Irene Shonle, Director CSU Extension in Gilpin County. Would it be summer in the mountains without the trills and flashes of color and motion of hummingbirds? We are blessed with many hummingbirds all summer up here, and many of us enjoy enticing them into our lives with feeders and flowers.

If you do put up a feeder, it requires diligence to keep the feeders clean and stocked. As long as the weather stays quite cool, use 1 part white sugar (NOT honey and definitely no artificial sweeteners) to 3 parts water solution sugar concentration. As the weather warms and their caloric needs are not so great, taper to a 1:4 ratio. Be sure to never put red dye in the feeder, since it is potentially hazardous to their health. The red on the feeders is enough to attract them. Also, be sure to clean the feeders thoroughly every 2-3 days in warm weather, and bring them in at night to keep bears from getting into them. If possible, hang them outside a second story window. Keeping them consistently filled will bring the most hummingbirds; they will begin to disregard your feeders if they find them empty too often.

If  feeder maintenance is too much bother, an alternative is to plant some natural nectar.

Here are some suggested native species that are attractive to hummingbirds:

Most penstemons, but especially Penstemon barbatus and Penstemon eatonii.

Scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) – a biennial, easy to plant from seed (plant in bare sunny ground in the fall)

Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)

Columbines (Aquilegia)

Paintbrushes (Castilleja) - these are hemiparasites, and should be sown near other perennials.  Warning: they can be hard to establish. Castilleja linariifolia is probably the easiest for the mountains, do not plant the plains paintbrush (C. integra) since it won’t do well at this elevation.  Seeds of any paintbrush are hard to find commercially.

Wax currant (Ribes cereum) and Golden currant (Ribes aureum)- both are shrubs.

Bee plant (Cleome serrulata) – annual, easy to grow.

Some non-native species known to attract hummingbirds:

Maltese cross (Lychnis coronaria)

Coral bells (Heuchera splendens is hardy, most of the new colorful-leafed varieties are not)

Salvias

Catmints, particularly Siberian catmint (Nepeta siberica)

If you want to plant a container full of annuals to attract hummers, try:

Nasturtiums

Red salvias

Geraniums

Honeybells (Cerinthe)

We will have many of these perennials for sale at our Plant Sale, June 6th at 9 am at the High Country Auxiliary Flea Market at the Exhibit Barn/Extension office at 230 Norton Drive (shop for bargains afterwards, and if you have stuff to donate, please do so).

The CSU Gilpin County Extension Office is located at the Exhibit Barn, 230 Norton Drive, Black Hawk, CO 80422, 303-582-9106, www.extension.colostate.edu/gilpin. Colorado State University Extension provides unbiased, research-based information about, horticulture, natural resources, and 4-H youth development. Colorado State University Extension is dedicated to serving all people on an equal and nondiscriminatory basis.