September is a great month for adding native perennials to flower beds, borders, and containers to benefit local wildlife. As hummingbirds need food sources during their spring and fall migration, gardeners can plant perennials to help them during these crucial times of year.
The post-summer temperatures and moist soil make September an ideal month for planting perennials to attract hummingbirds. They have time to establish roots before winter, before going dormant and then bursting into life again come spring. Adding perennials with nectar-rich blooms increases your chances of seeing hummingbirds eagerly going from plant to plant as they stock up for their long journey.
Filling a garden with blooms is always helpful during the migration, and here we reveal some of the best perennials to plant in September to support these fascinating birds. Other useful ways to attract hummingbirds and help them during this period include adding hummingbird feeders and having a shallow water source to keep them hydrated. This Birdfy hummingbird feeder at Walmart has a 1080p camera and AI identification capabilities, so you can enjoy knowing exactly which species have visited your garden.
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1. Cardinal Flower
(Image credit: John Van Decker / Alamy Stock Photo)
The cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) has evolved to become one of the best flowers that attract hummingbirds. Its spikes of red tubular flowers are perfectly colored to get the attention of hummingbirds during migration, and the long-necked flowers are rich in nectar to nourish them for their travels.
The perennial has an important relationship with the feathered friends and relies primarily on hummingbirds for pollination. The male part of the flower brushes the top of the hummingbird’s head as it feeds, which helps transfer the pollen from one flower to another.
If you want to grow cardinal flowers, the perennial is suitable for US hardiness zones 3-9. They are great part-shade perennials and can tolerate shadier spots in the garden better than many other similar hummingbird-friendly plants. The perennial also likes moist soil, and mulching around plants annually helps retain moisture and also boosts soil fertility.
You can get a live Cardinal Flower at Nature Hills.
2. Bee Balm
(Image credit: Getty Images/Robyn Wilson Photography)
Bee balm is another plant whose flower is the perfect shape for hummingbirds. The flowers may look unorthodox – like a spiky mass of petals – but the tubular shape of the blooms matches a hummingbird’s long beak and tongue. As hummingbirds can reach deeper than other insects for the nectar, they can feast where others struggle to reach.
There are different monarda varieties that come in different colors. But the scarlet bee balm ranks among the best, with its bright red flowers to attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. If you want a thriving wildlife garden, red is the primary color that attracts hummingbirds. You can get a pack of three live scarlet bee balm plants at Amazon.
Grow bee balm in a sunny spot with fertile soil – too much shade will affect the flowering. It is advisable to enrich the ground by adding compost or well-rotted manure before planting and keep the soil moist for the first year to get it established.
You can grow bee balm from seeds (get scarlet bee balm seeds at Amazon). You can sow the seeds outdoors in the fall to give them a period of natural cold stratification, which is essential for germination.
3. Goldenrod
(Image credit: Ali Majdfar via Getty Images)
Goldenrod, also known as Solidago, is a fall-blooming native plant and a potential food source for the fall hummingbird migration. It is primarily a plant for fall pollinators like butterflies and bees, but hummingbirds are known to visit the bright yellow clusters of nectar-rich flowers when they are looking for a meal.
It is a tall plant for structure at the back of flower beds, providing a breezy backdrop to other showy perennials, or it can be grown in container gardens. Goldenrod is suitable for US hardiness zones 3-9 and is a versatile perennial that is capable of thriving in many soil types, including poorer soils. Ideally, it will grow in free-draining soil in a sunny spot.
You can get a live Fireworks Goldenrod at Nature Hills that reaches four feet tall with bright yellow flowers towards the end of the season.
If you’ve heard stories about goldenrod causing seasonal allergies, don’t fret. The reality is that ragweed, which looks similar and blooms at the same time, is responsible for this, not goldenrod.
4. Asters
(Image credit: Future)
There are more than a hundred native aster varieties that gardeners can choose from across the US. If you grow asters, the daisy-like flowers are guaranteed to be swarmed with pollinators in the fall as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds hunt for late-season nectar.
Any gardener wanting to add asters for color through fall should first look at their own native options, whether it is a New England aster, a New York aster, a California aster, or any of the other wide range out there. There are many different colors to choose from and the perennials can reach anywhere up to six feet tall, depending on the variety.
Asters are fabulous additions for extending the season. They need well-draining soil to prevent root rot, and lots of sunlight. Too much shade will affect flowering, as the stems get weak as they desperately stretch towards any light.
Keep deadheading throughout the season for more flowers, but don’t cut back asters in the fall; leave them until spring as they provide shelter for insects over winter.
You can get a live New England Aster at Plant Addicts to plant this month.
5. Blazing Star
Liatris, known as blazing star or gayfeather, is an elegant plant for pollinators in late summer and fall. The exotic-looking perennial produces tall, fuzzy flower spikes that rise out of grass-like foliage. These spikes, which can be purple, pink, or white, are made up of small star-like blooms that open from the top down over the course of a few weeks.
Blazing star is known for attracting wildlife in droves thanks to its bountiful nectar. It is a magnet for butterflies later in the season, including swallowtails and Monarchs, but also provides a pollinator pit stop for hummingbirds looking for food.
It is a native prairie plant, so it needs a sunny position to perform at its best. Blazing star is a very low-maintenance perennial once established and only needs light watering during hot summers, making it ideal for a drought-tolerant pollinator garden.
Gardeners can plant blazing star corms in the fall in temperate climates with milder winters. Plant them somewhere with lots of sun and well-drained soil to prevent rot.
Get Liatris Spicata Alba corms at Dutch Grown to grow white-flowering blazing star
Get Liatris Spicata corms at Dutch Grown to grow purple-flowering blazing star
6. Beardtongue
(Image credit: Getty Images/Jedlovec)
Penstemon, or beardtongue, is a reliable perennial for late summer flowers and beyond. The flower spikes have deep tubular blooms that flare at the tip and, like others on the list, are perfectly shaped for a hummingbird’s long beak.
The plants come in a range of colors. However, to get the attention of hummingbirds, look for a red variety, like this ‘Red Riding Hood’ penstemon at Burpee, which produces a mass of bright red flowers.
Beardtongues are low-maintenance perennials that need sun and free-draining soil. Once established, they need little watering, except during long periods of drought. The main task to remember is to deadhead penstemon blooms to keep new flowers coming.
September is a good time to plant beardtongue. They are hardy in zones 5-8 but will benefit from a sheltered position in the yard, especially if you get cold winter winds. Remember to water the plants deeply if you have warm periods in late fall.
7. Hummingbird Mint
Agastache, commonly known as hummingbird mint, gets its name from its popularity with hummingbirds (you may have guessed it). If you grow hummingbird mint in your borders – yes, you can grow hummingbird mint in pots too – it’ll be a magnet for bees and butterflies as well.
The plant has tubular flowers on tall, slender stalks. The blooms come off the stalks at all angles, creating a 360-degree buffet for hummingbirds when the plants bloom late in the season.
You can pick from native varieties in a variety of colors, with Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) arguably the most popular. It produces lavender-blue flower spikes and aromatic leaves with a licorice fragrance. You can get a live ‘Blue Fortune’ Anise hyssop at Plant Addicts, suited to zones 5-8 and for planting into a sunny spot in the garden.
It is possible to grow hummingbird mint from seed in the fall. Direct sow seeds into beds and cover them with a thin layer of soil. Then lightly water them (use a watering can with a rose to avoid displacing seeds), keep the soil moist during dry spells, label them, and wait for the seeds to germinate in the spring. You can get Anise hyssop seeds on Amazon.
All of these perennials to plant in September are suitable for creating a hummingbird border that becomes a haven for wildlife. To develop a bustling border full of birds and pollinators, mix up the heights, colors, and shapes of plants and blooms, and add some water.
Hummingbirds are small birds that need very shallow bird baths. Alternatively, you can add floating objects (like these floating islands at Walmart) to an existing bird bath so hummingbirds can land safely to have a drink and cool off.
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