The Power of Blue: Three Blue Flowered Plants Alluring to Hummingbirds

New World native perennial Aquilegia caerulea is known commonly as blue columbine or Colorado blue columbine.

Adopted as the official state flower of Colorado on April 4, 1899, Aquilegia caerulea is native to the western United States:

• the eight states of the West Geographic Region's Mountain State Division: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming;
• one state in the Midwest Region's West North Central Division: South Dakota.

Blue columbine accepts sites of full or partial sunniness.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies blue columbine as hardy to:

• Zone 3 (minimum winter temperatures: -40° to -30° Fahrenheit; -40° to -34° Celsius) through
• Zone 9 (20° to 30° F.; -7° to -1° C.).

Blue columbine attains a maximum height of 8 to 24 inches (20 - 60 centimeters) and a maximum spread of 8 to 16 inches (20 - 40 centimeters).

Floral coloration comprises pale blue, pink, white, and pale yellow. Oftentimes blue columbine evinces bi-coloration, with petals and sepals presenting different colors.

Aquilegia caerulea was honored with The Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993.

Hibiscus syriacus is known commonly as blue hibiscus. In the United States, its popular common name is Rose of Sharon. In the United Kingdom, Hibiscus syriacus is known also as rose mallow, in recognition of its membership in the mallow family, Malvaceae.

An Old World native with homelands in eastern Asia, Hibiscus syriacus has been introduced outside its native range as an ornamental and as hedging.

• Hibiscus syriacus is the national flower of South Korea, where it is known as mugunghwa (mugung, "eternity, inexhaustible abundance").
• In the United States, rose of Sharon is deemed to be an invasive in four states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

As a deciduous shrub, Hibiscus syriacus enjoys full sun and frost hardiness. The U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies rose of Sharon as hardy for Zone 5 (-20° to -10° F.; -29° to -23° C.) through Zone 9 (20° to 30° F.; -7° to -1° C.).

Rose of Sharon's height maximizes at 8 to 20 feet (2.4 - 6 meters). The multi-stemmed, densely branched shrub spreads to a maximum of 6 to 10 feet (1.8 - 3 meters).

Ovate (Latin: ovum "egg") green leaves contrast with showy, 5-petaled flowers in a color spectrum from white to bluish lavender or reddish purple.

'Blue Bird' ('Oiseau Bleu'), a particularly striking cultivar, especially attracts hummingbirds by way ot its gentian blue flowers with lilac-purple centers.

In addition to bestowing its prestigious Award of Garden Merit upon Hibiscus syriacus 'Oiseau Bleu' (also known as H. syriacus 'Blue Bird') in 1993, the Royal Horticultural Society also has recognized nine other cultivars of Hibiscus syriacus:

• [Blue Chiffon] = 'Notwood3' in 2012,
• 'Diana' in 2003,
• 'Hamabo' in 1993,
• [Lavender Chiffon] = 'Notwoodone' in 2003,
• 'Meehanii' in 2002,
• 'Red Heart' in 1993,
• [White Chiffon] - 'Notwoodtwo' in 2002,
• 'William R. Smith' in 2002, and
• 'Woodbridge' in 1993.

Nepeta x faassenii is known commonly as garden catmint or Faassen's catnip. A product of a Dutch nursery, J.H. Faassen-Hekkens Boomkwekerijen B.V., in Reuver, southeastern Netherlands, the vivacious perennial is a sterile hybrid of:

• Nepeta nepetella, known commonly as lesser cat-mint, an Old World low-grower native to southwestern Europe and North Africa, and
• Nepeta racemosa, known commonly as dwarf catmint, an Old World native with homelands in the Caucasus in Turkey and northeastern Iran.

Nepeta x faassenii flourishes in full or partial sun. The U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies garden catmint as hardy for Zone 3 (-40° to -30° F.; -40° to -34° C.) through Zone 10 (30° to 40° F.; -1° to 4° C.).

The fragrant sprawler stretches to a maximum height of 24 inches (60 centimeters) and spreads to a width of 24 inches (60 centimeters).

Lance- to oval-shaped, toothed leaves provide a grey-green to silvery grey backdrop for floral spikes resplendent in lavender to purple-blue.

Cultivars 'Blue Wonder,' 'Select Blue,' and 'Six Hills Giant' bedazzle with their blue flowers.

In 2002, the Royal Horticultural Society honored Nepeta x faassenii, along with its parent, Nepeta racemosa, with its prestigious Award of Garden Merit.

Nature glories in blue, especially in the limitless bountifulness of seas and skies. Likewise, blue signifies bountiful nectar sources for hummingbirds.

Three plants -- two perennials and one shrub -- confirm for hummingbirds the trueness of blueness:

• blue columbine (Aquilegia caerulea),
• 'Blue Bird' rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus 'Blue Bird'), and
• garden catmint (Nepetia x faassenii).

Hummingbird lovers appreciate these three floral beauties for their flexibility in site criteria. All three thrive not only in backyard allotments but also in container gardens. One of the many attractions of container gardening is immediacy, whereby pots may be located in advantageous proximity for hummer lovers.

Blue flowers usher in the win-win scenario of hummer lovers' enjoyment of hummingbird visitors' enjoyment of real nectar.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

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• Available at: http://rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=1326

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• Available at: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl