Turn your garden into hummingbird waystation

Beginning in August and September, you may have noticed a lot of hummingbirds in your garden. Shorter days and the lower angle of the sun trigger hummingbirds to begin their southward fall migration, and all along the way they need nectar and insects to fuel their journey.

Before they migrate, hormonal changes triggered by declining daylight hours cause the hummingbirds to eat more. Their weight also increases before migration by 25 to 40 percent.

Even so, hummingbirds have a high metabolic rate and must eat continuously as they migrate. New research has shown their routes vary from year to year, possibly based on food availability.

Hummingbirds are some of nature's most entertaining and interesting birds. Participating in blooming “nectar highways” by including hummingbird-friendly plants in our gardens gives no end of pleasure. Fall is the best time for planting in California and many area nurseries still have a good selection of plants.

The Annas's hummingbird lives in our area year-round, and is the most common. Including long-blooming and winter blooming plants will help its chances for survival. Fall migration for other hummingbird species can begin as early as July, and goes through August, September and into early October.

Hummingbirds migrate individually, not in flocks. Males migrate first, probably to set up territories. The younger hummingbirds migrate later than mature birds, as they have to build up size and fat reserves. Other hummingbird species that nest in or travel through California are the Allen's, Rufous, Calliope and Black-chinned. They overwinter in Mexico and Central America.

The spring northward migration begins as early as January, and usually takes 2-3 months, with birds like the Rufous, arriving in northernmost locations in May. The Rufous breeds as far north as Alaska.

Hummingbirds can beneficially be fed by putting out (and cleaning often) feeders, but having a variety of plants in your garden to support them is the best way to support them. Many flowering plants also attract small insects, an important source of protein for hummingbirds.

There are a number of long-blooming plants in our area that make great garden subjects.

Fuchsias bloom almost year-round in the more frost-free areas, or when protected by the eaves of a house in colder areas. Some of the larger varieties can be trained against a house to create a floriferous fuchsia wall.

A beautiful example of this can be seen at the Russian River Roses Nursery in Healdsburg. They also often have plants for sale. Avoid those varieties with double flowers and chose those with simpler flowers instead. Fuchsias are really beautiful in fall when many other plants are fading. Most fuchsias require almost no maintenance at any time of year. They do best with afternoon shade.

Cigar plants (Cuphea) are another group of plants that bloom almost year-round and are almost no maintenance. Some varieties are sensitive to freezing, so in colder areas, wait until spring to plant them. Some good varieties are Cuphea ignea and Cuphea ‘Vermillionaire.' Both grow to between 2-3 feet tall and wide and have crimson blooms for months, but with heaviest bloom in the fall. Another good variety is called Cuphea x ‘Kirsten's. It is excellent for coastal areas and also attracts bees in great numbers. The blooms are pink/magenta.

Flowering maple (Abutilon) is another very long blooming shrub. It grows very well in all but the coldest areas of our region. The flowers are showy, large, bell-shaped, and drooping. It can get leggy, so plan on pruning it each spring. Blooming on new wood, a seasonal pruning is beneficial.

There are many beautiful flower colors, from pink to soft orange and red. It comes in dwarf forms as well. A series called ‘Lucky Lanterns' is fairly easy to find. In warmer areas protect it from the hot afternoon sun.

Grevilleas are shrubs from Australia that hummingbirds avidly visit. There are many varieties and it is best to chose those that will thrive in your area as they are frost sensitive, and others become large and dense over time and are very flammable.

An easy to site and grow grevillea is Grevillea lavandulacea ‘Penola.' It is hardy to 20 degrees and has bright gray, dense, wooly foliage much like lavender. It grows eventually to 2-3 feet tall and about 6 feet wide. It has a dense arching shape that is excellent spilling over a rock wall or down a bank. The morning or afternoon sun highlighting the late winter blooms is spectacular.

A fall-blooming, evergreen shrub from the Mediterranean region is the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). It's like a masculine version of our larger manzanitas with coarse peeling bark, and leathery, deep green leaves. The flowers are clustered and white very like Manzanita flowers. They bloom for months in the fall, and at the same time have round, showy fruit that birds love to eat - and which does not stain. Both bumblebee queens and hummingbirds frequent the flowers.

Salvias are stars of the fall garden and many are highly visited by hummingbirds. A number also bloom in spring and summer. The following are a small selection of some of the longest blooming, easy to grow choices: The deep blue, upright Salvia ‘Mystic Spires' and Salvia farinacea are a couple of the easiest to place in a garden. Some other favorites are Salvia microphylla x Salvia greggii crosses such as the ‘Heatwave' series, Salvia ‘Furman's Red' and Salvia ‘San Carlos Festival,' but there are many more with red flowers, purple or blue. These selections combine beautifully with California fuchsia.

California fuchsias (Epilobium). are showy native perennials with brilliant crimson flowers in late summer and fall and are very attractive to hummingbirds. All are groundcovers, drought resistant and deer resistant. Cut them back in winter.

The profuse flowers are held above gray, often fuzzy foliage and form a striking picture. Some good varieties are E. ‘Schiefflins Choice,' E. ‘Everett's Choice,' E. ‘John Bixby' and E. ‘Select Mattole.' Taller varieties are E. ‘Catalina' and E. ‘Marin Pink.' They make a great groundcover, or are wonderful spilling over a wall or bank.

For the spring, Manzanitas are some of our earliest blooming native shrubs and the flowers are very important for hummingbirds spring migration and an early food source for overwintering hummingbirds. There are many varieties of manzanitas.

The shrubs come in ground cover form, to about 12 feet tall. They are extremely drought tolerant and low maintenance as well as strikingly beautiful and should be used more often. Some good varieties are Manzanita densiflora ‘Howard McMinn' (3-5 feet tall), A. ‘John Dourley' (3-4 feet tall), A. ‘Lutsko's Pink' (4-7 feet tall) and A. ‘White Lanterns' (3-4 feet tall). There many more. Now is the time to plant them.

Some good native spring-blooming perennials to plant now are: Hummingbird mints (agastache), columbine, coralbells, bleeding hearts (Dicentra), monkeyflowers (Mimulus), monarda, monardella, penstemon and salvia.

Kate Frey's column appears every other week in Sonoma Home. Contact Kate at: katebfrey@gmail.com, freygardens.com, Twitter @katebfrey, Instagram @americangardenschool