In our very hot climate I put potted plants in plastic containers that have a water reserve (self-watering) in the pot bottom. Then the plastic pot goes inside the clay pot. The plastic pot protects the plant roots from the scalding hot clay pot and the water reserve lets them go longer between waterings. Another nice thing is the ease of replanting annuals or plants that don't make it - just lift out the plastic pot and take it to your potting area. -Hal

How about some flax- I see it growing along road ways in harsh climates. Also the upright leaves of flax and the shape of the urns is very, very elegant and complimentary. I grown some in large containers in a very harsh and hot environment and they are doing good. Plus people are always telling me how good they look.

I have a similar problem and tried lavender this year (I think a dwarf Munstead variety). It looks and smells great, and loves hot and dry. It's a little more expensive than annuals, but cheaper than replacing dead/dried out flowers!

nastursiums are the only non-succulent that I can think of,

and I don't know if succulents are worth treating as annuals...

actually, maybe a yucca? they take our winters just fine, and they're elegant looking ; )

Why not try some of the beautiful trailing vines. By the time it really gets warm it will shade the pot and keep it cooler, also I have used wave petunias in mine with great luck. They trail over the sides and stay full and flower like crazy/ What a welcome they are. And I just tried Soil Moist this year and it works like a charm.

Good luck!

Cheers Jando

Agave, hens-and-chicks and sedums are succulents that can handle the heat. You could plant an agave in a pot to stick in the middle (remove and bring inside for winter), but permanently plant hens-and-chicks and creeping sedums all about the periphery. They'd drape over the edges of the urns. Sedums bloom in colors ranging from lemon yellow to cerise-pink. And many types grow horizontally and creep, which makes them great for containers to soften edges.

I have the same 2 pots! Well, they're wooden barrels, but I've been trying to find something that will grow in them for several years also. This year I tried nastursiums and 4 o'clocks and had pretty good luck. I gave up on perennials last year, but I think I'm going to try adding soapwort in one and skullcap in the other and give them a test. I've had luck with both in other dry containers.

lantana is the best plant i have for such conditions.
it loves heat and withstands drought extremely well.
i never water it and it blooms until frost. these are the trailing-type(i have yellow but there is also white) rather than the huge, upright plants. they are dieback perennials here, but would be annuals for you unless you double-pot and bring inside during winter.

Posted by: Cady 6b MA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 03 at 12:55
Said exactly what I was going to say!
Did it for a client and they neglected it all year and it florished!

I second the suggestion about lantana. Here in Arizona, there is a lot of lantana planted all over the place. It survives 105-115 degree heat here in the summer in my front yard. I have mine on a drip system and it gets watered every 4 days or so in the middle of summer in Phoenix...so I bet it would do quite well in your planters there in Canada!

I think portulaca would do well there (moss rose) it would start to trail out of the urns and it loves well-drained hot, sunny conditions..... (I think it's from south america.....).... Also african daisy might do quite well (Dimorphotheca aurantiaca)(it's from South Africa) and Osteospermums might do well but might be more iffy.......

Iceplant (memembryanthemum), lavender, portulaca, lantana, verbena, fennel, nasturtiums, dimorphotheca, yarrow, osteospermums, yucca, penstemons, some salvia, and succulents.

Yes, lavender might work...but a better idea is to have something that shouts at passers-by.....amaranthus!!!
Amaranthus tricolor (Joseph's Coat)....no flowers...just the brightest, biggest rainbow colored leaves that people are going to stop and take pictures and bug you about
"what are they called"...."where can I get them"...
at any decent sized garden centre or nursery.

Zone 5...Canada....Ontario maybe?....Weall & Cullen always has them....
Scarborough area....Pine Ridge Nurseries, Brock Road in Pickering...
How about that eh!

Happy New Year.

Have you tried to use a liner, e.g. a plastic pot. Most hanging baskets are around 10 inches, so you may find one that fits nicely. I put one inside my cast iron urn which I plant with annuals and it faces south west. This year i'll try to have a few pots around which will take turns sitting in the urn, this way the pots gets a couple of days off from the heat of the urn. Maybe this will prevent things from baking to death. Cheers!
Mary Anne

Try a cordyline (do well in pots, the Red Sensation ,the purple or the variegated ones look nice in a pot), yucca fillifera , dasylirion , dwarf variegated abelia , dwarf shrub bougainvillea (eg. Temple Fire or Tom Thumb, but these will have to be moved or covered in winter, depending on your climate), miniature rose , aloe , yucca.
If the containers are biggish you could go for a something bigger like a smallish hardy tree, which will grow for many years before needing to be planted out. Try one of the conifers , Cassinopsis (lemon thorn), Circis siliqua (St Johns Bread tree) etc. You can underplant a few annuals or a ground cover around the stem for a bit of colour or use bark chips, tumbled pebbles or course river sand to brighten it up.

I second the pot within a pot idea, instead of ground planting. Especially because whatever you choose to plant may not make it through the cold 5b winter. Lavendar might, but the rest I'm not as sure about.

If you are going to pot it out, overseed from seed with tough lavendar, terragon, crepping thyme, marigolds, dwarf sunflowers and bachelor buttons.

When you go through to thin, you can add the sedums (great idea for that location).

Or fake it...
Put a short (4" tall) pot in the bottom. Allow air in the rest of the container for less efficient heating. Then you can use smaller "filler" pots to put in whatever interests you. I would consider using the moisture crystals and then dwarf (Jerusalem) sunflowers. Also, the flax and hardy wave petunias might help. But if everything dies, you can add another simple pot for a couple of weeks (mint or marigolds or whatever). Switch out when when the plant starts to die off. Place another plant there to stress out for a couple of weeks.

One question I have is whether the planters are painted and what color they are.. white is a reflective color and cooler than black or a dark color, so if they are dark, it would be a good idea to paint them white so to reflect a lot of the heat. The pot inside the pot is a good idea, and then put several one to two inch size rocks or golf balls in the bottom of the planter,under the pot, so the there's room for a little water for humidity and reserve. I'm surprised no one mentioned wave petunias..they're heat hardy if watered every day as planters in the heat need to be, and put on a great show. Another annual if you can get them, or plant from seed are annual dwarf phlox. They are about 10 inches to a foot tall and are the most cheerful, cottage flower I know. They're a little tricky to get going well, but once they're established, what a beautiful, charming show they put on...It really helps boost them to pinch off the seed balls which form after the flower clusters...but it's a joy to see how readily they flower afterwards. There is also a Twinkle dwarf variety which look like little stars. Try them for a sunny site. Sweet alyssum is also a nice one for a hot spot. How about Zinnias? They come in some interesting colors, shapes and forms.

a friend of mine gave me 2 plumeria cuttings that i have at the end of my drive way in hot containers, they love the heat and arw doing wonderful. I am in zone 8, and get heavy sun and with the white concrete the sun really pounds them. but they are doing really good. Lantana is also an excellent choice. it really takes off and is heat and drought tolarant.

Portulaca can tolerate the heat and I really think the only thing that can kill this pretty flower is gasoline. I have them by my mailbox that gets full sun in 100 degree heat everyday with little watering. They are thriving!