The Only Tree You Need to Attract Hummingbirds – They’ll Use it to Nest Now and Will Love its Fragrant Flowers in Summer

The Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower provides year-round interest in the yard

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Hummingbird in a nest
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Hummingbirds are returning north after waiting out winter down south. On their journey, they seek backyards that offer their favorite flowers, nesting spots, and a safe retreat from predators – and there's one tree that does it all: the Temple Bloom Seven-Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides).

It's one of the best trees to attract hummingbirds, offering them year-round support. In spring, the Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower (available on Fast Growing Trees) has lush foliage on its layered, airy branches, making the perfect hummingbird nesting spot. Come late summer, the branches are adorned with fragrant nectar-rich flowers which hummingbirds feed from before setting off south.

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Why Hummingbirds Love Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower

Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower tree

Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower has a sweet jasmine-like scent

(Image credit: Marina Denisenko via Getty Images)

Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower (which is also available from Nature Hills) is one of the best plants to attract hummingbirds because it supports them year-round.

In spring, as hummingbirds return from their migration, the Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower is full of lush green foliage adorning layered, airy branches. This provides the perfect spot for hummingbirds to build their nests for the nesting period (typically March-July).

They're not cavity-nesters, but rather construct cup-shaped nests directly on branches, and the branches of Temple Bloom provides some structure for this.

The foliage also provides some coverage to conceal hummingbirds from predators, such as birds of prey, cats, and rodents. Alongside their nests being built of lichen, moss, and feathers, this camouflages them.

For this reason, it makes one of the best shrubs to create shelter for hummingbirds.

As nesting season comes an end and preparations begin for the hummingbird migration, the Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower's buds burst open.

It provides late-season flowers from mid-to-late summer into fall. They're white, fragrant, and provide a vital source of nectar for hummingbirds just as other sources are fading away.

An added bonus is that the Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower has extended seasonal interest. Once the fragrant flowers fade, red-pink bracts appear, creating an appearance of a second bloom and offering some fall color.

How to Grow Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower

The white blossoms of a seven-son flower tree

Honeybees and butterflies also enjoy these blooms

(Image credit: Getty Images/CStorz)

Native to China, the Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower can be grown across USDA zones 5-9, reaching a height and spread between 6-10ft.

Here are some key tips to get the most out of it in your garden:

  • Light: Best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade. Ensure six hours of direct sun for vigorous growth and blooms. Brighter light will encourage brighter red bracts in fall.
  • Soil: Adaptable to a wide range of soil types. Ensure it's well-draining and moderately fertile for best results. You can use a soil test kit (from Amazon) to check your soil health and improve your garden soil accordingly.
  • Water: Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower requires consistent moisture levels, especially in its first year. Once established, it becomes more drought-tolerant. Use this soil moisture meter from Amazon to monitor moisture levels.
  • Pruning: This is one of the flowering trees to prune in early spring. Even though flowers only emerge in summer they start to develop buds in spring, so it's key to prune early in the season to ensure you don't cut off the buds. You should only remove weak, diseased, and damaged branches, plus any overcrowded branches that are minimizing airflow. Use these sharp Fiskars bypass pruning shears from Amazon to make clean cuts.
  • Fertilizing: These shrubs don't require much fertilizer. They're extremely low-maintenance once established. But, if you have particularly poor soil, you could use a slow-release fertilizer (like these tree and shrub food spikes from Amazon) in early spring to support new growth.

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FAQs

When is it Best to Plant Temple of Bloom Seven-Son Flower?

It's best to plant these trees in either fall or early spring. These milder seasons provide warm, workable soil that allow roots to settle and establish without the heat stress of summer.

There are also plenty of native spring flowers to attract hummingbirds to grow this season and support the wildlife in your yard.

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Tenielle Jordison
Tenielle Jordison
Gardens Content Editor

Tenielle is a Gardens Content Editor at Homes & Gardens. She holds a qualification in MA Magazine Journalism and has over six years of journalistic experience. Before coming to Homes & Gardens, Tenielle was in the editorial department at the Royal Horticultural Society and worked on The Garden magazine. As our in-house houseplant expert, Tenielle writes on a range of solutions to houseplant problems, as well as other 'how to' guides, inspiring garden projects, and the latest gardening news. When she isn't writing, Tenielle can be found propagating her ever-growing collection of indoor plants, helping others overcome common houseplant pests and diseases, volunteering at a local gardening club, and attending gardening workshops, like a composting masterclass.