13 Hummingbird-Favorite Plants to Sow From Seed in April

From bumblebees to butterflies, pollinators bring magic and bounty to the garden. Among them, hummingbirds may be the most enchanting of all, with their tiny, fluttering wings, glossy red throats, and beetle-green bodies. Of course, there are many species of hummingbirds, and they show off a variety of colors in their tiny feathers. 

These tiny creatures are almost too tiny and perfect to believe. If you’ve ever seen one up close, you know exactly what I mean. They can fly up to 30 miles per hour and dive at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour! Their tiny hearts beat more than 1,000 times per minute. They’re truly fascinating birds. 

These itty bitty garden helpers have selective taste when it comes to their chosen nectar plants. They prefer tubular flowers, and unlike bees, they adore the color red. You can grow many hummingbird-favorite plants from seeds, and April is a good time to get them started. 

Garden Party Blend Petunia

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Garden Party Blend Petunia Seeds

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Violet Queen Salvia

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Lambada Bee Balm

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Petunia ‘Garden Party Blend’

	botanical name Petunia x atkinsiana ‘Garden Party Blend’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 10”-15”
	hardiness zones 10-12

Petunias are easy to grow, easy to care for, and produce large, colorful, trumpet-shaped flowers that are perfect for hummingbirds’ tiny beaks to access. They are a good source of the nectar that keeps those tiny wings beating and that heart pumping. Even though they are self-cleaning, if you keep up with deadheading, they have a wonderfully long blooming period. This makes them a food source throughout the summer. 

Try a colorful blend like ‘Garden Party Blend’ for an array of floribunda-type blooms in different shades of pink and purple. They prefer plenty of light but give some shade in the afternoon, especially in warmer climates. They’re great for hanging baskets near windows where you can observe visitors up close. 

Salvia ‘Violet Queen’

	botanical name Salvia nemorosa ‘Violet Queen’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 24”
	hardiness zones 3-9

Salvia is a hummingbird favorite and the gift that keeps on giving. This hardy perennial grows in a wide range of conditions and is exceptionally resilient. It makes a great cut flower with tall spikes of tiny blossoms, and pollinators adore it. Those small flowers are tubular, which makes them attractive to our fluttering friends with their long, narrow beaks. 

‘Violet Queen’ has stunning spikes of blue-violet blossoms. This compact variety is easier to contain than some others. The aromatic foliage is an added bonus. Plant it near an outdoor living space, and you will enjoy it as much as they do. 

Bee Balm ‘Lambada’

	botanical name Monarda citriodora ‘Lambada’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 24”-36”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Bee balm is another hummingbird favorite that easily grows from seed. April is still a good time for this fast-growing perennial, especially in cooler climates. You can get started with your bee balm earlier if you prefer, as it’s frost-tolerant and sturdy.

It’s flexible about sunlight, but giving it at least 6 hours will help it to produce more flowers. It can be a bit aggressive in the ground, so plant this mint relative in containers to keep it under control. 

‘Lambada’ has excellent drought tolerance, and it grows and produces quickly. Hummingbirds will love the fanciful fuchsia flowers. The plant is edible and has a spicy, citrus-mint flavor. It’s perfect for a cottage or wildflower vibe. 

Coral Honeysuckle 

	botanical name Lonicera sempervirens
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-20’
	hardiness zones 4-10

Not all types of honeysuckle are great for planting in your garden. Some can be invasive. Coral honeysuckle is perfectly safe to add to your pollinator patch, and hummingbirds love it. I have this plant in my front and backyards, and it’s one of their favorites. Not to mention, it’s a lovely climber that looks great on a trellis. 

Coral honeysuckle has great heat and cold tolerance, with a wide range of climates where it is perennial. Here in zone 9, it’s evergreen and blooms in the winter, though it will lose some leaves in particularly cold weather. This is a great alternative to more aggressive flowering vines that can be difficult to control. 

Cardinal Climber

	botanical name Ipomoea sloteri
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6’-20’
	hardiness zones 11-12

Cardinal climber is another great flowering vine that produces beautiful trumpet-shaped red flowers. It’s fast-growing and perennial in zones 11-12, but it’s usually grown as an annual. The lovely, lacy foliage adds texture and interest to the garden. 

Related to morning glories, all parts of the plant are poisonous to people. Be careful about curious little ones. If you only plant only one thing to attract hummingbirds, this favorite plant will do the trick. 

Penstemon ‘Rocky Mountain Blue’

	botanical name Penstemon strictus ‘Rocky Mountain Blue’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 24”-36”
	hardiness zones 4-9

Penstemon is frost-tolerant, so you can start planting this perennial early, but April isn’t too late to give it a strong start. As long as your soil is still cool, it will germinate well. It’s a favorite for the pollinator garden, with tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds and long-tongued bees.

There are species of penstemon native to every part of the contiguous United States. It’s good for native wildlife and feels right at home in most environments. ‘Rocky Mountain Blue’ is a tall variety with true blue flowers on long stems that are good for cutting. 

Zinnia ‘Mazurkia’

	botanical name Zinnia elegans ‘Mazurkia’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 24”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Zinnias are the perfect pollinator annuals and are incredibly easy to grow. Their vibrant colors attract hummingbirds, especially those in shades of red, pink, and orange. They also provide an ample supply of nectar, and butterflies adore them. 

‘Mazurkia’ is a pretty pink zinnia with cream-tipped edges. The double-petaled blooms are more than just another pollinator favorite. You’ll love the way they look, too. They also make wonderful cut flowers with a long vase life. 

Hummingbird Mint

	botanical name Agastache spp.
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2’-4’
	hardiness zones 4-10

You may be familiar with anise hyssop, a type of Agastache, or hummingbird mint. This perennial genus is in the mint family and, like others of its kind, has aromatic foliage with an herbal fragrance. The common name truly says it all: It’s a favorite for our tiny feathered visitors. 

Different cultivars flower in different shades of red, pink, and purple. Of course, red is the favorite of hummingbirds. It looks great in a meadow or cottage garden setting and is easy to grow from seeds and self-sows. 

Coral Bells ‘Peachberry Ice’

	botanical name Heuchera ‘Peachberry Ice’
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 8”-10”
	hardiness zones 4-9

If you want to invite hummingbirds into the more shaded areas of the garden, coral bells is a great pollinator plant that grows well in partial to full shade depending on the cultivar. It’s clump forming, with pretty, decorative foliage in shades of green, pink, and burgundy. It has a similar appearance to rex begonia. 

‘Peachberry Ice’ has lovely apricot-colored leaves and produces small white flowers. These are attractive to hummingbirds and other pollinators. April is a great time to start these attractive perennials.

Nicotiana ‘Indian Peace Pipe’

	botanical name Nicotiana sylvestris ‘Indian Peace Pipe’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4’-6’
	hardiness zones 10-11

Nicotiana is also known as flowering tobacco. It’s perennial in zones 10-11, but most gardeners grow it as an annual. It’s a tall plant that works in partial shade, which will keep it looking nice in warmer climates. In cooler ones, full exposure is best. 

The long, pendulous, trumpet-shaped flowers are enticing to hummingbirds and wonderfully fragrant. ‘Indian Peace Pipe is a white cultivar that works well in the moon garden, with flowers that seem to glow in the moonlight and release their fragrance in the evening. 

Cuphea ‘Starfire Pink’

	botanical name Cuphea ignea x angustifolia ‘Starfire Pink’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2’-3’
	hardiness zones 8-10

This is another warm-natured plant, but you can grow it as an annual if you wait until the threat of frost has passed. It has a bushy growth habit and produces a bounty of tubular flowers over a long blooming season. The flowers are usually red and often have accents in shades of purple or white. 

‘Starfire Pink’ is compact and has reddish-pink flowers with white and violet accents. They contain plenty of nectar, and are attractive to all pollinators, but especially hummingbirds as they have the preferred, long tubular flowers. 

Catmint ‘Bramdean’

	botanical name Nepeta grandiflora ‘Bramdean’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2’-3’
	hardiness zones 5-7

It might get its name from a mammal, but catmint is even more appealing to hummingbirds. They flock to it, especially the varieties with red or pink flowers. It’s perennial in zones 5-7, but you can grow it as an annual elsewhere.

‘Bramdean’ is a purple variety of this member of the mint family. It has aromatic foliage, and is a winner of the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. Deadhead this one after flushes of blooms to keep them coming all summer. 

Phlox ‘Cherry Caramel’

	botanical name Phlox drummondii ‘Cherry Caramel’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15”-25”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Phlox is great for the pollinator patch and the cutting garden, depending on the variety. Some are creepers and others stand tall with nice, slender stems. ‘Cherry Caramel’ is mid-sized with fragrant blooms in a creamy caramel color with red centers.