Even in the heart of winter, it’s possible to create a garden that continues to nurture wildlife. While most plants lie dormant and nectar is scarce, a few carefully chosen winter bloomers can provide essential food for hummingbirds, keeping your garden alive with movement and color.
For gardeners in mild climates across the South and West Coast, planting the right shrubs and perennials means these tiny, jewel-like visitors don’t have to wait until spring to return from migration. From the early-flowering manzanitas of California to vibrant cape honeysuckle in the southern states, these plants not only offer a vital cold-season nectar source to help you care for hummingbirds in winter, but also bring winter color and even fragrance to your garden.
Not all hardiness zones can support winter blooms, but for USDA zones 8–10, planting for winter hummingbirds is possible. In this guide, we’ve highlighted five of the best winter-blooming plants in warm zones that will help you create a hummingbird-friendly sanctuary. Each is hardy in its region and simple to grow, so you can enjoy hummingbirds’ iridescent presence all season long.
Best picks for you
1. Winter jasmine
(Image credit: Westend61 via Getty Images)
In milder climates, shrubs such as winter jasmine (and similar early-flowering species) can put on a display in late winter, offering some nectar when few alternatives exist to attract hummingbirds.
Many early-flowering shrubs tolerate USDA zones roughly 8–9, depending on species.
Winter jasmine, or Jasminum nudiflorum, will illuminate your garden in winter, adding a burst of yellow blooms on bare branches when all else appears muted.
Winter jasmine can serve as a nectar bridges in transitional seasons, from deep winter into early spring, especially as part of layered planting schemes to support hummingbirds.
You can help them even further in a warmer garden by teaming nectar-rich plants with a hummingbird feeder (like this red one from Amazon).
Hummingbird Feeder With Solar Light
This is a gorgeous glass alternative to a more expensive hummingbird feeder. The solar panel charges during the day, so that it lights up at night. It’s also super easy to fill and to clean.
Refill your hummingbird feeder with this hummingbird nectar. It includes a 1/4 cup scoop so you can measure the right quantity to mix with water and add to your feeder.
Birdbuddy Hummingbird Feeder
If you’re looking to invest in a hummingbird feeder camera, this is the one we would opt for. It live streams to your phone and captures amazing images and video of your backyard visitors.
2. Manzanita
(Image credit: Raven Photoscapes/Alamy Stock Photo)
Manzanita literally translates as ‘little apple’ for its tiny round fruits that develop in spring.
As a California native plant, many varieties of manzanita bloom in late winter to early spring, offering one of the earliest natural nectar sources for hummingbirds when few other plants are in flower.
Urn-shaped blossoms, typically white or pale pink, provide nectar for hummingbirds in mild Mediterranean-climate regions when other food sources are scarce.
Most manzanitas do well in zones 8–10. They are best grown in well-drained soil, and prefer a very dry and sunny spot to thrive.
3. Grevillea
Certain winter-flowering grevilleas are well suited to mild, Mediterranean- or subtropical-type climates and offer nectar in winter. Their long, brush-style blooms are attractive to nectar-feeding birds.
Grevillea generally thrives in mild-winter zones along the West Coast or other temperate coastal zones. It is a drought-tolerant, hardy plant that enjoys full sun. It’s spiked foliage brings structure and texture to a flower bed.
It is best grown with good drainage, and often under conditions similar to those preferred by manzanitas.
If you want to try growing one from scratch, you can find grevillea seeds at Amazon.
4. Cape Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle is an evergreen shrub produces tubular, trumpet-shaped orange and red flowers, often blooming from fall through winter and into spring in warm climates, making it a reliable winter nectar source for hummingbirds.
Hardy in USDA zones 9–11, cape honeysuckle thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, and once established it tolerates drought. Because of its vigorous growth habit, regular pruning is needed if used as hedge or shrub.
You can find live cape honeysuckle plants at Amazon.
5. Red Buckeye
(Image credit: Tim Gainey / Alamy Stock Photo)
Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia, is native to the south-eastern US where winters are mild. It starts flowering late winter, offering early-season nectar to returning or resident hummingbirds.
Red buckeye naturally grows in USDA zones 7–9. As a deciduous shrub, it works well in woodland or semi-shaded gardens, particularly when combined with hummingbird feeders and other nectar plants to bolster potential food sources.
Stocking up on the hummingbird feeder accessories we have selected below can also help to support these ethereal creatures in winter. Just be sure to avoid these hummingbird feeder mistakes.
This red glass hummingbird feeder makes a beautiful addition to the yard. Red is a color that attracts hummingbirds and with four feeding ports, this feeder can accommodate multiple hummingbirds at once. It has a perching ring for hummingbirds to sit on, too.
Hummingbird Feeder With Camera
This hummingbird feeder with a camera has a motion sensor to capture photo and video footage of hummingbirds feeding. There’s even an ant moat to prevent insects getting to the nectar.
Green Glass Hummingbird Feeder
This pretty green glass hummingbird feeder has a hook, so it can be hung from a bird feeding pole, tree branch, or fence post. It has six feeding ports, offering a larger capacity for hummingbirds to feed.
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