Garden Views: Blooming Plants that take the Heat

We are still in June but have already experienced several days of 90 degree weather! We can only look forward to many more weeks of much of the same. If your garden is like mine, it is looking a little bedraggled. Take heart – there are many blooming plants that take the heat and keep on performing. Look around your garden now and consider where you need to add a punch of color to cheer up the garden in the late summer. Fall is a great time to plant new shrubs, but you ca add many sun-loving perennials and annuals now. Here are a few of my favorite July and August bloomers.

Annuals:

The SunPatiens® Series is a collection of heat-loving impatiens that keeps on blooming in full sun from spring to fall. I got the spreading variety with variegated leaves and a salmon colored bloom and planted them in large containers. They have not stopped blooming since being planted in May. They make a cheerful addition to my back deck and need little attention but water.

The Dragon Wing Begonia is another great container plant that does well in hot conditions if given filtered sun/partial shade. It is easy to grow, with large clusters of red or pink blossoms that will last through the fall months.

Shrubs/Perennials:

The butterfly bush (Buddleia) is a magnet for butterflies all summer long and produces lilac-like flowers that continue to bloom in the heat of the summer and through the fall. There are dozens of varieties of Buddleia, so choose the right one for your sunny area. Some can get very tall and wide but are easy to cut back. There are new dwarf versions on the market called Buddleia Lo & Behold™ Blue Chip and Pugster™ that only get about three feet tall. They are drought and heat tolerant and do well in planting beds, as well as containers. It is fun to watch all the butterflies flit around the colorful, purplish-blue blooms in the summer.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ is one of my favorite hydrangeas because it can take several hours of sun and doesn’t wimp out with the foliage going limp like most hydrangeas do when exposed to sun and heat. Another plus for this hydrangea is that it can be pruned at any time except when the plant begins to form buds. You may want to prune it occasionally since it can get over 8 feet tall, or you might want to shape it into a small tree. The flower is a panicle (cone shaped) and blooms in July and into August. It is so rewarding to have these spectacular blooms (changing from lime green to cream) to enjoy in the late summer.

Other heat-loving perennials that thrive in the late summer and are loved by bees and butterflies are lantana, coneflowers (Echinacea), black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), salvia, sage and sunflowers.

‘Dwarf Crape Myrtle Razzle Dazzle® Series – these compact deciduous shrubs burst into cherry red bloom in late July or early August and are a spectacular addition to the sun garden. They stay small, have little disease problems and love the heat and sun. 

Plants suffer from the heat just like we do. Add extra mulch around your plants to shade tender roots and help retain moisture. Plants and lawns require about one inch of water a week. It is better to water deeply, and less frequently, than to just give plants a light sprinkling more often. Try to avoid spraying water on leaves to avoid fungal diseases. 

Enjoy your brilliant summer blooms!