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Mississippi Outdoors Podcast

Attract Hummingbirds with Native Plants with Biologist Mark LaSalle

Season 3, Ep. 15
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Retired biologist Mark LaSalle joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to talk about something almost every Mississippian has wondered — how do you get more hummingbirds in your yard?


Mark explains which native plants attract hummingbirds and why they work better than feeders alone: cross vine, red buckeye, coral honeysuckle, coral bean, trumpet creeper, cardinal flower, and salvias. He talks about when hummingbirds arrive in Mississippi, why they return to the same yards year after year, and what most people don't know — that 80% of a hummingbird's diet is insects, not nectar.


He also breaks down the one key rule for native plants: get them through the first year, and they'll largely take care of themselves after that. Good episode for anyone with a yard, a feeder, or a curious neighbor who keeps getting all the hummingbirds.

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