Watching tiny hummingbirds enter your garden is a sight to behold.
But not every plant attracts hummingbirds and often those that do attract bees as well.
Unlike hummingbirds, which are pretty harmless to humans, bees can be a nuisance and dangerous to people. This is especially true if you have a bee or wasp venom allergy or have a family member who does.
Luckily, you can enjoy the sight of hummingbirds without attracting bees to your garden. It’s all a matter of growing the right plants in your garden. Want to learn what they are?
Before we list them let me explain why it’s possible to attract hummingbirds but not bees with the right plants.
Why Certain Plants Attract Hummingbirds but Not Bees
The main reason why hummingbirds and bees are attracted to plants is their nectar, however, there are plenty of plants that attract hummingbirds but not bees.
Why is this?
Certain characteristics make plants more attractive to hummingbirds instead of bees.
What to Look For if You Only Want to Attract Hummingbirds
Here’s what to look for if you only want to attract hummingbirds:
Trumpet-Shaped Flowers
Plants with tubular blooms are often more attractive to hummingbirds. Since hummingbirds have pointed beaks, they’re better able to access the nectar than bees.
Bees have short tongues and don’t have pointed beaks so they can’t reach the nectar in tubular flowers. They thus avoid such plants while in search of nectar.
Color
Another characteristic to watch for is color. While bees don’t perceive colors like us humans, they can see ultraviolet light. As a result, bees can’t see red very well and are more likely to be attracted to blue, purple, and violet flowers.
In contrast, hummingbirds are attracted to red, orange, hot pink, and purple flowers. This means that if you want to attract hummingbirds, you should choose plants that have these hues.
To make the process easier, we list plants in the next section that are great for attracting hummingbirds to your garden without luring in bees.
List of Plants That Attract Hummingbirds But Not Bees
1. Pineapple Sage
Used as an herb as well as an ornamental plant, the pineapple sage is a perennial shrub. It produces opposite, ovate leaves that grow 2 to 4 inches long.
What’s interesting about this shrub is its tubular scarlet-red flowers that bloom late in the summer and fall. They attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
The plant emits a pineapple-like scent when its leaves are crushed, which is also the reason behind its name. So, if you love the scent of pineapples, this is a win-win for you.
How to Plant Pineapple Sage
Pineapple sage is best planted during spring in sandy, well-drained soil with a pH level between 6.0 and 8.0. Plant it in a spot where it can receive lots of sunlight.
The only thing this plant can’t take is cold temperature.
2. Red Salvia
An herbaceous perennial, the red salvia is another stunner with tubular-shaped red blooms. The flowers bloom from summer to fall and are a favorite of hummingbirds for their generous nectar. Planting it in your garden will attract migrating hummingbirds and butterflies.
How to Plant Red Salvia
Plant this in your garden bed or containers in mid-spring. Salvia grows best in moist/loamy but well-drained soil. Leave it in a spot that receives 6 to 8 hours of bright sunlight every day.
3. Dyckia
Often confused as a succulent, the Dyckia is a terrestrial bromeliad that blooms in spring. It belongs to a popular variety of rainbow-colored plants that can be found across deserts from Texas to Brazil.
The Dyckia features spines on the leaf margins and has a cactus-like appearance. While these don’t fit the characteristics we mentioned above for attracting hummingbirds, their flowers and foliage paint a different story.
Related Article: Best Gloves For Handling Cactus
Dyckias grow tall flower spikes in red, orange, and yellow. Its colorful foliage comes in red, green, yellow, purple, silver, and bronze. The flowers and foliage are the main reasons why hummingbirds are attracted to these desert-loving plants.
How to Plant Dyckia
Its ability to live in desert conditions makes the Dyckia a tough variety that’s easy to grow in containers with little maintenance. However, they cannot tolerate cold temperatures.
Dyckias grow best in summer and spring. They need full exposure to sunlight while the soil needs to be well-drained.
Wrapping Up
These are only three options if you want to grow plants that attract hummingbirds but not bees. There are many more, just pick a plant with red trumpet-shaped blooms.
If you don’t want to bother with plants at all a hummingbird feeder is a great option!
Knowing what attracts hummingbirds and not bees as well as the characteristics to look for will allow you to grow the right plants in your garden. Before long, you’ll have colorful foliage that’s popular among hummingbirds.