Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension professor at University of Vermont, tells how to attract hummingbirds.
If you’re fascinated by hummingbirds, as I am, you probably hang out a feeder or two in the summer to provide them with sugar water. But did you know that hummingbirds also are attracted to many flowering plants, particularly those that have brightly colored red and scarlet flowers?
Hummingbirds — or hummers, as they’re often called — have been sighted in 49 states (all but Hawaii) and 10 Canadian provinces. However, of the dozens of species, only the ruby-throated hummingbird lives and nests east of the Rocky Mountains.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds winter in southern Mexico and Central America, returning north from mid-April to early May. You can track their spring North America migration online at http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html.
To attract them to your yard or garden, you must meet their requirements for food, shelter and nesting spots.
A hummingbird consumes about half its weight in sugar each day, feeding five to eight times an hour (spending up to a minute at each feeding). In addition to sipping nectar from tubular flowers and feeders, this tiny, metallic green bird also feeds on insects, tree sap and juice from some fruits.
When selecting flower varieties, keep in mind that hummers are attracted to color and nectar production rather than fragrance. The color red and to a lesser degree pink, rose, orange, and purple — all bright colors that contrast with their backgrounds — are most seen by them.
Choose a diversity of annuals and perennials for continuous bloom. Many cultivated hybrids produce much less nectar than their wild cousins or species.
Shrub choices: Flowering quince, buddleia, and Catawba rhododendron.
Vines: Cypress vine, morning glory, scarlet runner bean, and the perennial trumpet creeper. Japanese honeysuckle vine is attractive to them, but is not recommended as it is invasive in many areas.
Early summer perennials: Bleeding hearts, iris, columbine, cardinal flower, lupine and evening primrose.
Summer annuals: Fuchsia, cigar flower (Cuphea), lantana, nasturtium, salvia (especially pineapple and scarlet sages), spider flower (Cleome), verbena, and snapdragon.
Summer perennials: Foxglove, hollyhocks (biennial), bee balm, tiger lily, penstemon, coral bells, hosta, scarlet campion (Lychnis), and phlox. Hummingbirds also like jewelweed, a wildflower commonly found in the cooler north and blooming later in summer (note that this can self sow prolifically).
Check with your local garden center or nursery for disease-resistant varieties, as it's critical that you don't use pesticides on or near the hummers' food sources. Not only can sipping nectar from plants that have been sprayed sicken or kill the birds, but it also kills the insects hummers need for protein.
Females often build nests on a downward-sloping, lichen-covered limb near or over water, though they may build in any deciduous or coniferous tree that provides adequate protection from predators such as hawks, Baltimore orioles, and other birds.
The nests, only an inch or so long, are made of plant down, bud scales, and lichens, held together with saliva or spider silk.
Newborns are about the size of a pea but grow rapidly and will start feeding on nectar in about a month.
Hummers spend nearly 80 percent of their time resting, so provide plenty of places to perch.
They love to bathe and may be attracted to a splashing fountain or even droplets of water on leaves of broad-leaved trees.
Finally, if you want to attract these delightful little birds to your yard or garden, wear red! Although there's no scientific data to support this, it seems that hummingbirds will check out anything red, even you! More on the life of this fascinating and friendly visitor to our summer gardens, including their sounds, can be found at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website http://www.allaboutbirds.org.
Blackspot of roses
A common disease of roses is blackspot, a fungus disease that can defoliate susceptible plants. Look for dark, circular lesions with feathery edges on the top surface of the leaves and raised purple spots on young canes. Infected leaves will often yellow between spots and eventually drop.
The infection usually starts on the lower leaves and works its way up the plant. Blackspot is most severe under conditions of high relative humidity (85 percent and higher), warm temperatures (75 to 85 degrees) and six or more hours of leaf wetness.
Newly expanding leaves are most vulnerable to infection. The fungus can survive on fallen leaves or canes and is disseminated primarily by splashing water.
Cultural practices are the first line of defense:
-- Don't plant susceptible roses unless you are willing to use fungicide sprays. Find a list of blackspot resistant varieties online at http://bit.ly/czkrRH.
-- Keep irrigation water off the foliage. Drip irrigation works well with roses.
-- Plant roses in sun in areas with good air movement to limit the amount of time the foliage is wet.
-- Remove diseased leaves that have fallen and prune out infected rose canes to minimize spreading the disease.
If needed, protect foliage with a regular spray program (10- to 14-day schedule) of effective fungicides. Recommended are tebuconazole (Bayer Disease Control for Roses, Flowers and Shrubs); myclobutanil (Immunox, Immunox Plus); triforine (Ortho RosePride DiseaseControl); and chlorothalonil (Broad Spectrum Fungicide, Garden Disease Control, others).
Sources: www.therealfarmacy.com, Grow Food, Not Lawns
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