Hummingbirds are key pollinators in British Columbia, especially for native plants like salmonberries that can’t be pollinated by bees. Hummingbirds have a long beak that give them unique advantage to pollinate into deep tubular flowers. They also eat insects that can harm your plants like aphids, gnats, mites, and spiders.
Hummingbirds are known as a “sentinel species” that indicate the health of our ecosystem as they are sensitive to change. Hummingbirds can also be spotted in the winter, the “Anna Hummingbird” overwinters in British Columbia. It’s important to keep food available for them all year round.
Hummingbirds prefer brightly coloured flowers with a lot of rich nectar to provide the much-needed energy they require. The plants that attract hummingbirds have little or no scent. Hummingbird friendly plants are often red, generally blooming for a longer period of time than other flowers. Their flowers will be spaced far enough apart to provide access for the hummingbird while his wings are in rapid motion. They following perennials & annuals are considered hummingbird friendly.
You may notice some plants listed as perennial and annual, that is due to their zone rating. Different varieties of the same plant can have different ratings. Zoning is based on geographic climate. Please research what zone your area is rated, allow for a difference of +/- 1 zone rating as weather can differ per year.
Perennials
| Achillea (Yarrow) Agastache (hyssop) Alcea (Hollyhock) Aquilegia (Columbine) Asclepias (Butterfly weed) Coreopsis (Tickseed) (Zone 1-8) Corydalis Crocosmia Delphinium Dianthus (Zone 1-8) Dicentra (Bleeding Heart) Digitalis (Foxglove) | Eucomis (Pineapple Lily) Fuchsia (Zone 1-8) Hemerocallis (Daylily) Heuchera (Coral Bells) Hosta Iris Kniphofia (Red hot poker) Lavandula (Lavender) Liatris (grayfeather) Lobelia Cardinalis (Cardinal flower) Lupinus (lupine) | Monarda (Bee Balm) Nepeta (Catmint) Penstemon (Beard Tongue) Phlox Paniculata (Zone 1-8) Phygelius (Cape fuchsia) Physostegia (Obedient plant) Salvia (Zone 1-8) Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower) Verbena (Zone 1-8) Veronica (Speedwell) |
Annuals
| Calibrachoa (Million Bells) Cleome Coreopsis (Tickseed) (Zone 9+) Cosmos Dianthus (Sweet William) (Zone 9+) Fuchsia (Zone 9+) | Geranium Impatiens Lantana Minulus (Monkey flower) Nasturtium Nicotiana | Petunia Phlox (Zone 9+) Salvia (Zone 9+) Snapdragon Verbena (Zone 9+) Zinna |
