The Heat-Tolerant Garden Flower Duo That Hummingbirds Are Known To Love

Is there anything cheerier than a colorful flower garden buzzing with glittering hummingbirds? A rainbow of 15 different hummingbird species are known to inhabit North America, and nine more are known to regularly wander through from other places. That's a lot of potential visitors that you might tempt with the right combination of flora!

Flowers and hummingbirds share a fascinating relationship in which they've co-evolved to need one another: hummingbirds are specialty nectar feeders, and many flowering plants rely on hummingbirds to pollinate them. When selecting flowers to draw in hummingbirds, it's important to keep in mind that color is key — hummingbirds don't have a great sense of smell, so they rely on their vision to tell them which flowers will deliver the nectar they seek. With some exceptions, these tiny birds are most drawn to tubular flowering plants in shades of red, orange, and pink.

One pairing of colorful flowering plants that might make your garden both a visual feast and a hummer paradise is lantana (Lantana camara) and blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora). Between lantana's clusters of vibrant, tubular blooms ranging from pink to yellow and blanket flower's brilliant orange-red blazes of tall, daisy-like flowers, this dynamic duo might just advertise an all-you-can-eat buffet to passing hummingbirds. Best of all, they're both known for being heat-tolerant flowers that can stand up to summery weather conditions.

There are a few reasons why these two can make a great hummingbird garden team: lantana plants are considered hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 through 11 and blanket flowers in zones 3 through 10, and both are full-sun plants that prefer moist, loamy, well-drained soil but can tolerate some drought as well as heat and humidity. Their similar care needs can make them congenial neighbors as long as they're given enough room — unless kept in containers, blanket flower tends to spread about 2 feet, while lantana can spread up to 5 or 6 feet, depending on the cultivar.

Both are rapid growers that bloom in the summer, since they love warm weather and climates. As long as you keep up with deadheading, blanket flower should keep blooming and draw hummingbirds throughout the season — and even when it's finished blooming and gone to seed, consider leaving some seed heads out for goldfinches! Lantana, a known hummingbird attractor, has a slightly longer blooming season and may flower until the first frosts. 

One major caveat with lantana: because it is spread easily by birds who enjoy eating its berries once it fruits, it is considered invasive in certain places where killing frosts aren't common. However, several available varieties, such as 'Gold Mound' and 'Miss Huff,' are sterile and can reduce or eliminate the risk of unwanted spreading. If you're in an area where lantana is at risk of becoming invasive — particularly warmer climes such as you might find in Florida and Texas — make sure to do research before planting!