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I'm finally getting started on a flowerbed in the back yard. I wanted to put something in that would do well in this heavy clay soil and that would attract butterflies and hummingbirds and per many online sites, daylilies would seem to fill the bill.
I was wondering if anyone here that actually has daylilies planted sees them as being attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies.
I inherited a clay yard with established Stella D'Oro daylilies and seasonal hummingbirds from previous owner who set feeders out but the hummers/butterflies are not really into the daylilies from my observation. Hummers/butterflies liked zinnias more, this year planting more zinnias (goldfinches love them too) plus adding scarlet runner bean for hummers.
FYI I bought pineapple sage bush because tag said hummers liked it. It took all summer to grow (flowerless) into a huge bush and by the time it flowered in fall the hummers were all gone. Lesson learned, Charlotte NC, moved it to less prominent place.
I have a lot of the orange daylilies and a lot of hummers here (year round for the Anna's hummers that overwinter here) and the hummers don't show any interest at all in the daylilies. Not one single bit. I occasionally see a butterfly land on the daylilies but they don't stay around for long.
But the hummers and butterflies go crazy swarming from sunrise til sunset about the bright scarlet red 'lucifer' crocosmia. The crocosmia flowers are loaded with so much nectar that it sometimes drips out of the flowers when the flower spikes get heavy. 100% guaranteed to attract lots of hummers and butterflies.
Crocosmia are perennials that will grow in your kind of soil and climate but it will usually take 2 years after you first plant the corms before they grow their first flower spikes. After that they produce flower spikes every year and the bloom period lasts a long time, as the older flowers drop off they are replaced on the end tips with new growth and new flowers. If you want instant results this year you will need to purchase and plant already matured plants.
The crocosmia doesn't ever get any insect pests or diseases that I'm aware of and the plants do reproduce themselves in very slowly spreading clumps from both the dividing corms and the seeds - albeit the plants from the seeds take longer to mature than those from larger corms. They are not invasive like the daylilies are and even the expired flower spikes with seeds on them are attractive.
Just as a side note, the hummers and butterflies also go nuts over the scarlet runner beans which produce flowers (and beans) for about 4 months during summer and into autumn. I grow them for decorative purposes only and only use the beans that have matured on the vine to supply more seed beans for planting each following year. But the fresh green bean pods are delicious to eat raw or cooked if picked while the bean pods are still small and tender (say under 6 inches in length).
I inherited a clay yard with established Stella D'Oro daylilies and seasonal hummingbirds from previous owner who set feeders out but the hummers/butterflies are not really into the daylilies from my observation. Hummers/butterflies liked zinnias more, this year planting more zinnias (goldfinches love them too) plus adding scarlet runner bean for hummers.
FYI I bought pineapple sage bush because tag said hummers liked it. It took all summer to grow (flowerless) into a huge bush and by the time it flowered in fall the hummers were all gone. Lesson learned, Charlotte NC, moved it to less prominent place.
A second vote for zinnias. I have many photos of both butterflies and goldfinches loving the zinnias I planted.
Hummers are more difficult to photograph, but they loved them as well.
...... I have found hummers love scarlet bee balm more than just about anything except fuschias in hanging baskets......
Yes! I forgot to mention how much the hummers like the scarlet bee balm, those tubular flowers on each flower head are full of nectar. Another one they go for is nasturtium nectar reservoirs and they'll also suck up aphids that may be on nasturtium plants.
I was just watching hummingbirds in the bird bath. There's a feeder about 8 feet away from the bath. (1 stop shopping!)
Anyway, they bypass the feeders and go to the geranium blooms. Kinda makes me upset. I put all that effort into feeding these birds, and they have the audacity to "bigtime" me and go to the natural feeders.
I've had daylilies for 14 years. I've seen a few butterflies but never saw a hummingbird. I think if you want hummingbirds you need to put up a hummingbird feeder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRR
I'm finally getting started on a flowerbed in the back yard. I wanted to put something in that would do well in this heavy clay soil and that would attract butterflies and hummingbirds and per many online sites, daylilies would seem to fill the bill.
I was wondering if anyone here that actually has daylilies planted sees them as being attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies.
i put a big bulb garden a couple of years ago with a variety of lilies and it attracts more than a few hummingbirds. We're at the top of a hill and the butterflies tend to get blown around by the wind.
I have two hummingbird feeders as they need liquid along with flowers. Suggest hanging fuchsia, Columbine, Hostas, Geraniums.
They also love to dive through sprinklers.
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