Butterfly and Hummingbird plants

[MissS]

Cuphea llavea or Bat-faced cuphea or Tiny mice. It is amazing in window boxes and hanging baskets. Not too good for the birds if planted in ground in a bed. In planters and boxes it gets tons of use.

[SpookyShoe]

Thanks, S. I've had it for about a month and when I bought it the tag said merely "cigar plant," nothing else. The cuteness factor is off the charts.

[MissS]

Spooky, that one has a fun story. Years ago I bought a bat plant aka bat faced cuphea for my young daughter as a means to get her interested in gardening. I put it out on our balcony in front of the glass door. One day I saw a hummingbird come and start feeding from it. I was so glad. I had been hummerless since I moved into that apartment. I started stocking the balcony with other hummer plants, but they still preferred the bat faced cuphea. I would move it and they would literally follow me until I put it down for them to use. I had a friend over one evening and we were out having a glass of wine and moving the plant around and watching the bird. Since then, I have never had a year without that plant.

[SpookyShoe]

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Agastache Mango Tango (hummingbird mint, hyssop) and Cuphea Honeybells (a trailing cuphea) in a grow bag.

The hummingbird mint is very fragrant. I put the plants in a grow bag to replace some pooped out annuals. I'm trying to train the Honeybells to grow over the front of the grow bag.

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[PlainJane]

Wonderful combo, Donna.

[SpookyShoe]

MissS I saw your Blue Suede Shoes salvia today. Pretty bloomstalks.

[karstopography]

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I have a few Mimosa trees in bloom around. Definitely hummingbird magnets.

[MissS]

I picked up Honeybells today. I don't think that it is the same plant that you have at all. The blossoms are tiny on mine. Perhaps only 1/4 of an inch long. I will try to get a pick of it in the morning. I have never seen such tiny blossoms on a cuphea.

Yours is beautiful and it looks like the blooms are about an inch long. The same size as the Agastache.

The Blue Suede Shoes arrived but is not blooming yet. I am looking forward to seeing it.

[SpookyShoe]

I have another HB in a hanging basket. The flowers on it are long too.

[MissS]

Here is my Honeybells. I have it in a hanging basket with trailing verbena. I put a Vermillionaire next to it for reference.

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[MissS]

I picked up some new salvia. Salvia 'Roman Red' which I love. It's a cherry red so not too harsh to work with. It grows to be the same size and Black and Blue which is 36-48". I also found Purple and Bloom.

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[PlainJane]

[mention]MissS[/mention] that’s intense!

[SpookyShoe]

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Gulf Fritillary on a passion vine that I am trying to train to grow up a trellis.

[MissS]

Oooooo. How beautiful is that. What a great capture.

[Growing Coastal]

Wonderful butterfly!

I found some honeybells at a nursery today but got no tag. How large does it grow?

[MissS]

Wonderful butterfly!

I found some honeybells at a nursery today but got no tag. How large does it grow?

My tag says it grows 10-12 inches high with a 14-20 inch spread.

What size are the blossoms on the plants that you saw? I fear that the blossoms on mine are far too small for a bird to use.

[SpookyShoe]

On my Honeybells (both plants) the mature blossoms are 3/4 inch long. Yes, I measured them with a ruler. Maybe a hair longer than 3/4 inch.

[Growing Coastal]

Wonderful butterfly!

I found some honeybells at a nursery today but got no tag. How large does it grow?

My tag says it grows 10-12 inches high with a 14-20 inch spread.

What size are the blossoms on the plants that you saw? I fear that the blossoms on mine are far too small for a bird to use.

Thanks. Hanging basket size. Not sure on mature flower size.
I don't think small flowers are a problem for hummingbirds. Here, they like the tiny flowers of the huchera, Mexican heather and basket stuffing lobelia, too. They used to love a cigar plant with very small orange flowers I can't find anymore. I have no doubt that these will be used.

[MissS]

Wonderful butterfly!

I found some honeybells at a nursery today but got no tag. How large does it grow?

My tag says it grows 10-12 inches high with a 14-20 inch spread.

What size are the blossoms on the plants that you saw? I fear that the blossoms on mine are far too small for a bird to use.

Thanks. Hanging basket size. Not sure on mature flower size.
I don't think small flowers are a problem for hummingbirds. Here, they like the tiny flowers of the huchera, Mexican heather and basket stuffing lobelia, too. They used to love a cigar plant with very small orange flowers I can't find anymore. I have no doubt that these will be used.

You have several species of hummingbirds so flower sized does not matter so much where you are. Here all we have is the Ruby-throated and they can not use very tiny flowers. Cuphea ignea often gets passed by because of her size. Coral bells and lobelia do get used but their openings to the flower are much larger than these so they have easier access to the nectar.

We shall see if they get used or not. So far nobody has even bothered to take a look at these.

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[Growing Coastal]

Oh! Too sad.