Heat-Loving Plants
For gardeners (and gardens) wilting in the summer sun's hot spotlight, there's no better remedy than a plant that likes (or at least tolerates) heat. Here are 15 tried-and-true plants that keep sizzling right along with the temperatures.
Cigar plant or firecracker plant (Cuphea sp.). Gardeners who have very hot summers have come to appreciate many of the options among cupheas. Heat tolerance is very high for most. Tubular red flowers attract hummingbirds. Size and habit vary according to species. The cigar plant (C. ignea) has dark green pointed leaves and a tightly branched habit to 12 inches tall. USDA Zones 10 to 12. Very frost sensitive; dies to the ground in Zones 8 and 9 but usually grows back quickly in spring. Other cupheas that are great for heat: Mexican heather (C. hyssopifolia), batface cuphea (Cuphea llavea), candy corn (C. micropetala) and giant candy corn (C. melvillea).
'Forever Blue' Eustoma (or Lisianthus). A welcome color for a hot garden, lots of large (2-1/2 inch) purple-blue flowers form on densely branched, 12-inch plants. 'Forever Blue' earned an AAS award in 2001. 'Forever White' is another winning selection. Deadhead to increase bloom.
'Arizona Sun' blanket flower. The blanket flower regularly appears on lists of heat-tolerant plants; there are several great cultivars so you have only to choose your color. A 2005 All-America Selections winner, Galliardia 'Arizona Sun' forms a foot-tall mound topped with brightly hued, large flowers, a showier plant than 'Sundance Bicolor', a 2003 winner. It thrives in full, hot sun in USDA Zones 3 to 8. Blanket flower grows easily from seed.
Moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora). This low-growing succulent annual comes in pink, rose, yellow, orange, white, and a host of hues in between. Blooms close in midafternoon and on cloudy days. Very tolerant of heat.
Melampodium. A mass of yellow daisy-like flowers spread across bright-green foliage make Melampodium paludosum (or divaricatum) a welcome sight in the summer garden. An annual, melampodium reseeds readily. You'll want one of the compact cultivars such as 'Million Gold', shown here, 'Derby' or 'Showstar' (slightly taller). Give this plant average soil and expect bloom from late spring to early fall.
Rudbeckia. No doubt about it, black-eyed Susans--almost any of them, and there are lots--will make you look like a great gardener. Robust plants put on a show of daisy-like blooms, especially in the summer's dog days, tolerating both heat and drought. Try 'Cherokee Sunset', a mix of yellow, orange, rust and dark red; 'Becky Cinnamon Bicolor' ('Becky also comes in yellow, orange and a mix); or 'Prairie Sun', which has green centers.
Vinca. Prolific, non-fading flowers, ultra-clean foliage plus heat and drought tolerance are the trademark of vincas (Vinca or Catharanthus roseus). 'Jaio Scarlet Eye' was a 2002 AAS winner. A great low-maintenance plant for bright color all season--in the ground or in containers.
Magilla Perilla. Here's a great heat-loving foliage plant that develops its brightest color in the sun. A bushy plant similar to coleus (in the same family), it grows up to 2-1/2 feet tall. Pinch it back a couple of times in the growing season to keep it bushy. Give it moist, well-drained soil, and fertilize lightly either with a liquid fertilizer every few weeks or with a slow-release fertilizer applied when planting and again in midseason.
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