It has been so hot here. We lucked out and had a pretty mild June but July has been a force to be reckoned with. The first weekend in July we had 105 degree temperatures for several days in a row, then a weekend of 114 degree weather proceeded and it cooled down to several more days of 101-105 degrees. This month has been next level brutal and it has been challenging keeping our animals cool and our plants alive. So what plants are not only surviving these massively oppressive hot conditions but actually blooming? I have quite a few plants that are doing well, including in full sun. Don’t be fooled though…I have several plants that look like a potpourri experiment gone wrong.
Trees and Shrubs
Desert Willow
Desert Willow are drought tolerant native trees that have showy, orchid-like flowers. The flowers range in color from light pink to dark pink and the hummingbirds and bees absolutely love them! Our tree has unique shaped branches making it an interesting plant to have in the yard. Some Desert Willows can be multi-trunked but all of them will have interesting looking and twisting branches. These trees can range in height from 16’ – 40’ tall depending on the region they are grown in. If you would like to learn more about Desert Willow trees you can read the Plant Profile I wrote here.
Palo Verde
Palo Verde is another drought tolerant native tree. Their flowers are delicate, bright yellow and the pollinators love them! Palo Verde are a special tree because they can photosynthesize from their smooth, green or blue/green bark. This helps them survive during severe drought conditions. They can reach heights of 30’ tall! You can read more about them here on a Plant Profile I wrote about them.
Chaste or Vitex
Chaste or Vitex are drought tolerant small trees or shrubs. Although they are native to the Mediterranean region, they have become naturalized in the southern regions of North America. In many areas people are planting them as a drought tolerant replacement for lilacs. They have stunning clusters of purple flowers that the bees can not get enough of. Chaste are usually grown as shrubs ranging around 10’ – 15’ tall and wide but can be grown as a tree can reach up to 20’ tall.
Texas Sage
Texas Sage is a wonderful drought tolerant native shrub to add to your landscape. The leaves are a beautiful light gray to gray/green color and the flowers are small and bright purple. They are low maintenance and pretty easy to grow. Many people like to trim these plants into different shapes. The plants handle trimming quite well but if you want more blooms keep them untrimmed. Texas Sage can reach 8’ tall and 6’ wide. They do fine with full sun and a variety of soils.
California Buckwheat
California Buckwheat is another drought tolerant native shrub. The deep, dark green needle like leaves offset with the creamy, white flower clusters making a nice addition to your landscape. These plants are highly sought after by many native bees and butterflies making this an ideal plant to add to the garden for the pollinators and for their beautiful flowers during the summer. California Buckwheat handles the full summer sun and a variety of soils. They can reach up to 6’ tall and 9’ wide. If you would like to read more about this interesting plant, click here for the Plant Profile I wrote about them.
Butterfly Bush or Buddleia
In the past I have not had great luck with Buddleia but this year my luck has changed. I have two plants that I dug up and planted in pots this winter and they are doing so much better. I have not had luck growing these in the ground so far. My two plants are in pots with filtered afternoon shade and they are putting out a lot of new growth and blooming beautifully this year. Buddleia are drought tolerant, rabbit and deer resistant and grow to approximately 5’-8’ tall and wide, although I highly doubt mine in pots will reach these sizes.
Feathery Cassia
Feathery Cassia is native to Australia and is an attractive shrub because of its long, slender leaves giving it a soft feathery look. It does really well in the heat and a variety of soils. Mine is planted in the ground, full sun and gets watered maybe once every 2 – 3 weeks. I have noticed with mine that if our winter is really cold it will die back. I trim it to the ground and in spring it always comes back beautifully. It is a decent size shrub approximately 3’ – 6’ tall and wide.
Perennials
Autumn Sage
Autumn Sage is a native perennial that does quite well in the full sun and in a variety of soils. It is a small bush of bright green leaves and my plant has dark purple flowers. Autumn Sage flowers come in a variety of colors. It is easy to grow and tolerates our harsh summers. The hummingbirds and butterflies love this plant. It can be grown in pots but mine are currently in the ground, in full sun and on drip irrigation. These plants can reach 3’ tall and wide. The hummingbirds love this plant!
Coast Rosemary
Coast Rosemary is fairly new to me. I purchased this plant last spring and it has done really well. It made the What’s Blooming in July? list because unlike my other rosemary plants, this one is currently blooming. It is native to Australia, drought tolerant and is an attractive evergreen shrub with small light purple flowers. So far it has been easy to care for and has required very little maintenance. My plant is in a pot and has full morning sun and partial afternoon sun.
Wall Germander
Wall Germander is a drought tolerant, evergreen with delightful little pinkish/purple flowers. This plant has beautiful, dark green little leaves and grows about 12” tall and 24” wide. Mine are all grown in the ground, in full sun and on drip irrigation. I have noticed that they do not bloom as well in partial shade.
Myoporum
Myoporum is an evergreen, perennial groundcover. It will not handle being walked on as its branches are brittle. It is drought tolerant, native to Australia and will reach 6” – 12” wide and tall. Mine is in full sun, in the ground with drip irrigation. I love its little white flowers and dark green foliage!
Scabiosa
Scabiosa are fun flowers to have in the garden. I love the frilly blueish/gray leaves and long stemmed purple flower clusters. These compact perennials usually grow around 12” – 15” tall and wide. They are native plants to the Mediterranean region and are drought tolerant and deer resistant. My plants are planted in the ground, in full afternoon sun and on drip irrigation.
Angelita Daisy
This is a new plant for me. I just purchased this drought tolerant native this spring and I absolutely love it so far! I hope it will continue to grow well for me because I really enjoy the grayish-green grass-like foliage and long stemmed yellow daisy flowers. I love how the flowers sway in the wind and I enjoy watching the hummingbirds and butterflies constantly visiting the plant. Angelita Daisy is a small perennial measuring about 10” high and 18” wide. My plants are in the ground with drip irrigation and receive full sun.
Gazania
Gazanias, also known as African Daisy, are a drought tolerant perennial that does really well in full sun and all soil varieties. They are native to South Africa and bloom throughout summer with a variety of colors and patterns to choose from. They are easy to care for, reseed easily and reach about 12” tall and wide. My plants are in the ground with drip irrigation and receive full afternoon sun.
Gaura or Bee Blossom
This is a favorite of mine and I have been growing it for several years. I love the swirling long stemmed flowers over the dark green rounded mass of leaves. Gaura is drought tolerant native to North America. It reaches about 24” wide and tall. The hummingbirds and butterflies love these flowers. My plant is in the ground with drip irrigation and receives full afternoon sun.
Lantana
Lantana are fast growing perennials with beautiful flower clusters. These plants are native to Central and Southern America and they thrive in the heat. Some varieties can get quite large; 6’ wide and tall but the variety I have is a lot smaller, around 1’ – 2’ tall and wide. Lantana flower clusters come in a wide variety of colors. I have my plants in the ground, with drip irrigation and in full sun. One important note about Lantana is that they are considered to be toxic to pets.
Alyssum
Alyssum is one of my favorite flowers. I included it under the perennial list because in our area it can be grown as a short lived perennial. This means it can live about two years before the plant is done. I almost did not add Alyssum to this list because some of my plants are struggling with this heat but I changed my mind when I noticed that only the older plants are having a tough time. All the plants that have come up on their own, I started from seed or purchased this spring are doing really well. I have Alyssum plants everywhere since many came up on their own. I have them in pots, in the ground, full sun and partial sun and all the younger plants are thriving. If you would like to learn more about Alyssum, here is a link to the Plant Profile that I wrote.
Annuals
Zinnias
I just started growing Zinnias last year and I am bummed I did not start growing these sooner. They are such wonderful annuals to have in the garden. I have them in pots and in the ground and they are doing wonderful in both locations. I have some in a pot outside my window and I have so much fun watching the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds constantly visit the flowers. I have started my plants from seed both directly sown and started indoors first. Both methods worked but I had a higher success rate with the ones started indoors. Zinnias are native to North America, fast growing, come in a wide variety of colors and reach 1’ – 4’ tall. I can not recommend these flowers enough and wish I would have started growing them sooner.
Marigolds
Marigolds are probably one of the most recognizable summer flowers. They are popular among flower and vegetable gardeners alike. They are beautiful and hardy and some people believe they help keep the pests in check. Either way they are blooming during this heat wave and feeding lots of pollinators in our yard. I have grown them in pots and in the ground with success. I have the best luck with growing marigolds from seed. For some reason my purchased plants are not as hardy as ones that have volunteered to grow or ones that I have sprouted myself. Marigolds are native to subtropical America and grow around 6” – 3’ tall.
Gaillardia
Gaillardia is also known as Indian Blanket or Firewheel. They are a native wildflower to North America and are in the sunflower family. They grow approximately 1’ – 2’ tall and wide and reseed very easily. Even though they are not a perennial, they can easily be mistaken for one because of how well they reseed. These plants are easy to care for. I have mine in pots and in the ground, full sun and partial shade and all of them are doing very well and blooming throughout this heat wave.
Some of the flowers that I am growing and considered adding to this list but didn’t are roses and hollyhocks. I decided not to add these to the list because I feel that I do not have consistency with these plants yet. Half of them look pretty good considering the high heat and hot wind. The other half look half dead and that every leaf or petal has been put in the furnace, which in a way they have.
I know that other plants are blooming right now that are not on the list like impatiens, petunias and sunflowers but I am not currently growing these and did not add them. I would like to hear from you on what is blooming in your garden right now. Maybe I will add them to our garden next year and update this list. Let me know in the comments below!
Happy desert gardening and be safe in this heat!
Joy Simper has a full time job as a home schooling stay at home mom. She is the one that holds the house and yard together and keeps the kids in line. She enjoys gardening, including seed starting and propagating plants.