Gardeners often seek to draw wildlife, and the showy blooms of shrubs like hydrangeas raise questions about their appeal to specialized pollinators. Hydrangeas are popular for their large, striking flower clusters, while hummingbirds are tiny, high-energy birds that rely heavily on specific floral food sources. Understanding this relationship requires looking closely at the structure of the plant’s flowers and the unique feeding requirements of the hummingbird.
The Direct Answer: Hydrangeas and Hummingbird Attraction
Generally, hydrangeas are not considered a primary or reliable food source for hummingbirds compared to other garden plants. The common, large, ball-shaped varieties, known as “mopheads,” offer very little to these avian visitors. Mophead blooms are largely composed of sterile florets bred for aesthetic appeal, not for nectar production.
Hummingbirds typically bypass these dense flower heads in favor of richer, more easily accessible energy sources. A hummingbird may occasionally investigate a hydrangea bloom out of curiosity or territorial patrolling. They also supplement their diet with small insects like gnats and aphids, which may be found lingering on the leaves and blossoms. Any sustained interaction with the shrub is minimal and opportunistic.
Understanding Hydrangea Flower Structure and Nectar Content
The low attraction is due to the specific anatomy of the hydrangea flower head, or inflorescence. Most popular garden hydrangeas are Hydrangea macrophylla, divided into mophead and lacecap varieties. Mophead hydrangeas feature nearly all large, sterile florets, which are showy but lack the reproductive parts needed to produce nectar.
Lacecap hydrangeas have a flatter flower head with an outer ring of large, sterile florets surrounding a center filled with many small, fertile florets. These tiny fertile flowers are the only part of the plant that produces nectar and pollen. Even in fertile flowers, the nectar concentration and floral tube depth are not optimized for the long beaks and tongues of hummingbirds. The low volume and shallow presentation of the nectar make the flowers an inefficient fuel stop.
Ideal Floral Traits That Attract Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are highly adapted to feed on flowers that prioritize efficiency and high-quality nutrition. They are powerfully drawn to flowers with a tubular or trumpet shape, which perfectly accommodates their long bills and extensible tongues. This shape also limits access for many insects, reducing competition for the resource.
Their highly developed color vision makes them particularly attracted to bright colors such as red, orange, and pink, which act as visual beacons. This strong color preference is tied to a higher sucrose content in the nectar of red flowers, a sugar hummingbirds metabolize more efficiently. Gardeners should prioritize plants like Salvia, Bee Balm (Monarda), and Coral Honeysuckle, as these reliably offer the deep, high-sucrose nectar sources that hummingbirds seek.