Here ya go.....a nice sized thread with a whole bunch of plants that are Zone 4 happy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zone 4 Hummer Plants

Thanks for the thread gatorinfla. I've tried mostly following the plant advice I found here http://canada-gardens.com/2hummingbird.html , and I've planted a bit of what I could find. That plus lots of Monarda bee balm.

lionsfan, thanks for the advice on the black and blue. I've read all the great things on here about the black and blue, and I tried to source some locally but I couldn't find any. The online seed shops I usually buy seeds from don't have any either, sadly. I'm working on it :) Will the black and blue grow in a hanging basket?

Anyway, what I can get fairly easily is foxglove, and I like the flower anyway, which prompted my question about whether or not the birds prefer them.

Suspendrs Black and Blue is a really good Salvia but pretty much any Salvia will do. If you can't find Black & Blue maybe something like Hotlips is available. My hummers visit all my Salvias.

Black n'Blue will quickly outgrow a hanging basket I believe.
Lady in Red Salvia is a very effective hummer plant small enough for containers.

Black & Blue is an upright salvia and will grow about 4 feet tall, not suitable for a hanging basket. I have it and different agastache growing in pots on the deck -- they're hummer magnets.

Black & Blue is a fantastic salvia but would have to go in a very large pot. Seeds are not available from reliable sellers because Black & Blue is a hybrid and doesn't always come true from seed. I have tried it from seed for about 6 years now and I get about 20% at the most that will come true from seed. This year none. There are a few online plant retailers in Canada but not sure what plants that they sell. Have you tried Ebay. A lot of people have good luck getting hummer plants on Ebay. I have never tried foxglove myself but a friend in Wisconsin does gorw it in her hummer garden.

Penny

That explains why it's hard to find. I found some fellow on ebay selling the seeds and bought some, so we'll see how that works I guess...

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Suspenders, from my experience, hummingbirds do like foxglove.

zebz, I like hearing that :) Do you plant much of it?

Foxglove is probably a second-tier plant for hummingbirds in most gardens. The salvias mentioned in here are definitely first choice. But foxglove is such a nice plant anyway that it's very much worth growing. And hummers will use it. The only reason I don't plant foxglove is because it's poisonous to humans, and I have a 2 year old who like to put anything green in her mouth! =)

No, I planted one plant once about five years ago and ever since have had one or two that just appear each year.

I have a couple types of Foxglove growing in my hummingbird bed, including Digitalis purpurea and grandiflora. I love Foxglove and the hummers nectar at it sometimes, although it doesn't seem to be their favorite plants. The hummingbird's favorite 3 plants that I grow are

- Monarda didyma (red bee balm)
- Lobelia cardinalis
- Yvonne's Salvia - which is a tall cultivar of Salvia splendens

Also growing Ipomoea sloteri/Cardinal climber which is a very vigorous annual vine with red tubular flowers that will cover a trellis pretty quickly and the hummers love it.

Other plants I'm growing this year that the hummers like are Salvia coccinea - 'Lady in Red' and 'Coral nymph'. They will sometimes nectar from other assorted flowers, like Cleome, Phlox, Buddleia, Dicentra, Columbine, Heucheras, Hosta, etc.

From what I've read online hummingbirds like hollyhocks which grow in a tall stalk and are very beautiful as well as honeysuckle which will grow very tall as well on a trellis