Not Phlox, Not Coral Bells: The Plant That Loves Shade And Attracts Summer Hummingbirds

Both phlox and coral bells are great choices if you're looking for popular shade plants that can attract hummingbirds to your yard. However, they're not the only choices available. Instead, you have a variety of options when starting your shady backyard haven — and that includes this easy-to-grow hosta species that attracts hummingbirds and other pollinators to your garden.

Also known as the August lily, the plantain lily (Hosta plantaginea) was previously known as a Funkia species, with various past species epithets. Now, it is regarded as a fragrant hosta that hummingbirds adore. It blooms from the summer into the fall, ensuring that you have the potential to attract more hummingbirds to your garden all season long. It's also quite the shade lover, meaning that you can use it to fill in the spots in your yard where other hummingbird-magnet flowers fail to thrive. While the flowers may be the main source of appeal if you're planting this specifically with the goal of starting a pollinator garden, you'll also find that its foliage is quite attractive, with vibrant, textured leaves that add dimension to your garden. It's overall low maintenance and holds up well to challenging conditions.

While the plantain lily is an easy plant to grow, you'll want to ensure you provide it with the right care to see those evening-blooming flowers. This means brushing up on proper care to keep this flower in bloom all season long.

One thing to keep in mind with the plantain lily is that it is slow-growing. However, it's also a perennial, which means that once it's established in the right region, it can come back year after year. Fortunately, plantain lilies tolerate a variety of conditions, and they're hardy in USDA growing zones 3 through 9. It does grow well in containers as well, however. As a result, outside of these zones, you may be able to grow it in a container and move it indoors for the winter to keep it safe from harsh weather.

As far as sunlight goes, you won't need to worry about this resilient shade-lover. Plantain lilies can grow in deep shade all the way to full sun. This gives you greater flexibility about where you can position this plant in your garden. And, since it does well around walkways and patios, you can easily curate your hummingbird haven to your liking.

Gardeners should note that there is a time commitment in growing plantain lilies if you want the best results due to trimming. These hostas grow best when the stems are cut off after blooming. Of course, this means that you can also take advantage of this plant as a source of cut flowers. Any discolored leaves should also be removed to keep the plantain lily in tip-top shape.