I think many of us have watched our hummers chase other birds away. That needlepoint beak of theirs, the ability to fly backwards and hover, and their overall agressiveness, helps to make up for their small size! LOL

Also - I have heard that hummers will feed from red petunias. I know I was trying to find some myself last year. I have watched mine feed from closed or closing morning glories too.

Mary Joe,
They do feed from petunias but not a lot but they will use them if a better source isn't available. I would be careful where you plant a trumpet creeper as it will grow into the siding of your house and the roots can grow under a foundation. Most people don't plant them too close to a house. I would suggest a coral honeysuckle which is a native honeysuckle that blooms longer and isn't invasisive like trumpet creeper is. If you can find Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red' or 'Coral Nymph' the hummers will love you for it. Also try 'Jacob's Cline' Monarda which is a perennial. It won't bloom as long as the salvia but the hummers love it too.

Penny

Thanks for the suggestion about coral honeysuckle. When I said trumpet vine I meant "cardinal climber" -- is that the same thing? I'll have to plant the cardinal climber away from the house then. Will it re-seed on its own and take over my garden in zone 6? Maybe it's cold enough up here that I don't have to worry about that.

From what I can tell either of these will grow from seed direct sown outdoors. Is that right? Or is it better to buy a plant from the nursery?

I'll be on the lookout for Salvia "Lady in Red" and "Coral Nymph." We've got a few nurseries around here with excellent selections (too much!). I'll look for 'Jacob's Cline' Monarda too. Most of my planting will be in containers.

Mary Ann

Mary ann
Here is a link to pictures of {{gwi:977607}} which is an invasive perennial that will spread by underground runners

here is a picture of

penny

When I had my hummer feeders up, I had them RIGHT NEXT to the regualr seed feeder and the hummers happily ate as the other birds flew to and from the seed feeder. Worry not. They will be fine.

Nikki

Lol i'll tell you a little story..I have regular bird feeder's out in my back yard and i have alot of chickadee's that are always there..My hummingbird feeder's are on the side of my home and not even near the bird feeder's..Dont you know that the hummer's would and will fly right up to my chickadee's and scare them off..Hummer's are not afraid at all in my backyard.. :o)

There are several cultivars of Trumpet Creeper that aren't invasive. Look up Campsis on the net, and you will probaby come across a few. The hybrid call 'Madame Galen'is the only one I can think of right now.

I have a suet feeder atop a pole, which unfortunately is frequented by starlings. It's about 20' away from the hummer feeder. One day, there were about 4 starlings on the feeder, noisier than I'd ever heard, and my hummer fluttered over to check out the commotion. She hovered for about 30 seconds, then went back over to the feeder. I thought that was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, birdwise...

I put some time in trying to find a trumpet creeper. From what I found the Campsis is the very invasive kind of vine. I bought the Bignonia Capreolata or Dragon Lady Crossvine, and it is not supposed to be as invasive. Native to my state of Maryland, an evergreen, and a hummer favorite. Good luck!! Check the link I listed below!

Here is a link that might be useful: Paghat.com