Here are the toughest blooms for extreme heat.
We get it: You want a beautiful garden, but you don’t want to have to baby your plants during the hottest part of summer. After all, there are some days when you barely want to be outside under the beating sun, let alone worrying about watering and tending to delicate blooms that may or may not survive the day. That’s when flowers that can survive a heat wave save the day. In fact, many annuals and perennials actually adore hot weather.
Now, just because these plants are super-tough doesn’t mean you can never water them. Every new planting needs to get its roots established with regular watering before it can be left to its own devices, and most flowers do better with consistent watering and not being allowed to wilt, which causes them stress and impacts flower power.
So, check pots, hanging baskets, and landscape beds daily during a heat wave. If you poke a finger into the soil, and it’s bone-dry or the soil is pulling away from the side of the container, it’s time to give your plant a drink. Also, water deeply in the morning so that your plant is ready to withstand the day’s heat. Ahead, our favorite plants that can survive a heat wave:
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If you plant one flower that can take the heat, make it lantana. This shrubby, low-growing annual comes in a variety of gorgeous, deeply saturated colors such as hot pink, coral, and bright yellow. In warm climates, lantana may be perennial.
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This striking plant has big, flashy blooms and dramatic green, chocolate, striped, or burgundy foliage. This subtropical beauty is right at home in summer’s heat. Keep them blooming by watering 2 to 3 times a week during droughts. Canna lily is considered a perennial in warmer climates, but in cold regions (USDA zones 6 or colder), dig up the rhizomes in the fall after the first frost to save them for planting next spring.
Long-stemmed showy flowers in eye-popping colors make coneflower a must-have in any garden bed. Once established, they’re drought-tolerant. Pollinators love the flowers, while birds are attracted to the seedheads in winter.
These sun lovers come in an array of bright colors, ranging from yellow to red to orange to bi-color blooms. They’re most impressive when massed in planting beds, and they bloom all summer long. Pollinators also love these cheerful-looking perennials.
If you need a sturdy, trailing plant to contrast with other flowers in a mixed container, dichondra is an excellent choice. The silvery leaves look good throughout the heat of summer. It’s often grown as an annual but can be perennial in warm climates.
Catmint is a perennial that thrives on neglect once established. With silvery-green foliage that deer and bunnies leave alone and spikes of purple flowers that last all summer long, catmint is a worthwhile addition to your heat-tolerant garden.
Pentas blooms all summer long in shades of red, pink, and white. It works equally well in beds, window boxes, and hanging baskets. Plus, pollinators love this annual’s star-shaped flowers.
Read more: Annuals That Bloom All Summer Long
Who needs blooms when you have the gorgeous foliage of caladium? This stunning tropical plant is grown for its large, flashy, heart-shaped leaves that come in shades of pink, green, and white. It thrives in heat and humidity in the shade, but some new varieties are more forgiving of some direct sunlight.
The fan-shaped flowers of this plant keep coming all summer long. Its pretty white, purple, or pink flowers look amazing spilling out of window boxes, hanging baskets, or over the edges of planting beds. Native to Australia, this low-growing annual naturally can take the heat.
This vigorous, vining plant fills containers in a hurry, with pretty heart-shaped leaves in lime green, burgundy, or variegated patterns. Give it a little afternoon shade in the hottest climates.
Salvia’s spikes of purple, pink, or white flowers keep coming all summer long. It’s available in both perennial and annual varieties, but they both stand up to the heat and keep blooming.
Sedum is an annual or perennial that comes in forms ranging from low-growing, ground cover types to more upright habits. Because it’s a succulent and stores water, it is drought and heat-tolerant. The flowers attract pollinators, too.
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