ripen.

If you prefer cuttings, I can dig those up about March or April, but would appreciate $3 or so to cover the cost of postage and a leak proof padded envelope. I can send root cuttings anytime, but the chances of survival are best in early spring. Typically, I put them in a zip-lock bag with a little wet soil to keep the roots damp until planting.

[MightyMama]

If you have the space and desire to do so, you might try scarlet runner beans. They’re perennial, attract hummingbirds, and produce edible beans.