It’s not only gardeners who wilt in the summer heat, many of our cherished plants do too. Luckily while several plants do suffer in this heat there are plenty more that will thrive in these conditions and provide a colorful show. In addition they will do this without the need for lots of water. These twenty-five high heat flowers are described in an article by Hilary Rinaldi which I found on the Weekend Gardener website.
Summer is here, and all over the globe people are experiencing above average temperatures. Areas that normally have warm summers are having Sahara-like conditions with low rainfall and high heat.
Many of us are having 90? to well over 100?F (32? to 38?C) days and very warm nights. Because of this, many of our normal colorful summer annuals have faded in their vigor and beauty.
The good news is that while many plants and flowers seem to be fainting away, there are others that sing merrily along through the mid-summer heat.
The tough-as-nails flowering plants that we are going to share with you will provide the color you want, while tolerating the most intolerable summer heat. And more good news, we are going to give you many more ideas than just your regular zinnias and marigolds that are always mentioned in warm weather flower articles, because we want you to have more options and better choices.
So without further ado, here are more than 25 suggestions to replace stressed and faded plant material in your landscape that will also conserve water, while looking like a million dollars in full, hot sun.
African Daisy (Arctotis)
Plants originated in southern Africa. Arctotis species have lobed leaves that are rough, hairy. or woolly. Their flower heads usually have a contrasting ring of color around their central eye. Come in a variety of colors: white, pink, orange, yellow, and red.
Low growing, plant for mass color, 2 plants can quickly cover an entire planter bed. Beautiful for the border where the flowers are produced in profusion throughout the summer, and excellent for cutting. Silvery/green finely cut foliage. Flowers mid summer to frost.
Bitterweed (Hymenoxys odorata)(Tetraneuris)
A Texas native. Golden yellow flowers on stems to 1 feet (.3 m) high. Narrow, grassy, aromatic leaves form small tufts about 8 inches (20 cm) tall and 1 foot (.3 m) wide.
Somewhat similar to thrift (Armeria) in appearance. Flowers have rays with notched edges. Attractive in containers. Plant always flowers even in full 100?F (38?C) sun; it doesn’t care, it will grow in a crack in the concrete!
Go to the next page to see more of these high heat flowers.
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