And marigolds

And Portulaca (Moss Rose) -- very heat and drought tolerant

Portulaca has never grown for me?? They seem like a succulent, deer in the area rip em out and spit em out

I've been disappointed in my Bubblegum Supertunia and Lemon Slice Superbell baskets this year but have been happy with everything else. I'm a cautious and lazy gardener though, and try not to bring in anything that will need some sort of chemical intervention or frequent dead heading.

Plants that have thrived in this long, hot, and humid summer include gomphrena, angelonia, zinnia, statice, and portulaca.

Do you like Gaillardia? That might require more deadheading than you'd like but they like heat and have fabulous color.

I hate the look of those Razzle Dazzle Gillardia and your Zinnias. I love Goblin and Cappuchino and they only require a lot of deadheading if you want to keep them blooming but they bloom for a long time without deadheading. Mine bloom from June until close to frost. Frankly I like the pom pom seed heads so I do very little deadheading.

Marigolds, Petunias, Zinnias and portulacca all require as much deadheading as Gillardias to keep them blooming. In addition Petunias tend to get leggy if not pruned back

I've never dead headed a Portulaca in my life!

Love the Razzle Dazzles of ZM's amazing breeding efforts. What beauties. Unfortunately, Gaillardia doesn't meet my needs. It requires frequent deadheading in order to remain full of blooms and is prone to Asters Yellow disease and some other weird fungus that I forget the name of. It's a perennial with issues.

Since we're talking about perennials (Gaillardia), the one I love as my "blanket" is Delosperma cooperi, commonly known as Ice Plant. I've been trying out a few different colors, as well as Delosperma Fire Spinner, a hybrid introduction.

Helenium amarum 'Dakota Gold' has been a nice volunteer for me since I
first planted them about 15 or so years ago. Easy to move if they
volunteer in a bad spot.

When petunias peter, I put 'em in that pot (with a brom).

Close-up.

tj

Annuals have to be tough in my area (Texas). I only plant those that need no deadheading or babying, and thrive in 100+ degrees.

Portulaca, hands down, is the toughest annual for me. It can take full Tx sun, neglect, anything.

Profusion Zinnias have been super tough in my yard, too. I'm amazed at how much they love all-day, brutal sun ... they reseed in sunny areas, but don't in my areas of afternoon shade. Love them.

CROSSANDRA infundibuliformis 'Orange Marmalade' .... great performer. Mine does best in afternoon shade. Doesn't like too much water. Constant blooms.

Purple Fountain Grass, Periwinkles, Potato Vine ... I use them somewhere every year. Potted--first pic on planting day, second pic, 5 weeks later:

Globe Amaranth ... had some planted in a bed last year, and this year it popped up way across my driveway, in a pebbled area with thick black plastic underneath (the area is for my bench, not for growing anything -- this plant decided otherwise!). :)

Pentas are a great annual with constant blooms. I have these in pots with other annuals, in a wooden wagon.

.

I'll add Marigolds and annual Lantana as well. Perilla "Magilla" is a tough and showy container plant ... very quick growing, and prefers afternoon shade.

Hi MizGG,

Splendid pictures !!! You seem to be doing very well in the hot Texas weather, and have done an excellent job of landscaping your house. Back many decades ago we lived in Fort Worth for many years, and the Summers were HOT. We had one period of many days when the daytime high was 100 or over, and the nighttime lows were in the mid 80's. Our air conditioner ran continuously and couldn't keep up during the day. One TV weatherman wouldn't call it "Hot" unless the daytime high was triple digits.

Your plants seem to be thriving in the heat and look spectacular. That hanging basket of portulaca is some of the best looking portulaca I have seen, as is the portulaca in the border. Great job.

ZM

Thank you so much, ZM! I really appreciate the compliments. :)

I've been reading your Zinnia thread in awe, would really like to try other varieties. Your thread is an inspiration.

I'm not far from Ft Worth. It is a challenge to grow things in this climate, soil, etc!

Yes rhizo--Portulaca doesn't require deadheading. I guess I wasn't thinking when I said that. As for Gillardia diseases--They must not be very virulent because in the 20 years they've been in my garden they have never had any disease and insects seldom bother them

Hi MizGG,

Thanks for the compliment on the zinnia thread.

" It is a challenge to grow things in this climate, soil, ..."

I found that to be the case also in south Fort Worth. The builder had applied a thin veneer of topsoil over a thick layer of Caliche clay and limestone. It was a continuing fight to keep the soil pH down anywhere near neutral. Since the limestone was an ancient sea bed, it was not unusual to dig up a fossil.

Hey Zenman, if you turn on your Messaging we can send you a private message. I wanted to tell you I LOVE LOVE LOVE those zinnias. Zinnia or Gaillardia--I love that look! Thanks for sharing. (There are instructions for setting up messaging on the Newbie Threads) Heidi

I love your zinnias!!! Great job! To each his own, I guess.......

Hi Heidi,

I'm glad you like the look of zinnias that resemble gaillardias. Thanks for the tip on private messaging. However, I have been so busy that I don't think I would have the time to devote to it that it deserves. But thanks anyway.

ZM

Hi Lisa,

I'm glad you like my zinnias. I agree with you, "to each his own". Everyone is entitled to have their own preferences and opinions. I can't say I ever "hated" a flower, but Rose thorns really annoy me from time to time. So I don't grow roses. If one of my zinnias shows up with thorns, I will pull it up. In my zinnia breeding hobby, I do cull a lot of zinnias to make more room for the "good" ones. I guess you could call that "tough love".

ZM

I must be the only snapdragon lover here! At my mom's house the dwarf snaps always do well; she never deadheads or pinches back and they bloom like crazy all summer long in SE Nebraska. They also reseed and come up in fun color combos after they cross pollinate.

Summer high temps are upper 90's, maybe low 100s for a couple days each year, so I can't speak to how well they would do in hotter or drier areas.

Other tough annuals for that area are portulaca, coleus, impatiens and celosia. Celosia/cockscomb reseeds like crazy. I don't know what she did to make the impatiens so hardy; those things would get 14-16" tall and super bushy in 8-10 hours of full sun.

Just coming in on this thread, and unless I missed it, no one has mentioned one of my new favorites: red salvia. I started some from seed given me last year, and liked it, so I planted a lot more this year. It has bloomed consistently, though it does enjoy it if I periodically go out and snap off the spent flowering stalks. But I think it would just keep bushing out and flowering even if I didn't. The red is gorgeous, no disease seems to be bothering the plants (in my climate - I'm zone 5) and the hummingbirds love them!

Hey, ZM - I like your gaillardia-flowered zinnias, too. :)