When you walk around any of our Moon Valley Nursery locations you can’t help but notice all of the ‘activity’ surrounding all of our flowering trees and plants. Our nurseries are a haven for our pollinating friends, especially the hummingbird and butterfly, which is always a special sight to see. Your landscape can be filled with hummingbirds and butterflies too, and below are eight flowering shrubs that they both love.
Vitex
This multi-trunk tree is known for its eye catching displays of purple blooms on long spikes that jet out at every growth tip during the late spring and into summer. The Vitex’s twisting trunks under the bright flowering canopy gives this tree a unique, grand appearance. Its canopy is large and layered, which allows sunlight to penetrate the ground below. The Vitex requires minimal water and little maintenance. Vitex trees establish quickly and are exceptionally strong in full sun locations.
Agapantha
Hummingbirds and Butterflies love this flowering shrub. It blooms beautiful blue flowers on its eye catching bright green stems that can grow to knee high. It performs best when planted in partial sun. Agapanthus like slightly acidic soil so deep water and regular applications of Moon Dust will help them look and bloom their best. Water deeply and keep soil slightly moist in warm weather.
Desert Willow
Named only for its resemblance to willows, the Desert Willow produces magnificent blooms of exotic trumpet shaped purple flowers that look fantastic when planted in accent locations. The Desert Willow has an airy canopy and is visually appealing in many landscape styles.
Ocotillo
Ocotillo are native to the southwestern United States and are among the easiest to grow and one of most recognized desert trees. These unique specimens require little water and almost no maintenance. Several green-leafed stems emerge from a common base that give it a distinctly different look in any landscape. At the tips of the branches, the Ocotillo produces eye catching red spike-shaped flowers that are very showy in the summer months after rainfall. They can be used in focal and accent points or even as a living wall. A must have for any desert landscape.
Desert Bird of Paradise
This open-canopied plant produces some of the most unique blooms around. It blooms yellow flowers with red filaments on terminal spikes in the spring and fall. It's feathery type of foliage is what makes this Desert Bird of Paradise such a great choice to soften hard desert landscapes or in transition areas between green and desert landscaped areas. It can grow in full sun and requires little maintenance.
Hibiscus
These medium to large growing shrubs bloom large bright tropical flowers with dark green foliage. They thrive in pots but need well-prepared garden soil that drains well for maximum potential. They grow great in partial sun and will acclimate to full sun easily. Fertilize monthly from March through September to encourage the best growth and a prolific blooming season.
Arizona Yellow Bells
Commonly called Yellow Bells, this shrub can grow 8 feet tall and wide. Yellow Bells display many yellow, trumpet-shaped flower clusters starting mid-spring all the way to winter. This shrub is drought-tolerant and is very fast growing. Yellow Bells are great for focal points, fence or borderlines, and color accents in desert and tropical landscapes. To maximize blooming cycles, be sure to prune off dead blooms occasionally.
Bottlebrush
One of the most visible plants around because of its showy, bright red bushy flowers, the Bottlebrush is drought-tolerant and just loves the western climate. It blooms in the spring through the fall and is a great way to add extra privacy to your home due to its dense foliage. Moon Valley Nurseries has the Bottlebrush in tree and shrub variations.
Orange Cape Honeysuckle
One of the most versatile plants for any landscape, the Orange Cape Honeysuckle has bursts of bright orange, trumpet-shaped blooms. This shrub trims into a medium to large bush or hedge and is frequently used as a vine to cover posts or fences. Plant in well prepared soil with good drainage and water moderately. Fertilize with Moon Dust mid-spring through early fall to keep them looking their best.
Orange Jubilee
This shrub loves the sun and blooms all summer and fall. It is drought-tolerant once established and has large clusters of orange trumpet-shaped blooms. The Orange Jubilee is fast growing and can reach 10 to 12 feet high and needs an area where it will receive at least a half day of sun.
Lantana
This drought-tolerant shrub exudes a variety of colors and is the perfect plant to include in your landscape and garden. The Lantana thrives during the hot summer months and grows quickly requiring little to no maintenance. They bloom from spring through the fall and are very easy to grow in any situation. Depending on the Lantana, it can bloom purple, white, pale yellow, red, gold, or pink colors.
Red Yucca
Red Yucca is the standard in any desert landscape requiring color. The long slender leaves form a fountain like rosette and provide a nice structure to an area that needs a sculptural accent. Exceedingly tough and tolerant of heat and cold, red yucca require little if any care or maintenance. Irrigate once every two weeks when mature to maintain appearance. Red to coral blooms form on tall stalks late spring through early fall. Plant in groups for mass effect or mix in with cactus or succulents for a beautiful addition of color.
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea can literally be found anywhere in our region and there is a reason why. Their flowers and when these flowers bloom they bloom! Flowers cover the entire plant making it a eye-pleasing sight. At Moon Valley Nurseries we offer three different varieties; bush form, vine form and Torch Glow, which is a more compact variety. Bougainvillea love the heat and are an extremely drought tolerant plant once established. They are heavy bloomers throughout Spring and Fall and produce white, red, pink, red, and purple flowers.
Aloe Vera
Hummingbirds love the sweet nectar on Aloe Vera and with so many different options to pick from, you'll for sure find an amazing one at Moon Valley Nurseries. Aloe Vera grows a coral bloom during the summer that compliments this plant's natural array of colors. Aloe Vera is very drought tolerant and loves the full sun, but can also survive our coldest winter periods. While prized for its ever-growing uses in medicine, Aloe Vera is right at home in our region and very popular for desert style landscapes in both small and large scale plantings. Plant Aloe Vera in rows to really bring out the colorful effect.
Annuals & Perennials
This one is as easy as it gets. Moon Valley Nurseries always carries a great selection of annuals and perennials that hummingbirds and butterflies love. We also have all the materials needed to keep these annuals and perennials flowering all season long! Click here to map a nursery location near you.
When you are at one of our nurseries, be sure to talk to our experts about ways in which you can get your flowering shrubs to bloom to the max with any of our beneficial fertilizers. While you’re at it, simply follow our flying friends to their favorites and get the planted in your yard today.
Submit a Comment