Hummingbirds are the icing on the cake in your backyard. All your eye-catching greenery and flowers make a beautiful garden, but those jewel-colored feathers and showstopping antics truly bring it to life. Luckily, attracting more hummingbirds isn’t hard – just add this stunning red flower for months of pollinator-friendly blooms. The Empress of India nasturtium (Trapaeolum majus) has a long blooming season, with flowers that hummingbirds and other pollinators love. It starts blooming in summer and keeps going until the first frost in fall. These nasturtiums not only attract the pollinators your garden needs, but they also help repel certain unwanted insects like aphids and cabbage pests. To grow and add the Empress of India nasturtium, you’ll need to learn about its optimal conditions. While these flowers are easy to grow, there are some environments they thrive in best. That means more blooms to brighten up your yard – and more hummingbirds to enjoy.
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How to grow Empress of India nasturtiums
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Choosing the right spot in your yard is key if you want lots of nasturtium blooms. The Empress of India nasturtium can grow in full sun or partial shade, but they’ll bloom best in full sun. They also don’t do as well in rich, organic soil – they prefer something more well-draining, as richer soil makes them focus more on foliage than flowers. These nasturtiums can be grown as perennials, but only in zones 10 and 11, so most of us will see them as annuals.
The Empress of India nasturtium prefers well-draining soil, and once established, they’re drought-resistant. But they still need adequate hydration – just don’t let them sit in standing water or soggy soil.
For maintenance, Empress of India nasturtiums benefit from light deadheading. You don’t need to go crazy, but pinching off spent blooms can encourage more to pop up. This helps maximize your bloom time and floral display to attract even more hummingbirds. Just start small and see how your plant responds – you don’t want to risk losing too many blooms.
