These trees will bring all the birds to your yard | Sally Scalera

An important principle of the Florida-Friendly Landscaping program is attracting wildlife. This is a popular hobby for many people, since it’s fun to go outside and enjoy the butterflies and birds.

It’s very easy to attract wildlife by planting the correct plants that provide both food and shelter.

There is a long list of trees that can be planted to attract birds.

Some of the trees are small like our native Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) which produces gorgeous white, fringed flowers in the spring before the foliage fills out. After the flowers fade, fruit is formed. When it ripens, it doesn't take birds long to eat it.

Another small native tree is sweet acacia (Vachellia farnesiana) which is also a nitrogen-fixer. It’s great to have legumes growing in the yard to supply some nitrogen to the plants growing nearby. Sweet acacia produces small, yellow pom-pom flowers throughout the year and delicate foliage that provides dappled shade for plants growing beneath the tree. The flowers produce a wonderful fragrance which is another plus.

A large-growing tree for attracting birds would be our native Hackberry (Celtis laevigata), which is also called sugarberry.  Be sure to plant it in a location away from the home, patio, deck and driveway, because this tree can cause a mess. The Asian woolly hackberry aphid creates honeydew, a clear sticky substance, that falls from the tree and coats whatever is below it such as cars and patio furniture.

The southern red cedar (Juniperus silicicola) is a native evergreen tree that provides great nesting cover for birds. Female trees also produce berries for them. It’s important to make sure southern red cedar trees grow with a single trunk, or central leader, because the wood is weak. Multiple leaders can result in trunks that can be torn apart during windy or stormy weather.

A big list of bird-attracting trees

There is a large list of trees that attract birds so here are more trees to consider:

• Blackgum  (Nyssa sylvatica)

• Cherry laurel  (Prunus caroliniana)

• Chickasaw plum  (Prunus angustifolia)

• Hollies  (Ilex spp.)

• Elms  (Ulmus spp.)

• Green cocoplum  (Chrysobalanus icaco)

• Gumbo limbo  (Bursera simaruba)

• Hercule’s club  (Zanthoxylum clava-hercules)

• Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)

• Oaks  (Quercus spp.)

• Marlberry  (Ardisia escallonioides)

• May hawthorn  (Crataegus aestivalis)

• Persimmon  (Diospyros virginiana)

• Pigeon plum  (Coccoloba diversifolia)

• Hickories  (C. glabra, C. floridana)

• Pond apple   (Annona glabra)

• Pygmy fringetree  (Chionanthus pygmaeus)

• Redbay  (Persea borbonia)

• Red mulberry  (Morus rubra)

• Satinleaf  (Chrysophyllum oliviforme)

• Seagrape  (Coccoloba uvifera)

• Simpson’s stopper  (Myrcianthes fragrans)

• Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

• Sparkleberry  (Vaccinium arboreum)

• Summer haw  (Crataegus flava)

• Swamp bay  (Persea palustris)

• Swamp dogwood (Cornus foemina)

• Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

• Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera)

• White stopper (Eugenia axillaries)

• Wild lime (Zanthoxylum fagara)

• Wild olive (Osmanthus americanus)

• Winged elm  (Ulmus alata)

• Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria).

These trees are native species, except for the Loquat, which also produces edible fruit, as do both our native red mulberry and sea grape.  To find out more about their height and spread, do an internet search using their scientific name, followed by ifas. When ifas (which stands for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences) is added to the search, you will find information from the University of Florida and possibly from some of the UF/IFAS Extension offices located throughout the state.

Using birdfeeders to bring birds to the yard

Birdfeeders are great for attracting birds.  You may have better success by using just one type of bird seed in the feeder, such as safflower seeds, which can result in less waste.  Birds can be picky eaters, and fling out the seeds they don’t want.

Also, be sure to hang the feeder close to a window, so that you can see them easily, and away from shrubs, so cats cannot ambush them.  To attract as many birds as possible, add a fountain, because the sound of moving water will attract birds.

Nectar-rich plants draw hummingbirds

If you would like to attract hummingbirds, the key is to choose plants that produce red or orange, nectar-rich flowers. The closer they are planted to your house, the more likely you will be to see the hummingbirds when they visit.

Many people do not believe that we have hummingbirds here, but we do, it’s just hard to catch a glimpse of them when they do visit. They are so small and fast that they fly away before you even knew they were there.

Trees that attract hummingbirds are the red bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) and our native Coral bean (Erythrina herbacea), which is also a nitrogen-fixing plant like the sweet acacia. A coral bean tree is a great tree to grow, because it will let you know when your tree has been visited by hummingbirds because seed pods will be produced.

If you have the space for a medium-sized tree (at least a 20-by-20 rooting area) you could grow our native Geiger tree (Cordia sebestena), which produces gorgeous bright orange tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are from the tropics, and have evolved with salvia plants, so to increase your chances of attracting hummingbirds, plant some salvia flowers near the tree.

Inoculate the soil before planting a new tree

Planting one of these trees is a great way to attract birds and add shade to your yard. Be sure to give your tree the best possible future by adding a mycorrhizal inoculum or product (i.e., Plant Success Granular Mycorrhizae, MycoApply All Purpose Granular, Xtreme Gardening Mykos) to the planting hole. For the Coral bean and sweet acacia, also add a Rhizobium inoculum (i.e., Verdesian N-Dure or Guard-N), at planting time, to help the tree fix atmospheric nitrogen.

So, why not go outside now and walk around your yard to see if there are any areas where you could add a new tree? If your yard is sunny and hot through the summer, why not plant a new tree to attract birds and grow a little shade for future summers?

What a great way to attract feathered wildlife and enjoy cooler temps when you are outside.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email her at sasc@ufl.edu.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Want to fill your Brevard Yard with birds? Plant these trees