Attract Hummingbirds All Summer & Fall Long With A Hanging Flower You'll Love

Hummingbirds are a joy to have in the garden. And happily, they are attracted to many of the same flowers people tend to enjoy as well, so creating a garden that benefits both you and your bird friends doesn't have to be a challenge. The best flowers for hummingbirds tend to have a tubular shape that's perfect for them to stick their beak into to enjoy the nectar. Knowing that, it's perhaps no surprise that they're huge fans of verbenas, a genus of gorgeous flowers that come in shades of white, pink, purple, and red. 

While there are many verbenas you can add to your garden to attract hummingbirds, not all of them are quite right for hanging in baskets. For example, purple verbena (Verbena bonariensis) is very attractive to hummingbirds, but can reach heights of 6 feet, making it better for planting directly in the ground than putting in baskets. The same is true of hoary vervain (Verbana stricta), which reseeds itself and attracts hummingbirds to the garden, but also grows about 4 feet tall. Luckily, plenty of verbenas are the perfect size for hanging baskets, such as garden verbena (Verbena x hybrida), which is a trailing plant that only grows about 6 inches high. Rose verbena (Verbena canadensis) could also be a good fit for your hanging basket garden, as it only grows about 18 inches tall.

Verbena plants are easily found in garden centers and nurseries, though you can also grow many verbenas, including compact hybrid varieties, from seed. Make sure to locate your verbena hanging basket in a full sun and use a well-draining potting mix. While verbenas are often drought-tolerant, flowers in hanging baskets dry out quickly, so water them regularly. It might be tempting to squeeze as many verbenas as possible into the basket so it looks full immediately, but verbenas need good airflow to thrive, so don't crowd them. As the summer heats up, your verbena should thrive and spread to create a stunning basket for the hummingbirds to enjoy. With good care, most verbenas should flourish all the way until the first frost, providing you and the hummingbirds with blooms well into fall.

Since the color red is the best shade to attract hummingbirds to your garden space, an ideal verbena cultivar for your hanging baskets could be 'Superbena Red Verbena', which has a bold crimson color and grows only about 12 inches high and 24 inches wide. If you want to grow your verbenas from seed, then the 'Compacta Mix' could be a good option, as many of its seeds grow bright red flowers that don't grow taller than 8 inches.