Red-Flowering Currant
Ribes sanguineum
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, draws hummingbirds with rose-pink nectar tubes in Mar and Apr — spreading 4–8 ft.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 5–9 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Tubular, nectar-heavy native flowers that draw hummingbirds far more reliably — and safely — than any sugar-water feeder. Oregon sits in a landscape of Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its wet west, dry summer-dry east character. The list below — led by Red-Flowering Currant and Rocky Mountain Penstemon — is filtered to species genuinely native to Oregon and the wider flora of the Pacific Northwest and hardy through zones 4–9. Hummingbirds are wired to investigate red and orange tubular flowers, so a few well-placed natives will out-pull a feeder and never need cleaning. Stagger bloom times so there is nectar from spring migration through fall departure, and plant near a perch or shrub where the birds can rest between feedings.
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 4–9 · see this collection in other states.
Ribes sanguineum
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, draws hummingbirds with rose-pink nectar tubes in Mar and Apr — spreading 4–8 ft.
Penstemon strictus
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, draws hummingbirds with deep blue-purple nectar tubes from May to Jul; 1.5–2.5 ft tall.
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, hummingbirds work its white flowers from Jun to Aug — reaching 5–10 ft.
Penstemon eatonii
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, hummingbird fuel — slender scarlet tubes too deep for most insects from Mar to May, happy in sand and rocky soil.
Aquilegia formosa
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, draws hummingbirds with red nectar tubes from Apr to Jul — reaching 1.5–3 ft.
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, tubular pink-white flowers shaped for a hummingbird's bill in Apr and May, cold-hardy to zone 2.
Arctostaphylos columbiana
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, draws hummingbirds with pink-white nectar tubes from Mar to May — 3–9 ft tall.
Berberis aquifolium
Through Oregon's Willamette Valley, Cascades & high desert country, a magnet for hummingbirds — bright yellow blooms held in Mar and Apr for them to probe — for rocky and loam ground.
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.