"Empress of India" nasturtium. They're red, hummers love 'em, and the kids will love the large seeds. Nick the seed coat with a file to speed up germination. They'll do well in hanging baskets - might need some shade there in Fl.

Zinnias are very easy to grow from seed, love hot weather and lots of sun. Not sure about the humidity there in FL, as sometimes zinnias can get powdery mildew, although I've managed to control that by growing them in a new spot each year.

I was just watching a hummer feeding on the Zinnias yesterday and tried to get some pics (although I can't seem to get really good photos of hummers). They prefer the tall Zinnias with single or semi-double blooms. I have grown several varieties that the hummers like - California giants, Cut & come again, and State fair. They are attracted to the red, but also nectar on other colors. It's a plus that butterflies love them too!

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Beautiful pic! The kids LOVED it! The red is gorgeous in those bright zinnias! We grow zinnias every year but for some reason have never had a red one come up from seeds we planted. We alwasy seem to have shades of pink, fuschia, orange & purple but will look for some red seeds!

We've also grown nasturtiums & did have some red in the mix so we'll plant more & hang a feeder.

Thanks for the info!

Tumbling, those red Zinnias were sent to me in a seed trade - simply labeled "tall red Zinnias". Indeed they are and they came out very nice! There were only a few seeds, which I direct sowed along the edge of the rest of the Zinnias. I love tall red Zinnias and am planning to collect some seed from these.

The rest were from a packet labeled "Zinnia elegans". Very similar to the Cut & Come again and more pastel colors, pink, lavender and white. A bit shorter than the red ones. Last year I grew a packet of "State fair" and they had red and other hot colors mixed in.

The hummers like other colors too!

That's what I will look for, elegans or state fair! Thanks very much-gorgeous pictures! You should definitley save seed!

I live in Orlando and have tons of hummers coming to my yard. If you want to plant something now to attract hummers the firebush plant is great for attracting and feeding them. It does grow quite big and comes back every year after frosts. Porterweed also attracts and feeds them as well as black and blue salvia. All of these are currently flowering and feeding them. The firespike is a native plant that flowers in the fall and is a great one too (it does get quite big though, but also usually survives any frosts). A few of mine are just starting to get flowers. Jatropha is also a good one! Hope that helps.

Tarilyn:)

Firebush - saw pic online, very pretty! Thanks!