The Climbing Mandevilla Variety With Stunning Red Flowers That Hummingbirds Can't Resist

Everyone loves watching hummingbirds at a bird feeder, but it feels even more satisfying to see them foraging from a plant you've lovingly grown and cared for. When you're looking for tropical plants to add to your yard to attract pollinators, know that mandevillas will keep hummingbirds coming back to your yard with their bright flowers. 'Red Velvet' mandevilla is a fast-growing hybrid that has eye-catching blooms and will help you quickly establish a self-serve buffet for visiting hummers.

'Red Velvet' is a mandevilla hybrid with trumpet-shaped pink or red flowers that have red throats. Its blooms grow on twining, evergreen vines with glossy leaves, and keep producing throughout the summer season. This is one of the climbing plants that'll effortlessly blanket your yard with color since it can grow up to 10 feet in one season. In addition to hummingbirds, their bright blooms also attract other types of pollinators like butterflies, hawkmoths, and bees.

Tubular blooms are well-known hummingbird favorites, but funnel-shaped flowers such as those of 'Red Velvet' mandevilla take a close second. Fans of these tiny birds can attract them by growing this plant year round in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and 11; otherwise, enjoy it as an annual or overwinter it indoors. Place the vines in a location that is 10 to 15 feet away from a tree for the safety of these pollinating birds, in full sun to part shade.

When grown as a perennial 'Red Velvet' mandevilla will bear one of the prettiest flowers in the world on vines that can reach 20 feet long, so it will make the ideal climbing plant to grow vertically on a trellis, arch, or pergola. If you don't have room for that type of feature in your hummingbird-friendly garden, you can also grow one in a hanging basket and let the flowering vines trail down. The rim of the basket can serve as a perch, which is another feature that will attract everyone's favorite pollinating bird.