Absolutely Bushed

WANT TO ATTRACT HUMMINGBIRDS??

HERE'S HOW!

The soaring aerial acrobats of Cirque de Soleil look like flightless dodo birds compared to the flight of Hummingbirds. Their incredible feats of motion, zipping along at super speed, then stopping to hover and fly backwards, amaze all viewers, especially aviation engineers.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the most common type seen in Texas. The males start scouting for food sources a few weeks ahead of the migration of the females and can be seen as early as April. The highest populations congregate around gardens and feeders in July.

Watching aerial antics of hummers is quite entertaining and I offer these following tips to help you entice these colorful little birds to your yard for your mutual enjoyment.

1. Plant masses of flowers that hummers love to sip. They particularly like the colors red, pink, and orange. The list below shows some of their favorite flowers that grow well in our area.

2.Provide perches for the birds using dead branches or planted shrubs that are not too dense. Hummers spend about 80 percent of their time sitting on twigs, branches or clotheslines surveying the area and protecting their food source.

3. Install water feature that drips or mists water. Hummers enjoy bathing and flying through mist, and the sounds of these water features attract their notice. Observing them flying through water vapor is as amusing as watching children play in a sprinkler.

4. Avoid the use of pesticides in your gardens and yard, both inorganic and organic. Killing garden pests eliminates the small insects hummingbirds eat for their protein source. Hummers are very sensitive to toxic materials, which might be retained on the flowers.

5. Put nectar feeders out in mid-April when the scouts start their migration north, looking for routes that have nearby food sources. They will tell their buddies about your roadside diner for their trip later in the spring.

6. Decorate your feeder with red ribbon or bright orange surveying tape. This would be the equivalent of the neon “Eat Here” sign on the hummer highway.

7. Keep your feeder clean and your sugar solution fresh. Wash the feeder with vinegar and hot water (no detergents) and scrub with a bottlebrush at every refill. Replace the sugar water every two or three days.

8. Keep ants out of the feeder by using an ant guard on the feeder hanger. You can purchase them, or make one by drilling a hole in a plastic film canister, sliding the hanger through the hole and filling the canister with water. Ants will not survive the water obstacle and be unable to march down into the feeder, as long as you keep the water level up. 

9. Hang your feeder in a shady spot, or provide shade with an umbrella (a red one would be the best). This keeps the nectar cooler in the heat of the summer.

10. Make your own hummingbird nectar. Boil four cups of water and one cup of white sugar for one minute. Do not use honey or red coloring. You may store this solution for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

BEST HUMMINGBIRD PLANTS:

Shrubs-

Abelia, Azaleas, Butterfly Bushes, Firebush, Turk’s Cap, Vitex, and Wiegela.

Vines-

Crossvine, Honeysuckle, Morning Glory, Trumpet Vines, Jasmine vines.

Flowers-

Bee balm, Cardinal flower, Columbine, Coral Belles, Impatiens, Pentas, Salvia.

Question:

Jimmie, I have Vinca groundcover in my garden and every summer it seems to die back for some reason. Any thoughts?

Thank you, Cassidy P. in Prosper

Answer:

Hi Cassidy, Your problem sounds like leafrollers. Use a systemic insecticide to treat it. Spray 3 to 4 weeks prior to the time you usually begin having problems. Since the leafrollers get themselves sequestered within the leaves, only a systemic product can reach them.

Question:

Jimmie, Is there anything available at all (Pandas, poison, ANYTHING !!!) we can use to stop the spreading of Bamboo adjacent to a water garden? Thanks in advance,

R.K. in Prosper

Answer:

Dear R.K. Glyphosate herbicides do some good in controlling bamboo, but they are certainly not the perfect answer. The more top growth that is coated with the spray, the better the control will be. However, these herbicides also kill other foliage on which they are sprayed, so you would have to be very selective. Honestly, the best plan is to just dig it out and keep digging new sprouts until it no longer offers to regrow. If you would like to keep it permanently, you should install a root barrier dug 25 to 30 inches into the ground as a means of keeping it in bounds.

Question:

Jimmie, What is the best remedy for grasshoppers? Thanks for all your articles, I really enjoy them!

Cindy B. in Prosper

Answer:

Hi Cindy, Many general-purpose organic and inorganic insecticides are labeled for use on grasshoppers. One of the most important factors is in your means of applying them. It’s usually best to spray down over the tops of your plants so that the spray will coat the grasshoppers as they try to fly away. Of course, cutting all the tall weeds and grass in proximity to your landscape and garden will also help. Until next time…….Happy gardening!!