Monarda fistulosa does it in my climate, not sure of yours though. You need to ask more locally, because it's absolutely location, location, location. I can't successfully grow a red monarda to save my life.

Yeah, I'd be dead too if my life depended on growing monarda lol. I think the first time or two I tried it was mildew. The next two times it was some kind of horsemint caterpillar.

Glutton for punishment that I am, I ordered some red monarda this past summer. I so want this plant in my garden, but I swear this is my last effort. Fifth time's the charm...

:)
Dee

I have had great success with 'Jacob Cline'. Have had it planted in several gardens and it has always lived up to its mildew-free/disease resistant hype.

Raspberry wine has been clean in northern Virginia (and long blooming).

I think I bought Raspberry Wine - I thought it was very pretty - but it did mildew on me. I can't remember if I tried 'Jacob Cline'. I'd really like to attract hummingbirds. Any other suggestions beyond Monarda? I know I've tried Monarda twice and it mildewed on me both times and was pretty ugly by late summer. In part, I think I have a hard time giving it enough air circulation, because I like that full and wild look growing with other things. I don't really want to see stand alone plants.

I just ordered a bunch of annual salvias from Select Seeds to feed our resident hummers. There's a pink version of Amistad that might fit your needs.

Agastache if you can grow it (I can't here...too wet), and lonicera sempervirens are both attractive to hummers here.

I have Lonicera - I keep thinking of trying another one. I have 'Mandarin Orange' which I've never seen a hummingbird use. I thought about getting Major Wheeler which is said to attract them. I forgot about that, thanks. . I also have tried Agastache but most of it doesn't over winter for me. Cecily - I have Agastache 'Honey Bee Blue' but it blooms pretty late and again, not a plant I've ever seen a hummer use. I've tried that Apache Sunset which didn't perform for me. 'Black Adder' was disappointing. I have clay/loam soil, so that isn't really the preferred soil for Agastache, although I love them and keep trying them. It's still a good idea and I'll think of adding some of those. Thanks. The Monarda suits my growing conditions since it likes clay soil and can take some shade.

I am going to try Scarlet Runner Bean again. I've seen them use that and I need to grow more of it, but it does bloom very late in the season for me. And I tried Cuphea, which was a big hit, but it dies over winter too. I bought plants at $16. a piece which was all I could find locally and I used those in containers.

I still have Jacob's Cline and the Raspberry, but mine do get the mildew. I think a big part of it is the fact that I tend to plant things too closely. Just not enough air movement, I think.

My go to to draw the hummingbirds is usually salvias and nicotiana.

It only took me three trys to upload these, before I realized Houzz doesn't like png photos!

Very pretty, Gawdinfever - I do the same, plant too close. Hummers like Nicotiana? The bedding plants or the tall sylvestris, I think that's the name of it. Oh, btw, clever screen name.

lol I've had that name for years b/c family background is mostly southern.

They LOVE nicotiana. The tall kind. They seem to go for all of them, but I prefer the white (alata) because it's much more fragrant. They seem to hit that the most, as do the hummingbird moths.

PM2, I've seen hummers go for my foxgloves in the past. I don't grow them that much anymore because I don't like dealing with biennials, but just last month I was thinking of trying them again, since I do like them.

:)
Dee

P.S. I think the monarda I bought this year was Jacob Cline. Fingers crossed!

Monarda-wise, I have 'Gardenview Scarlet' and 'Claire Grace', the latter of which is apparently a hybrid between M. didydma and fistulosa. Both perform really nicely, although the hummingbirds really only go for the "Gardenview' and ignore the 'Claire Grace', probably because of their predilection for red colored flowers. 'Claire Grace' does attract a whole host of very interesting non-avian pollinators though!

Even though these two cultivars have touted mildew resistance, it does sometimes show up a bit later on in the season (mid-August or so), but always mild enough to be a cosmetic issue only, and the hummingbirds (and other pollinators) certainly aren't turned off by the mildew at all!

In terms of other hummingbird favorites in my yard beyond Monarda, Tithonia is definitely tops on the annual list, while amongst perennials, Lobelia cardinalis and our native Delphinium exaltatum are big hits as well.

As far as Monarda goes I have had very good mildew resistance with my decades old 'Cambridge Scarlet'. It is very attractive to hummingbirds. I have a purple that I thought was Marshall's Delight' but I see it is actually pink. I need to investigate that one, 'Beauty of Cobham' usually has mildew issues.

The best for attracting hummingbirds in my garden is hands down Crocosmia 'Lucifer'. While it is blooming they almost ignore Lonicera, Monarda etc. Another they really enjoy is Lobelia cardinalis.

I love everything about C. 'Lucifer'. The foliage, buds, flowers, seed pods and how much the hummers enjoy them.

I bought "Jacob Cline" mid-season this past year. Those fire-engine red blooms were fabulous! I did get mildew, though -- fortunately it was after blooming, I noticed it sometime late July or August. I will keep an eye on it this year and see what happens.

Dee - I like Biennials if they reseed well. For me, all you have to do is plant seedlings two years in a row and then every year you usually have reseed. I like foxgloves a lot, I should grow more. Do you find they stand erect? Have any favorite varieties?

Sah67 - Thanks for the tip for the Tithonia. I forgot about that plant. I had seed once and never did sow it. It gets to be a big plant, doesn't it? Needs full sun?

Peren.all - It's funny you should have the 'Cambridge Scarlet' - I was just reading that this variety and one other was considered to be so bad with mildew, someone in the trade was suggesting it should be banned. lol Great that you have good luck with it, which just goes to show.

Crocossmia - Now there is a plant I never think of and have never tried. I'll have to look into it. Thanks!

This is great, I'm getting a few ideas to try. And someone said they get mildew and just cut the foliage back after bloom. I might want to try that. I really don't tolerate ugly foliage very well. [g] Some of my beds are in the front and you're walking by them multiple times a day as is everyone else. I've cut things back and pulled things out a lot. lol

I rarely get a hummingbird. I've only seen one about a half a dozen times. The first year I saw them was after I'd been in this house 25 years already without seeing one. I was growing Scarlet Runner Bean that year and I only spotted one, one day in the early fall and that was it. Then the next year I planted Cuphea in two pots and I saw them a few times that summer. I have not been able to attract them to a feeder and I don't think I have the patience for a feeder. And I don't have a lot of plants to attract them, so I want to try to add some things.

Ooh, yeah, I second (third?) the tithonia! Love this bloom and while I haven't seen hummers at it (yet) the butterflies and bees love it.

PM2, I think it's impatience that gets me with the foxgloves, lol. I hate waiting that first year with no blooms! And yes, I know if I keep sowing I'll eventually get blooms every year (in theory) but I don't know... I did just find some old foxgloves seeds though so I will try sowing them this winter.

I don't have a favorite (yet) - it's been YEARS since I've grown them - but I do love my perennial foxgloves, digitalis grandiflora. They are smaller and not nearly as dramatic as the biennials, but a lovely soft yellow color, and reliable in my shade gardens. Freely reseed too, so there are always plenty to spread around.

:)
Dee

I planted "Jacob Cline" last spring. It got mildew, but seemed pretty mild to me. I didn't really notice it unless I was looking at it closely and it was mostly post-bloom in the fall. I did see a few hummingbirds, but I planted it for the bees and butterflies...they hated it...didn't see a single bee or butterfly on it :( I planted "Purple Rooster" this fall, so I'm excited to see how that performs this year!

I've had Monarda in the past with minimal mildew, although I don't remember the cultivar. Probably nothing special, though. I do remember thinning it out a bit post-blossom, to increase the airflow though, after noting the problems the first few seasons. Nothing extreme, just to open it up a bit.

It wasn't any worse than the zinnias by the end of season, usually got one minor suppression spray with Daconil on September first to hold things together until end of season and avoid powdery mildew as much as possible (which is what I do with the zinnia anyway because otherwise...sea of white), and otherwise was ignored.

It eventually got squeezed out by said zinnias year-on-year overgrowing it. :-)

Re: Tithonia - yes, as much sun as you can give it, but it needs very little care other than that. The straight species and the most popular cultivar, ‘Torch’, can both get to 5 or 6’ by autumn, but there are shorter cultivars if you want to seek them out.

Here‘s one of the many Ruby-throats that frequented my Tithonia patch this past summer:

My problem with tithonia is they get so big so fast, then a thunderstorm topples and breaks them. Not that they're not amazing, but I hate that. So they either are now dead or they're laying all over everything that was around them. A shorter cultivar might be better because of this.

The Monarda cultivars claiming improved mildew resistance have never done well for me. I only grow straight native species now. I grow fistulosa, citriodora, punctata, didyma, and bradburiana. I still want clinopodia. Mine don't get the powdery mildew until after they finish flowering, so I just cut them back , to make them look nicer, but I leave some spent blooms for collecting seeds. Other plants that I grow for hummingbirds are Salvia coccinea, Ipomopsis rubra, Siiene regia, Ipomoea quamoclit, Ipomoea pandurata, Penstemon spp, Impatiens capensis, Coral honeysuckle. I've seen them nectaring on Zinnias too.

DBarron, Thanks for the warning. I don't think any of us enjoy that. Is there no way to support it somehow or put it near a trellis to tie it in?

Jay, I think that is true for more than just Monarda - I searched for names from trials of Phlox that are supposed to be resistant to mildew and I've yet to use one that isn't. Where do you find the natives? Do you start them from seed, do they grow true from seed?

Ipomoea? Morning glory? Thanks for all the other ideas.

Ipomoea, especially if red, *should* attract hummers...I would think.

There's a lot of native plant vendors that offer umm native plants...surprise surprise. And yes, they seem to be more resistant than the avg selection or hybrids in commerce. I can grow species phlox that never mildew (or I haven't seen any in a couple of years).

That may be so...but it's all I have. The majority of mine have gotten 6 foot tall and blew over.

I grew out Monarda fistulosa by dumping Prairie Moon freebie seed packets on the ground. I have them in 3 spots separated by 50-100ft. Two of them have little problem with mildew, but one of them barely made it to bloom it got it so bad. I know its not a quick solution but maybe try growing some out and then culling the moldy ones.

sah67: I have to agree with this:

"For what it’s worth, I’ve grown Tithonia for years and never had any issue with stems breaking or flopping after a storm. Is it possible you’re growing them in a richer soil? I think they tend to prefer poorer soils." (I've done this with Cosmo's and others because I've enriched my beds too much!)

Prairiemoon: I spaced out my phlox more and haven't had anymore issues with mildew. I grow mostly the flame series now. I also separated plants that are prone to it. For instance, I moved my phlox away from the monarda. The monarda that I had issues with was totally surrounding by coneflowers that have gone rouge! I thinned them out a few years ago, but I think it's time again. I don't have a recent pic, but the goldfinch had spread the seeds and now the coneflowers cover about 80% of the bed. And that's with removing about 20 plants from that same bed! The only thing I had in this bed this year was coneflowers and coral salvias with the monarda. In spring I will be removing about half the coneflowers again!

There are a few Pow Wow Berry coneflowers in there, but very rarely do I see them anymore!

This is in 2015 and wasn't 'too awefully bad', but the coneflowers had increased by about 50% in this bed due to the birds. As you can see in this pic; there is very little mildew at this point.

I say go get some monarda, but give it plenty of air circulation/room! It's worth it!

Prairiemoon, I grew a few Tthonia in 2019 and mine never flopped over, and we somethings get winds exceedingly 60mph. I think maybe debarron's flopped over because they were growing in a swamp.🤣i

Well it definitely isn't a SW US moisture regime. I didn't grow any last year, so the experience was the year before and I believe that was the year that I need only water like half a dozen times (if that)..so they were indeed more than adequately watered by nature's bounty.

i had some old heirlooms that i think we go the seed in a cereal box in the 60s .. lol ... no clue what kind beyond that .. i think mom used to call them firecrackers ....

https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/90629/

in suburbia.. where i had gloriously good soil ... and hand water everything every night ... including wetting the plants and the lawn .. who knew back then .. lol .. i had mildew issues ...

i took some to their third house.. in beach sand ... and constant breezes in the country ... and never watered them .. and bazinga... no mildew .. i dont have it on my old lilacs either ... go figure ...

now i wonder what happened to them... i cant remember where they were on the 5 acres ... lol .. maybe i dreamed it all

ken

Sah67 - I did take a look around this morning and see a few natives, but as pretty as they are in different colors, I'd probably stick to a red for the hummers. I was hoping to find a tall variety and the Jacob Cline is about 3-4ft. Which is okay at the 4ft height. Here are the native varieties offered here....

PrairieMoon Nursery

Good idea Skip, to grow a batch from seed and select the best. A nice project to try.

Gawdinfever - I don't think I have a Coneflower in my garden! I used to have a lot of them when my full sun garden was more wild and free, [g] but I've since tamed it down and added a few shrubs and now they don't really fit anywhere. I do miss them. I'm going to have to figure out somewhere to put some again. Especially since now that you mention it, I hardly see a goldfinch any more. Pretty photo! I'm definitely going to try Monarda again, too. I have a photo of the last time I had them and if I can find it I'll post it later.

Jay and DBarron - I have clay/loam soil and it's usually not easy to grow something that requires poor soil, but, I'm going to have to give that Tithonia a try. Thanks.

Ken, I can try to give them room for air circulation but sandy soil does not describe my yard. [g] And I was just looking at old photos of past gardens and amazed at how many plants I forgot I had at one point.

I have Jacob Cline and haven’t noticed any mildew, though some prior varieties had it. It is too far from the house for me to notice whether the hummers choose to visit it.

Other plants where I often see hummingbirds include

a quite old, unnamed variety of Heuchera/coral bells with 2’ tall pink flowers. Blooms for a month in spring here.

The selection ‘Major Wheeler’ of the native honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, which blooms from a heavy bloom in May followed by all summer bloom on new growth until frost.

Aconitum which is toxic, but blooms in fall.

and if you are OK with an easy annual, look at scarlet runner beans which can be eaten young as green beans or mature as dried beans, but if you keep picked may bloom most of the summer for you.

Babs - Glad to hear your JCline did well. I have meant to add Major Wheeler and I guess I have to get on the ball. [g] I've tried Aconitum and it hasn't grown well for me. And yes, I'm growing Scarlet Runner Bean too. Thanks!

Hey prairie , The Chicago Botanical Gardens did a 3 year study on Monarda resistance to piwdery mildew. It's on a pdf. so I just snapped a picture of the results chart. I would suggest at least trying out all the pure, native forms of all the Monarda species native to your area. It could give you some insight as to how a hybrid, garden center cultivar might fare. 😃🌱

Jay, I saved both lists. I did notice though that only one on the list had excellent resistance to mildew. Isn't that too bad. And that's interesting to see where each native comes from and I do plan on trying any native that attracts hummers. Thanks a lot!

Yeah, prairie, the cultivar that had excellent mildew resistance is called 'Purple Mildew Resistant. When I look it up it's not being offered anywhere, but there are a ton of other cultivars with purple in there names. I don't know what's up with that. If it had such excellent resistance you would think they would be marketing it widely? Maybe it's a conspiracy to keep us all shelling out money buying new Mobarda cultivars. Maybe it's going under another name now. The Mnt. Cuba center also assessed it as their best too. It's a mystery, but someone at the CBG or MCC must know where 'Purple Mildew Resistant ' is now.

https://www.herebydesign.net/6-top-monardas-join-resistance-against-powdery-mildew/

https://mtcubacenter.org/trials/monarda/ Another good Monarda trial. 'Claire Grace' was the most PM resistant. I saw another trial, maybe from Maine or New England, that found Claire Grace attracted fewer pollinators and had marginal hardiness, likely because it's not a northern ecotype.

Well, it sure looks like there is a conspiracy against us Monarda fans. [g] Geez. And sounds like those of you using some of the purple and lighter colors don't see much hummingbird activity the way you do with the red cultivars. Well, I'm going to get the variety that attracts the most Hummingbirds and has the best PM resistance of those, and work on giving it the cultural requirements that might limit the development of PM. Guess that's the best I can do. Thanks for all the help!

And I'm going to try a number of other suggestions you've all made.