yardener logo - click to go to home page
Yardener's Advisor Newsletter: Sign In / Subscribe


Search Yardener

  • Home
  • Find Info
    • Plant Helper
    • Plant And Pest Problem Solver
    • Toolshed of Products
    • Buy Books And Videos By Jeff Ball
    • Watch Yardening Videos By Jeff Ball
    • Nancy's Blog
    • About Us
  • Ask Nancy! (Free Q&A)
    • Ask A Question For Free!
    • View A List Of Answered Questions
  • Free Monthly Newsletter Subscription!
    • Sign Up
    • About
  • Free Videos
  • Want To Help Us?

    • 1) Join Our Team!
    • 2) Donate Via PayPal

    • 3) Share Yardener
  • Looking For Products?
    • 1) Shop At amazon.com logo

Home Page > Yardener's Plant Helper > Essential Steps For Success > Attracting Birds To The Yard > Songbirds for Decoration > Hummingbirds > Feeding Hummingbirds

Feeding Hummingbirds

 The decision to feed hummingbirds carries along the responsibility to offer them fresh, healthy food and a safe, clean feeding station.

Forget the commercial nectars or red dyes. Plain old sugar dissolved in water at a ratio of one part sugar to four parts water is best. This approximates the sweetness of flower nectar. Use only white table sugar. Honey and artificial sweeteners have been shown to be harmful to hummingbirds.

Because of the high sugar level, hummingbird nectar may sour and mold may grow in the feeder in warm weather. When preparing your sugar-water, boil the water for a few minutes, stir in the sugar and let it cool, then fill the feeder and refrigerate any excess solution. Keep your feeder clean by rinsing it out between fillings.

If you see spots of mold, scrub with a brush. If the mold persists use a 5% dilute bleach solution, then rinse thoroughly. Replace old nectar with fresh sugar water every week in spring and fall, every two to three days as it warms up, and daily if the temperature rises above 85 degrees.

 

 

Hummingbird Lunch In the Wild
Hummingbirds must eat constantly to maintain the energy to fuel their perpetual motion. They visit lots of different plants in the wild.
In the East and Prairies

Lunch in the East
Beebalm Evening primrose Morning glory Turkscap lily
Black locust Paintedcup Thistle Vervain
Cardinal flower Japanese honeysuckle Trumpetcreeper  
Coralberry Jewelweed Tuliptree  
 

In The Southwest

Southwestern Lunch
Agave Creosotebush Gooseberries Paloverde
Aloe Currants Larkspur Penstemon
Beeplant Desert-willow Manzanita Walkingstickcactus
Catmint Evening primrose Morning glory Wild tobacco
Chuparosa Figwort Ocotillo Wolfberry
Columbine Gilia Paintedcup Yucca
 

In The Pacific

Pacific Lunch
Delphinium Gentian Manzanita Thistle
Elderberry Godetia Milkweed Tree tobacco
Firechalice Jimsonweed Penstemon  
Fireweed Lousewort Tarweed  
 

  • read more:
  • Feeders For Hummers


Do you have a gardening question? Ask Nancy



Our Privacy Policy       Contact Us

©2003-2022 Yardener.com, All Rights Reserved
YARDENER is a registered service mark
copyright material is protected by copyscape.com, do not copy our content without permission