The Hanging Basket Flower That Attracts Hummingbirds All Summer And Fall Long

There are many different types of flowers that attract hummingbirds, but one kind of plant has a particularly long bloom time, helping you to keep these birds around a while longer. Verbena flowers (Verbena spp.) come in tons of varieties, and all of them are attractive to hummingbirds. Many species of verbena will produce gorgeous, vibrant flowers for longer than other plants, blooming from spring until the end of fall. Besides hummingbirds, verbena flowers are beloved by other pollinators as well, including bees and butterflies.

For those that want to start a hummingbird garden and support local pollinators, verbenas are a beautiful choice to hang outside. The color and shape of these flowers are part of what make them so attractive to hummingbirds: They produce blooms of pink, red, purple, and blue shades, and hummingbirds are known to seek out the colors red and pink in particular. Verbena flowers also have a tube-like shape that hummingbirds love. Verbena varieties range in size, and some types grow up to a few feet tall. To keep these flowers in hanging baskets, look for trailing, moss, and upright verbena types to ensure they'll grow nicely in the container.

Verbenas are some of the best heat-tolerant flowers for gorgeous hanging baskets, and this is one reason these plants are able to bloom until fall. Many types of verbena thrive in the summer heat instead of withering like some other flowers, helping them to last through the hottest season. To ensure that your verbena flowers stick around as long as possible and keep bringing hummingbirds to your yard, deadhead spent flowers as needed. Simply trim or pull off flowers that have started to die to keep the plant blooming rather than going to seed. The hardiness of these plants will vary somewhat depending on the variety, but perennial types are generally hardy to USDA zones 4 to 11.

To care for verbenas in hanging baskets, make sure they're suspended in a spot that gets full, direct sunlight for at least six hours a day. This will help your plants to flower well and produce gorgeous blooms. It's also crucial that the potting mix or soil you're using in the basket is well draining, as these flowers don't like to stay too wet. When watering flowers in hanging baskets that have good drainage in the summer, you may need to give your plants a drink more often than you think. Check the soil to see if it's drying out to know when to water your verbena flowers.