Fill Your Hanging Baskets With A Flower That Hummingbirds Love

Watching a flurry of hummingbirds drinking from a backyard feeder is an unarguable thrill. These thirsty sprites put away about half their weight in nectar every day. That adds up to a lot of sugar water, especially when summer heat may force you to change your hummingbird feeder nectar daily. A lower-maintenance feeding solution that doubles as major outdoor eye candy serves up flowers that hummingbirds can't resist. One such flower, the Eyeconic Cherry Blossom Improved Calibrachoa has all the traits of a floral hummingbird magnet and perfect basket-grown plant combined. This trumpet-shaped flower shows off white or pink on the outer petals and a lemon yellow center surrounded by fuchsia, a color that will instantly invite more hummingbirds to your garden.

Calibrachoa plants are also commonly known as million bells or mini petunias. Horticulturists have outdone themselves with the Eyeconic Cherry Blossom Improved Calibrachoa by breeding them to have extra large flowers and impressive growth. This Calibrachoa cultivar's spreading growth habit makes it the perfect "spiller" for a hanging basket. At maturity, this plant will reach heights of a bit over a 1 foot and cascade to as much as 16 inches. These tricolored blooms that mound up and tumble over the sides of a basket will reward your eyes every day while also providing months of food for hummingbirds. Eyeconic Cherry Blossom Improved Calibrachoa flowers also stay open for 10 hours a day — perfect for enticing more hummingbirds to visit the yard on long summer days.

Baskets full of these stunning cherry blossom copycats will do wonders to add beauty and nectar to your outdoor spaces. Calibrachoa grow best in containers, yet one more reason these beauties are well suited to basket life. However, like other basket-bound plants, there are special soil, sunlight, water, and nutrient considerations to help it reach its top hummingbird feeding potential. Although that may make the Eyeconic Cherry Blossom Improved Calibrachoa sound high-maintenance, it's important to note that there's no need to deadhead these flowers. They naturally shed faded blossoms.

As you're potting up your new hanging plant, start it out with potting soil that contains a few different sources of organic materials along with a dose of general purpose, balanced fertilizer. As the plant maintains its marathon of blooming, your plant will need frequent feedings; a treat of some water-soluble fertilizer every other week should keep the flowers coming.

Eyeconic Cherry Blossom Improved Calibrachoas are very sensitive to pH and need soil with a pH between 5 and 6.5 (and no higher). All types of Calibrachoa appreciate full sun, but if you live in a particularly hot area, a small amount of shade may prolong its blooming season. These plants like consistently moist soil, and since soil in baskets dries out more quickly than it would in the ground, self-watering pots could be beneficial when growing your own. If you don't have or don't want to invest in self-watering pots, check out this affordable item from Amazon that you can add to any hanging planter to help maintain moisture.