The winner: Blue Salvia, 96/100. Tied for second at 92: Daylily, Mexican Sunflower, Scarlet Sage, Verbena.
Hummingbirds do not read plant tags; they follow nectar and the calendar. Every species here has documented hummingbird visits, and the ranking pays most for a nectar season that runs long, keeps producing through heat, and is still open in September when migrants head south.
The picks
The flowers that won
The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
4 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
Nectar season length35 pointseight or more months 35; six to seven 31; four to five 27; three 17; two 9; one 4; no bloom data 9 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Keeps nectar coming through summer heat25 pointsdocumented for both drought and heat 25; drought only 19; heat only 12; neither 5; no data 9 Read from: stress tolerances.
Care while it grows20 pointslow upkeep 20; middling 11; demanding 3; sources disagree, we average the range; no rating 9 Read from: how much upkeep extension guides report.
Feeds the fall migration20 pointsstill blooming in September when migrants head south 20; done earlier 0 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Not ranked here: not documented as a hummingbird plant.
The full method ↗
The leaderboard
The top ten
The 10 highest of 39 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
Care while it grows12 / 20low, high (mean of range)
Feeds the fall migration20 / 206, 7, 8, 9, 10
Considered, not chosen
Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this question is not theirs.
not documented as a hummingbird plantRoses, Tulips, Peonies and 43 more
The winner's badge
Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Blue Salvia
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit the question is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
shown. When the table changes, every score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
