The Bright, Fragrant Flower You Shouldn't Plant To Attract Hummingbirds To Your Yard

One of the most cheerful pollinators to welcome to your yard is the fluttering hummingbird. These tiny feathered flyers, often displaying dazzling colors, are the types of birds you want in your garden. But if attracting more of these long-beaked visitors is a goal for your next flower bed, you may want to rethink planting roses. There are many varieties of roses in stunning shades of red — a hummingbird favorite – but their sweet-smelling blooms may not help you in your quest for more hummingbirds. In fact, despite their bright, fragrant nature, hummingbirds do not care for roses. 

The main problem when it comes to roses (and certain other flower species), is that they entice pollinators to your yard with false promises. Hungry hummingbirds arrive in your yard, drawn to red, orange, or pink hues. But the roses themselves offer no nectar for them. Instead, roses produce pollen and are pollinated by bumblebees, mining bees, and other insects.

These feisty little birds require food every 10 to 15 minutes, which means they must continually be on the lookout for their next meal. So unless your yard has something else to offer, like a hummingbird feeder, they have no reason to stay or to return.

So what should you use to attract hummingbirds to your yard instead? Your best course of action is to focus on native flower species and those with tubular shapes. The trumpet-shaped flowers of the Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) are a favorite of ruby-throated hummingbirds. The cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) also attracts them in droves. Other native plants that will attract hummingbirds while enhancing your garden's aesthetic are coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) and bold scarlet beebalm (Monarda didyma). All of these flowers feature red blooms, but with more tubular flower shapes that indicate better nectar reserves.

In addition to flowers, there are many other smart ways to draw more hummingbirds into your yard, such as providing clean water and sheltered areas. At the end of the day though, you don't need to be totally discouraged from planting roses. If you are concerned about your feathery friends leaving without a meal, set up a feeder close to your rose bushes. Even though your roses won't manage to enthrall hummingbirds, they do make aesthetically pleasing flowers for you and other human visitors to enjoy.