Thursday, June 17, 2010

Do the Hummingbirds a Favor



Do you like hummingbirds?  I do and it gives me great pleasure attracting them to my yard with flowers that they love.  You could not do better than to plant some cardinal flowers (lobelia cardinalis.)  This is one of the favorite foods of the ruby-throated hummingbird.  Not only that, but it is also one of the few flowers that blooms well in shade. 


Cardinal flowers are perennials that like a shady, moist spot.  They really grow well next to a shady pond.  In the late spring they send up tall spikes of the deepest red flowers you can imagine.  They slowly spread as they come back every year.  I haven't seen any pests on mine.  They are quite hardy and grow even as far north as Canada.  Let's all plant some and keep the hummers happy.



2 comments:

Mary Sexton said...

I'm thinking about planting some cardinal flower next spring. I live around Baton Rouge (Zone 8b) and was wondering if this plant does better in shade or sun? Nice blog!

Davy Barr said...

They definitely prefer part shade.