Check out this link for lots of info about Hummers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbirds

I have a question along those lines that site didn't quite answer. I have a Salvia elegans (pineapple sage) that has been in continuous bloom since last September.

Normally I'd have cut it back in Jan and the new growth is currently growing fron the base through the old (it looks terrible), but so many hummingbirds seem to have used it all through the winter, that I've hesitated to cut. It's an amazing plant, just a year old from cuttings, that it has grown to 6' high and 8' wide and it has never had less than 20 or 30 blooming stems in the past 6 months.

How dependent can a family of hummers be on one winter food source like that in S. California (Torrance)? And when is the period I can assume I'm not starving some poor birds when I prune?

thanks

I don't think a population of hummers would be dependent on one plant for its survival. They probably have other food sources - and feeders at your neighbors' homes. I say prune it!

And maybe if you want to keep them in your garden, why not have a hummer feeder to replace this food source? I vote to back up the food source before pruning.