I don't have hosta but Penny does and she says the hummers love her hosta I haven't noticed them pierce any flowers. Sarah

thanks, deb, for the confirmation that hummers will use hosta. bees pierce my black and blue salvia here, so I bet hummers could, too. I had holes in the base of the almost opened buds of a couple hibiscus and wondered who had done it. now I wonder if it was a hummingbird.

As a matter of fact I had a hummer using the hosta flowers yesterday. I started out with a very shady back yard when we bought the house so hostas were a good choice. Little by little the big maple tree has been dying off so now I have very little shade in my back yard but the hostas are thriving and the hummers seem to enjoy them so I suppose I will leave them there.

Like Stan says I have never seen a hummer pierce the base of a flower but bees will in order to reach the nectar on flowers that have a long narrow throat like salvias so it is possible that it is easier for the hummer to get the nectar in this manner.

Penny

I've seen them do that on abutilon (flowering maple) and texas star hibiscus. That is, rather that going in through the "throat" of the flower, they work from the backside around the base. I never checked for holes though to see if they were actually piercing the flowers...will have to do that.

--Jane in BR,LA

I witnessed it today. A hummer came to the feeder so I moved to the window to watch it. When she finished at the feeder she went directly to the hosta. She never approached the flowers head on as usual. She went to each flower at the base and poked at it with her beak. One time, she poked so hard, the entire hosta stem moved 5 or 6 inches. I am going to go out and see if I can actually see the holes. I'll take a pic of it if I can.

Deb in PA

I have had Ruby-throated visit Hosta while living in NY, quite readily in late summer, but they were the smaller lavendar flower variety. They, along with the Bumble bees, would enter the flower up through the corolla as usual to get the nectar. I never noticed them piercing the base of the flowers.

BN

I never thought about watching to see if the hummers visited my hostas and now the blooms are gone.

I noticed that the big black carpenter bees don't go inside the flowers, they all go straight to the top and pierce the flower. I think perhaps the hummers are being opportunistic and using these same holes. I will post some pics I took of the bees. I can get nice and close to them...not the hummers.

Deb in PA