Wildlife Habitat Council - Three Rivers Habitat Partnership

Table 2. Native Western Pennsylvania Plants to Attract Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are tiny flying jewels that winter in the tropical forests and spend their summers in the forests of the northeast. North America has several types of hummingbirds, but the only species found in western Pennsylvania are the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Plants that attract hummingbirds generally have long nectar tubes with copious nectar and pollen. Since these birds are able to distinguish color, the flowers of often attention-grabbing red or orange. Each day, hummingbirds eat more than their weight in nectar to maintain their high-energy lifestyle. Several of the plants are on this list because they attract tiny flying invertebrates that the hummingbirds consume as a source of protein--an essential element for growth that is not found in nectar (which is primarily one part sugar to four parts water).

Common Name	Botanical Name	Cultural Requirements	Comments
Sugar Maple Tree	Acer saccharum	Sun/pt shade	Provides sweet sap
Columbine	Aquilegia canadensis	Sun/pt shade	Orange/yellow blooms in spring
Milkweed	Asclepias	Sun/pt shade	Orange or pink blooms in summer
Trumpet Vine	Campsis radicans	Sun	Orange flowers on vigorous vine
New Jersey Tea	Ceanothus americanus	Sun	Attracts invertebrates
Buttonbush	Cephalanthus occidentalis	Sun	White blossoms for nectar; also attracts invertebrates
Virgin's Bower	Clematis virginiana	Sun/pt shade	White flowers in summer
Touch-me-nots	Impatiens capensis	Moist shade	Orange-spotted flower in summer
Jewel Weed	Impatiens pallida	Shade	Yellow flower in summer
Turk's Cap Lily	Lilium superbum	Sun	Tall red or yellow flowers in summer
Cardinal Flower	Lobelia cardinalis	Sun/pt shade	Bright red spikes in mid-summer to fall
Native Honeysuckle	Lonicera sempervirens	Sun	Red/orange flowers on vine
Bee Balm	Monarda didyma	Sun/ pt shade	Red flowers in summer
Bergamot	Monarda fistulosa	Sun/ pt shade	Pink flowers in summer
Obedient Plant	Physostegia virginiana	Sun/ pt shade	Pink spikes in late summer
Swamp Azalea	Rhododendron viscosum	Sun/ pt shade (moist soil)	Pink fragrant flowers in summer

T. Redick, 2001, Ironweed

c/o Bayer Corporation, 100 Bayer Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15205 Tel: 412.777.2464
Copyright Wildlife Habitat Council, 2001-2003