Hummingbird Plants for Central Texas
Small Trees / Large Shrubs
- Coral Bean (Erythrina Herbacea)
- Mexican Buckeye {Ungnadia speciosa) - early spring bloomer
- Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) - bright red flowers
- Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) - airy foliage
Shrubs
- Yellow Bells, Esperanza (Tecoma stans) - ashy yellow blooms
- Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii) - orange blooms
- Mountain Sage (Salvia regla)- from west Texas, red to orange fall bloomer
- Native Lantana (L. horrida, L. urticoides) - birds like the fruits too. This is the original lantana, not a cultivar; very drought tolerant
- Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) - good for desert gardens
- Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) - coral spike
- Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala) - reseeds freely; blooms pink
- White Honeysuckle (Lonicera albiflora var. albiflora) - small shrub for full sun to dappled shade
- Texas Sage, Cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens) - good as a cover and nesting shrub
- Turk’s Cap (Malaviscus arboreus var. Drummondii) - might bloom all year in mild winters, great for attracting large butterflies too
- Prickly Pear (Opuntia spp.)
- Claret Cup Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus) - grows west of here, colonizes
- Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) - deciduous, good for moist areas
Perennials
- Salvias - Most native salvias will attract hummingbirds. This is not a comprehensive list
- Cherry Sage (Salvia Greggii)- cut back in mid-summer
- Lyre-Leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)- seeds out prolifically, blooms early; blue flowers are not showy
- Cedar Sage (Salvia Roemeriana)- good for shade; red blooms
- Big Red Sage (Salvia penstemonoides) - good for deeper soils, burgundy blooms
- Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea) - reseeds freely; good groundcover in shade; red blooms
- Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea) - blue
- Columbine, Red (Aguilegia canadensis) not as eye-catching as the yellow columbine, but good for woodsy areas
- Columbine, Yellow (Aquilegia hinckleyana)
- Texas Star Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) - native to southeast U.S.
- Heart-leaf hibisicus (Hibiscus cardiophyllus) - to three feet, shrubby; red flowers
- Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) - likes feet in water; red
- Four-o’clocks (Mirabilis linearis) - this is the native
- Fall Obedient Plant (Physostegia spp.) - colonizes and likes moisture so situate where it gets extra water, for example next to gutter runoff
- American Germander (Teucrium canadense) - colonizes and likes moist soils
- Texas Betony (Stachys coccinea) - coral to red; native west of here
- Penstemons - it is probable that hummingbirds use all of the penstemons
- Havard Penstemon (Penstemon havardii) from Trans-Pecos Scarlet or Hill Country Penstemon (Penstemon triflorus)
- Cut-Leaf or Rock Penstemon (Penstemon baccharifolius)
- Drummond Phlox (Phlox drummondii)
- Prairie Phlox (Phlox pilosa)
- Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra)
