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Keep your hummingbirds happy through the winter with these plants

Ciscoe Morris says salvias, fuchsias and other fall plants will keep the birds well-fed. #newdaynw

SEATTLE — Ciscoe has more tips on how to keep the hummingbird’s healthy this fall and winter:

One of the cool things about living in the Pacific West Coast is that Anna's Hummingbirds remain in our area year round.

Getting to watch these flying gems putting on their aerobatic displays all winter long is a real treat, but if you want to entice Anna's hummingbirds to stay in your garden during the winter months, you have to make sure there are plenty of nectar rich flowers to keep them well fed in fall until the winter blooming plants begin to flower to provide a food source for them in winter. (I'll show winter blooming hummingbird favorites on an upcoming show). It's fine to put out a feeder, but only hang one if you'll be home and able to keep the nectar from freezing all winter long. I often travel in winter so I only feed my hummers with fall and winter blooming plants and I have at least 3 hummingbirds that stay in my garden year round

Ciscoe's favorite fall hummingbird plants

The more late season hummingbird favorites that are in your garden the less likely it is that the Anna’s hummingbird is will leave your yard in search of a better food source. Some of the best fall bloomers are shrubs and perennials that begin blooming in May, yet keep right on flowering, sometimes past Thanksgiving. Here are some fall blooming plants that not only feed the hummers, but also provide beautiful color in your fall garden.

Woody Salvias: When it comes to a prolific fall bloomer, that drives hummingbirds in to fits of gluttony, nothing surpasses Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'. Those little avian acrobats are so crazy about the red and white bicolor blossoms, they actually attack me when I try to cut off even a few of the gazillions of flowers to show at my garden talks. This non-spreading member of the mint family has proved to be hardy in our area, and as long as it's planted in full sun and well-drained soil.' By the way, all woody Salvias are highly attractive to hummers. Others I brought in today are Salvia'

'Amistad' with attractive purple flowers, and Salvia 'Black & Blue' with beautiful nectar rich black and blue flowers.

The other two salvias I'm showing are 'Wendy's Wish' and 'Pineapple Sage.' These are annuals in the Pacific Northwest, but well worth growing. Wendy's Wish' starts blooming in May and produces magenta flowers that drives hummingbirds mad with desire all summer long, and usually well past thanksgiving. 'Pineapple Sage' doesn't bloom until fall, but when it does, you can hear the hummers singing with delight.

Hardy Fuchsia: Another group of flowering shrubs that continue blooming in fall are the hardy fuchsias. How can anyone resist these magnificent plants? They're easy to grow, and bloom from June until frost with beautiful flowers that are irresistible to hummingbirds. Flower size can range from about ¼ inch to over 2 inches, and they come in a wide variety of colors and growth habits. I have a gazillion favorites, but a few I can't live without include 'Lady Boothby' with large, red and purple-black flowers 'Cardinal' with scarlet blooms, and 'Mrs. Popple' featuring big scarlet and purple flowers. For extra cold tolerance, plant your hardy Fuchsia 4 inches deeper than it comes out of the pot.

Evergreen Penstemon: One of the best summer blooming perennials that continue flowering late into fall are the evergreen Penstemons. The two lipped, tubular flowers come in a wide variety of colors. Hummingbirds are crazy about them, although I noticed that there are times in the middle of summer when they won't go near them. I figured out why they were avoiding them when I looked closely and noticed that there was a big fat bumblebee butt sticking out of practically every blossom.

Fortunately, that isn't a problem in late fall when hummingbirds feast regularly on the nectar rich blossoms. 'Garnet' is a strong grower, reaching 2 feet tall.

Abutilon: Abutilons, (flowering maples) are among the showiest shrubs you can plant in your garden. Native to South America, they also begin flowering as early as in May with colorful lantern shaped flowers, and although only a few species of Abutilon have proved to be winter hardy in our area, they often keep pumping out flowers until well past Thanksgiving. Abutilon megapotamicum, featuring lovely red and yellow lanterns is the champ when it comes to hardiness, but in order to survive outdoors, it must be planted in spring to give it time to grow a deep root system. Most other varieties may not prove as hardy, however, so if you don't want to risk losing a prized specimen, if temperatures in the low 20's are forecast, dig and pot it up and overwinter it indoors as a houseplant. A few of my many favorites besides megapotamicum include ''Jungle Persimmon', 'Red Tiger,' 'Lucky Lantern Red' and 'Thompsonii.'

Keep an eye out in your garden. There are definitely other fall blooming hummingbird favorites besides these.. Keep in mind that most of the plants I mentioned here are better off planted in spring to allow them to get well established before their first winter. Plant lots of them next spring and you'll have a smorgasbord of nectar rich blossoms to keep your hummers well fed and happy, and staying put, until the winter bloomers take over the job in early winter.

Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day. 

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