August 11 , 2021
Going for the Hummingbird Gold!
So now , let ’s head to the hummingbird Olympics ! We can even watch the biz in soul if our gardens host fiery nectar torches like Mexican Banksia integrifolia ( Justicia spicigera).This 2 - substructure ( or so ) perennial is not a vine , despite its name . I ’ve dotted it around my garden since it ’s compatible with part shade and little water . I may never luck into a soar up hummingbird shot , though I ’m content to settle for bounteous bees unforced to vex around . Since mine are long - establish , they rallied speedily after February ’s protracted freezing that sink to 9 ° . In warmer winter , they barely stop dead back , but they by all odds benefit from a sound chop in former spring . Dicliptera suberecta(isn’t that fun to pronounce ? ) die by so many names that I stick to with its botanical moniker . Some call it Uruguayan Firecracker plant , since it herald from Uruguay . Others refer to it as “ hummingbird flora , ” which makes gumption , because those recondite , flame - orange flowers make food runways for hummingbird and orotund butterfly . Mine are a little over a human foot magniloquent in part shade with Sunday blasts . Those fuzzy , silvery - tinged leafage bonus up foliar flair . They droop fast in summer , since I do n’t irrigate much , but always muster up . trellis aboriginal crossvine ( now fade ) and huge orange trumpet vine flowers jumble to soften and cool the side of a brick building at Mueller . No doubt , hummingbirds hurry around patrons on their agency to a meal of their own . These are vigorous ( aggressive ? ! ) vines , so keep that in brain . They do want sun but can take part shade . If you ’re not certain which plant you see out and about , trumpet vine ’s leaves are toothed . Crossvine leaves are liquid . To counterpoint flaming people of colour with cool garden pink , my ‘ John Fanick ’ Phlox paniculata beckons hummingbird and butterflies in a dawning Sunday bed . Now fading to whitened , pink - huedHabranthus robustusrain lilies echo with bee - loved blossom . Rain prompted bloom flushes on evergreen plant leave spikes near that Mexican honeysuckle . Of course , it ’s a excited hummingbird scamper on native Turk ’s cap!When I take a stretch breakage , I spot them out the window on it and flame acanthus . Stop by next week when San Antonio native flora landscape fashion designer Drake White explains how to prune our native flora in mid - August for pollinator bounty this gloam !
Check out theWildflower Center ’s lean of native plants for hummingbirds .
Here ’s more about plant life and hummingbird identification .
Feeders affix sustenance as hummingbirds fuel up for the farseeing flight south . Avoid pre - made red dye liquids . Zap ¼ cup of sugar to 1 cup of water in the microwave ( or heat on the stove ) , conjure up , cool and satiate your confluent . Do substitute it every few years and pick out the self-feeder since mould grows really fast in late August heat!Thanks for blockade by ! See you next week , Linda
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