We’ve all heard of heat-seeking missiles, but what about
heat-seeking flowers? This is the perfect time of year to review a
few flowers that love our summer heat, and will grow great in the
hottest, driest part of your garden.
We’ve all heard of heat-seeking missiles, but what about heat-seeking flowers? This is the perfect time of year to review a few flowers that love our summer heat, and will grow great in the hottest, driest part of your garden.
When it comes to heat, there are several annual bedding plants that stand out among others. Things like marigolds, salvias and vinca rosea are among the heat-seeking standouts.
Marigolds are primarily yellow and orange, but you can also find cream and maroon colors. They’re versatile, too, in that French marigolds grow only six to 10 inches high, while African marigolds offer huge flowers on 18- to 36-inch stems.
When people think of salvias, they think of bright red flowers. But salvias come in a wide variety of colors, including pink, purple, lavender and bicolors.
Finally, vinca rosea should not be confused with the groundcover of almost the same name (vinca major or vinca minor). Vinca rosea features flowers similar in shape and size to impatiens, but plants grow more upright and can take the hottest part of the garden.
Speaking of impatiens, they need mostly shade and plenty of water, but they will absolutely thrive in the heat. The good thing about impatiens is that they’re easy to grow, are low maintenance and will even let you know when they need water by drooping.
There’s plenty of time to plant any of these annuals from already-started six-packs from your garden center.
As for perennials, or plants that come back year after year, old-fashioned favorites like sunflowers certainly thrive in full sun. Sunflowers come in many forms, such as black-eyed Susan, which is a member of the genus Rudbeckia. These beauties bloom from summer to fall, producing dozens of yellow to gold flowers on three-foot plants. They have a tendency to slowly spread, so they do best when divided every three to four years.
Coreopsis is another member of the sunflower family you might look into. There are both annual and perennial types, yielding a profusion of yellow, orange, maroon or reddish flowers.
Regular sunflowers can still be grown by seed, and can grow to 10 feet high in a matter of months, with flowers measuring almost 18 inches across. There are also dwarf sunflowers, and varieties that produce red, orange and even pale white flowers instead of the traditional yellow and black.
Other daisy-like perennials include Marguerites and Felicias. These two are normally available in gallon cans for around $6 apiece. Both are relatives of daisies. Regular Marguerites usually come in yellow or white daisy colors, while Felicia is commonly known as the blue Marguerite because it obviously has blue daisy flowers.
There are many other heat-seeking flowers to choose from. Check out the local garden center. The heat-seekers will always be displayed in the hottest area of the nursery.
They’ll need water to get established, but – once established – most will do well with water just once a week.
