The summer of 2022 has been a scorcher. It's one of the hottest, if not THE hottest on record for many areas. For me personally, it's been a challenging gardening year. One of my tomato plants contracted something early on (TSWV?) and it quickly spread to all tomato plants and some of my flowers. It's early August here and I will probably end up pulling most of my tomato plants when they should still have at least a month or two of productivity left. Still, I've gotten some decent tomato yields and lots of blooms from my flowers.
Some of my flowers are rockstars and are still cranking out blooms in the extreme heat. Some didn't make it much past June. Here's a few that are doing great and some that aren't.
Zinnia Profusion Bicolor
This is a new variety in the Profusion series this year. I've grown Profusions before with generally good results. My only complaint with a couple of the Profusion varieties I've grown is that the colors fade quickly in the heat. Not Profusion Bicolor. These are tough plants that are still blooming heavily even with heat indexes regularly around 100-105. Even though they will self-deadhead, I've been helping them out by pinching off declining blooms to keep the new ones coming as quickly as possible. Like all zinnias, these are easy to start from seed and are relatively low maintenance. They make a great plant for the front of the border.
Celosia Ruby Parfait
I love celosias. They come in many shapes and sizes and are easy to grow. Ruby Parfait is a type of Celosia Spicata that grows tall, up to 3 feet. Its purple blooms grow like spiked fingers from sturdy stems. This is a popular variety for cuttings or you can let them grow tall which I've chosen to do. They are very drought resistant and look great all summer, even in extreme heat. Pollinators love them as well. I like these for mid / back of the border. They will readily re-seed. Most of mine this year are volunteers.
Mexican Petunias
My wife and I bought three gallon-sized Mexican petunia plants well over 10 years ago and they've come back consistently every year. They love sun and heat and crank out blue/purple blooms all summer but especially late summer and early fall. Hummingbirds love them and my cats like to hide in the dense foliage. Mine get close to 5 ft tall so they are best as back of the border plants. They don't seem to be affected by any disease and don't need much water although I notice they bloom best with some watering. They can be easily divided and transplanted to other areas. They will spread and can be invasive so you may have to periodically dig them out of areas they aren't supposed to be in.
Marigold Queen Sophia
Marigolds are staples of many gardens and keep pests like nematodes away. I like Queen Sophia because it's a little taller than other marigolds and has a great bushy appearance with showy orange and yellow blooms. These were easy to start from seed and they've stood up to the heat while still blooming away. Bumblebees and swallowtail butterflies seem to love them. New marigold plants can also easily be started from cuttings mid-season which I did to fill in spots from other flowers that didn't survive the heat.
Purslane
Purslane is made for heat and drought. I bought three this year from my local big box and they've done really well. The blooms close in the evening but open during the sun and heat of the day. They are low growing and are a good option for the front of the border. They come in many different colors. It's also easy to root purslane cuttings in water. I've seen a number of bees enjoying the multitude of blooms on these plants.
Lantana
Lantana is a favorite of many who want a low maintenance plant that's drought / heat resistance and a pollinator magnet. We planted three yellow lantana plants in the front of our house a few years ago and they've consistently come back and gotten bigger and bushier every year. This year, even with the heat, they are blooming nonstop and are loaded with small skipper butterflies. We've seen other pollinators swarming around as well. They don't require much water but will bloom best with some watering during dry spells.
Vinca
Vinca is a cheap option to add color to a space. After some lobelia's I planted earlier this year tapped-out from the heat, I replaced them with white vincas. Even in direct, intense sun, the vincas are slowly bushing out. Vinca's aren't my favorite because they don't have much pollen and don't attract pollinators, but they are great for quick color when mixed with other plants in the border.
Ornamental Pepper Chilly Chili
If you are looking for something a little unusual to add to you heat resistant mix, try ornamental peppers. These little pepper plants produce clusters of thin upright peppers that slowly turn from light green to red during the summer. The peppers themselves are edible but have zero heat and not much flavor. They look great when mixed with other blooming annuals and are heat and drought tolerant.
As for the plants that didn't do well in the heat...
Laguna White Lobelia
I really wanted white blooms in the front of the border and decided to give this variety a try after seeing how well they performed for a neighbor who had them in containers. While they started out great and began to bush out, the intense heat of July totally put the kibosh on any further growth, and they stopped blooming and eventually all died.
First Flame Celosia
I really like the color and texture of this celosia and opted to mix them in with the lobelias in the front of the border. Much like the lobelia, First Flame started great and quickly bloomed. I loved the color. While they ultimately lasted longer than the lobelia's they started to lose their color and shape in the heat even with regular watering and fertilizing. I ended up pulling them in early August.
Tips to keep your plants healthy in the heat
In addition to growing plants that can take the heat, I also like to mulch in my vegetables and flowers. Mulching keeps moisture in the soil and can cut down on soil borne diseases. Hardwood mulch is preferred. You could also try cedar or cypress mulch. Both have natural disease resistant.
Keep your plants disease free with regular applications of organic insecticides and fungicides. Healthy, disease-free plants can take heat better than disease and pest-ridden plants. I like neem which has multiple modes of action. Liquid copper fungicide is also an effective option. This year, I added spinosad and BT to the mix, especially for leaf roller caterpillars which decimated my canna lilies last year. The spinosad / BT combo has worked great. Neem, spinosad and BT are all safe to use around pets as well.
Thanks for reading and good luck with you gardening!
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