Plant This Fiery Perennial Flower & Watch Hummingbirds Flock To Your Yard

We all love flowers and hummingbirds, don't we? There is just something really magical about watching glittery hummers hover all around a shrub with flowers in full bloom. That is why gardeners spend countless hours trying to encourage more hummingbirds to visit their yards. If you are one of these people, you should definitely check out the Rainbow Rhythm series of daylilies. These Hemerocallis hybrids boast impressively large blooms — some of the flowers are bigger than 6 inches in diameter — that come in a wide range of colors. The bold, bright flowers are also full of nectar, making them irresistible to hungry hummingbirds.

However, hummers are not the only visitors to Rainbow Rhythm daylilies. The flowers of the cultivars in this series have distinctive fiery red and yellow hues near their centers, as well as gently rippled petal borders that resemble a pie crust. These features attract bees and butterflies, too. They are arguably the perfect plants if you are trying to bring more pollinators into your yard and garden. Since Rainbow Rhythm daylilies are perennials, you need to be in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 9 to grow them year-round. In other places, you would either have to grow them as annuals or look for other beautiful perennials that hummingbirds love.

If your goal is to bring more hummingbirds — and other pollinators — to your yard, plant Rainbow Rhythm daylilies in groups instead of individual plants in pots and containers. Pollinators, including hummers, visit clusters of brightly colored flowers more often. Grouping flowering plants together has greater visual impact, making it easier for flying critters to find them. However, spacing is still important. Since Rainbow Rhythm daylilies grow 18 to 24 inches wide, plant them at least that far apart in your garden bed. That said, it doesn't mean you cannot grow them in containers; you absolutely can. In fact, they make great filler plants in a container arrangement.

Choose the right container — essentially, a large one — and place the plants in a spot that gets at least 4 hours of sunlight daily, though a full sun site is better. Whether you choose to grow Rainbow Rhythm daylilies in a container or garden bed, any type of soil will do, as long as it drains well. These flowering perennials are not very fussy when it comes to watering, either. They will be more than happy with regular rainfall and deeper watering during dry, hot summers. You could even automate your plant watering by installing an individual drip irrigation system. Fertilizing Rainbow Rhythm daylilies is equally simple. Apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in spring to help boost growth, although they will still tolerate poor soils. If you decide to fertilize your daylilies, carefully follow all instructions on the product label and apply it when the soil and plant are dry to avoid burning the leaves.