The Beautiful Flower That'll Turn Your Yard Into A Hummingbird Haven

Hummingbirds are enthusiastic little nectar drinkers, so they've placed quite a few flowers on their list of favorites. Though these pint-sized birds are infatuated with red flowers, which they associate with high nectar content, they're also fond of blossoms dressed in bright oranges, purples, and yellows. One of their favorite wildflowers is a sunny shade of golden yellow. Known as golden Alexander (Zizea aurea), this member of the carrot family is native to eastern North America and thrives in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8. If you're seeking a fast-growing flower to turn your yard into a hummingbird haven, it deserves to be in the running.

Whether you're building a pollinator garden or want an easy-care perennial for a border planting, golden Alexander has got you covered. In addition to offering eye-catching clusters of miniature flowers, its foliage ranges from vibrant green to pastel purple. The blossoms will brighten your landscape in April and May, providing food to hummingbirds before their preferred summer-blooming flowers are ready with nectar. Golden Alexander flowers also feed Black Swallowtail butterfly larvae and attract specialized bees that are important pollinators in your local ecosystem. 

Golden Alexander is sometimes called wild parsley, don't confuse it with another carrot relative, wild parsnip (Pastinaca satvia). The latter is considered a highly invasive species in eight states in the midwest and east coast. Wild parsnip looks similar to golden Alexander but grows taller, flowers in the summer rather than the spring, and can cause burning blisters and scars on your skin.

Well suited for low-maintenance landscapes, golden Alexander is a fuss-free plant that's perfect for beginning gardeners who've spent more time admiring hummingbirds than deadheading roses. It's highly adaptable, accepting nearly any soil texture and thriving in all sorts of habitats, from thickets and woodlands to prairies and limestone bluffs. It tends to reseed itself, so you won't need to plant more very often. Plus, it's not terribly particular about sunlight. Though golden Alexander appreciates full sun, it isn't bothered by partial shade and will grow beneath a tree canopy as long as it's not engulfed in heavy shadows. Golden Alexander is flexible about water, too. Moist soil with good drainage makes it happy, but it can handle planting sites that gets dry or soggy from time to time.

When planting golden Alexander in your yard, keep in mind that each specimen needs 1 to 3 feet of space to expand since it likes to form clumps. If your soil contains clay or seems low in organic matter, amend it with compost to improve its structure, drainage, and nutrient content. Since golden Alexander reaches a height of 1 to 2 feet, you may be able to install it in front of tall plants and behind short ones. Consider growing it near other easy-to-grow flowers that attract pollinators, which is a simple way to make your yard a hummingbird magnet.