Plants for Birds in the Mountain West

As William Cullina cite in his clause on plants for birds , the sad reality is songbirds are disappearing : “ Habitat personnel casualty , pesticides , and the companion decline of insect populations have contributed to a loss of 25 to 30 percentage of North American songster since 1970 . ”

But gardeners can aid , and it just requires buy new plants ! By growing more plants that help oneself bear local shuttlecock populations , you may do your part . see plants for hoot in the Mountain West below , and discover even more plant for birds in William ’s article , Native Plants for the Birds .

1. ‘Furman’s Red’ Autumn Sage

Name:Salvia greggii‘Furman’s Red’

Zones:6–9

Size:2 to 3 foot marvelous and all-embracing

Conditions : Full Lord’s Day ; wry to average , well - drain soil with no fertilizer

Native range : West and Central Texas , northern Mexico

If watching and attracting hummingbirds is authoritative to you , this is a must - have suffrutex . In Boise , my plants start blooming as ahead of time as later May and will put on a show until the backbreaking frost in November . While autumn sage comes in several colour , I have had the good destiny with ‘ Furman ’s Red ’ . evidently the hummers are attract to its fire engine cherry colour as well as the vasiform prime throats that hold the nectar . Planting a cluster of the same variety will bring home the bacon them with an abundance of nectar all in one place .

2. Netleaf Hackberry

Name:Celtis laevigatavar.reticulata

Size:10 to 20 feet wide and 20 to 40 foundation tall

Conditions : Full sun to partial ghost ; fair to dry , well - drained ground

Native mountain range : The driest character of easterly Washington and Oregon , Idaho , to the south to northern Mexico

This is one tough bush , known to spring forth from tilt rock outcrop after scorching wildfire . The banding - tailed pigeon , Steller ’s jay , northern flicker , American Old World robin , Bohemian and cedar waxwings , American crowing , and towhees are just a few of the dame who swear on its dogged drupe , which can be unripe , orangish , or cerise . My botany prof called the insect - create gall on its leathery leaves “ burritos for wild turkeys . ” Netleaf hackberry provides cover for quail and nesting sites for Swainson ’s hawks , Bullock ’s oriole , dove , and even the occasional hummingbird ( pictured ) .

3. Bitter Cherry

Name:Prunus emarginata

Zones:5–9

Size:20 to 40 foot marvelous and wide

Conditions : Full sun to partial specter ; moist to blotto ground

aboriginal range : northmost parts of British Columbia , south to New Mexico

acerbic cherry is a modest deciduous shrub that can also grow up to 40 foot tall and wide in idealistic status . It often spreads by runners create thickets , which provide tax shelter and nesting places for birds and small mammals . Its spring blossoms are a nectar rootage for hummingbirds and Apis mellifera , and the bush hosts as many as 150 types of caterpillars and insects , provide much - call for food for thought for wild birds . The drupe are extremely bitter , but cedar waxwings , thrushes , woodpecker , sparrows , bluebirds , tanagers , and orioles will feast on them . Bitter cherry is peculiarly significant as a roosting smirch and bunk seaport for sharply - tailed grouse .

4. Heritage River Birch

Name:Betula nigra‘Cully’

Zones:4–9

Size:40 to 70 foot tall and 40 to 60 feet wide

Conditions : Full sun to partial shade ; fair to wet dirt

Native kitchen range : Eastern United States

This shade tree diagram , beloved for its elegant stature and bounteous undress barque , is widely adapted across the United States . It can support more than 400 types of cat and other insects , the primal ingredients in baby birds ’ diets . In his bookBringing Nature Home , Doug Tallamy cite the river birch tree as one of the top five trees for appeal wildlife . While chickadees , song sparrows , hazardous dud , pine Carduelis spinus , and finches dine on the seminal fluid , others are pull to the sap . chickadee , jays , juncos , northerly flickers , and pine Carduelis spinus may build up their nests in its offset . Supplemental lacrimation may be necessary in hot parts of the Rockies .

Mary Ann Newcomer is a aboriginal Idahoan who gardens , picket gardens , and writes about gardening in the Intermountain West .

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Bitter cherry

Photo: millettephotomedia.com

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Furmans Red autumn sage

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