Keep Hummingbirds Visiting With A Fall-Blooming Flower They Love

If you want to keep hummingbirds happy in the garden this fall, then give 'Lake Como' salvia a try. It's a hummingbird favorite and late season bloomer. You might not know this, but hummingbirds need a lot of nutrients in the fall, especially since some are opting to start their migrations south later and later. Not to mention, more species of hummingbirds in the Southwest are deciding to spend the entire winter in the U.S.  So, the little guys who stay longer in your yard will need more food.

Hummingbirds famously consume a lot of calories every day, no matter the season. In the summer, these zippy birds with high-metabolisms visit thousands of flowers. In the fall, their calorie intake ticks upward since most migrating hummingbirds aim to pack on the fat, and even double their weight, before cold weather sets in. Keep in mind the importance of figuring out when to take hummingbird feeders down. Leaving them up for stragglers looking to bulk up is a good idea. 

Another smart strategy? Plant nectar-rich flowers. Nectar accounts for the vast majority of calories a hummingbird consumes. Nectar from late blooming flowers, like 'Lake Como' salvia, might make the difference in surviving winter. Hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9,  Salvia Salgoon 'Lake Como' was first bred in Europe. So hummingbirds probably weren't foremost in mind since the little birds live on this side of the pond. While a hummingbird fossil was found in Germany, no living hummingbirds currently call Europe home.

Hummingbirds find 'Lake Como' salvia, a kind of sage and member of the mint family, appealing because of its long, tubular flowers — perfect for their long, skinny beaks. Salvia in general is one of the most common flowers that will easily attract hummingbirds to your garden. It's actually better suited for the hummingbird than it is for the bee, so that means hummingbirds don't have to compete with these insects over nectar. And while it doesn't come in their favorite color, red, 'Lake Como' salvia flowers are a shade of purple, another color they seem to still feed from.

One other important reason hummingbirds love 'Lake Como' salvia is because it offers a lot of fuel with its long, upright stems stacked with nectar-rich flowers all the way through fall. After their flowers fade, you can expect the green leaves to change to gold in colder climates. To ensure you've got plenty of fall-blooming Lake Como salvia on hand for hungry hummingbirds, make sure to plant this purple flower in a sunny spot, since it needs at least six hours of sunlight a day. 

Know this compact herbaceous perennial will only grow to be about a foot and a half tall. It'll do well in either garden beds or pots,and it also happens to be drought tolerant. By planting wisely, you can count on 'Lake Como' salvia to be among hummingbird favorites this fall, just like ironweed, another fall-blooming flower that ensures hummingbirds will keep coming back to your garden.