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 Annual
Flowers that Take the Heat
By Melinda Myers
[August 09, 2025]
As
temperatures rise, some annuals slow down or stop flowering due to
heat stall. They will recover as temperatures cool but may leave
your gardens or containers looking less colorful.
Take some time now to evaluate annual flowers that are thriving in
your garden and those that may need to be left off the plant list
for next year’s garden.
Start looking for more heat-tolerant plants and
cultivars to use in the future. A visit to your local botanic garden
and viewing gardens in your neighborhood can help provide insight
and inspirations for plants suited to your summer weather.
Zinnias are known for their heat and drought
tolerance. These long-blooming annuals come in a variety of colors
and heights. Wheat, plume, and crested celosia not only add color,
but also interesting flower shapes to gardens and arrangements. |
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Angelonias, also known as summer snapdragons, are
upright plants that make great vertical accents and add season-long
color to containers and gardens. Granvia strawflowers are taller,
more vigorous plants with larger flowers than older strawflower
varieties. Enjoy them in the garden and for months after in
arrangements, dried wreaths, and other decorations.
Annual vinca, Catharanthus, with its shiny leaves and long-lasting
flowers, thrives in hot, dry weather. The dainty flowers of the
Soiree® Kawaii series and the fringed, ruffled flower petals of the
Soiree® Flemenco series provide a unique flare. Include pentas with
their star-shaped flowers to help attract and support butterflies.
You’ll find plants with white, red, pink, lavender, violet, and
bicolor flowers, and even a few trailing varieties.
Cupheas are not only heat tolerant but are magnets for hummingbirds.
These season-long bloomers are covered with flowers and do not need
deadheading. Mandevilla is another long-blooming, heat-tolerant
plant that thrives in sunny locations. You’ll find upright,
trailing, and tall climbing varieties to include in gardens,
containers, and hanging baskets.
If you are looking for a heat-tolerant, trailing plant, consider
bidens. The BeeDance® series is an earlier and continuous flowering
variety. Moss roses and other portulacas are also trailing and
low-growing plants that can be used as annual groundcovers, edging
plants, and trailers in containers.
Look for more heat-tolerant cultivars of your favorite annuals that
tend to stop blooming during hot weather. Heatopia™, Hot® Waterblue,
Techno®, and Laguna® lobelias show more heat tolerance than many
older lobelia cultivars. White Stream™, Snow Princess®, and Frosty
Knight® are a few alyssum cultivars to consider. They tolerate the
heat but prefer moist well-drained soil.
Hot Pak™ French marigolds have been bred for increased hot weather
tolerance. The triploid marigolds like Endurance™ and Zenith™ are a
cross between the African and French marigolds. They have the longer
bloom time of the French marigold and the heat tolerance of the
African species.
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Don’t give up on heat stalled annual plants in your
garden and containers. Continue to water the heat-stressed plants as
needed but wait for them to recover before fertilizing if needed.
Trim back leggy plants and once the temperatures cool, the plants
will start flowering.
Continue to watch for, try, and evaluate new, more heat-tolerant
additions for your gardens and containers. Finding the right plants
for your growing conditions and garden design can help boost your
garden’s beauty and your enjoyment even as temperatures rise.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books,
including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small
Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything”
instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s
Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and
contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned
by Summit for her expertise to write this article. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
[Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com]
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