OK, Miz_G, you win (or lose). Guess I shouldn't complain about Houston-area weather, but will anyway. :)

I was just wondering this morning: when plants/flowers/annuals are touted as 'full sun', can 6-8 hours of full TEXAS sun be too much? I have a couple of zinnia varieties that are looking rather sad (blooms are very faded). Yet, the ones in a semi-shady bed look much happier. Do I need to re-think 'full sun' for future plantings? (I've got tithonia seedlings ready to be planted in sunny spots next week.)

It really just depends on the plant. My zinnia Profusions always thrived in mostly all day sun, while my other zinnias needed some shade. Some salvias appreciate afternoon shade, some love more sun. And on and on. It’s just trial and error, I guess. :)

When I’m trying something new to me, I research what others in our conditions have experienced (internet, neighbors, experts at local nurseries), rather than go by the tags or advice from people who don’t garden in our brutal heat/sun/droughts/crap soil.

ETA: What’s even worse about the temps is that’s not including the heat index, which adds on a few degrees. The older I get, the harder this heat is on me!

Re your ETA, I hear you! :) Between the sunscreen and the mosquito spray, my pores feel like they're suffocating -- sweat can't even find its way to the surface so I can experience some of that cooling by evaporation. (Though, with the high humidity, CbE may not even occur!) I do find the more time I spend outdoors (in the morning, usually), my heat tolerance does increase a bit. But 90s-100s is off the charts.

BTW, I've also got some Profusions in the yard (new for me, zinnias). This is a sampling of my very sad, faded blooms. They're supposed to be a bright, watermelon red, and the initial flush was that deeply colored. They're not pushing any new buds/blooms -- I thought Profusions didn't required dead heading. Do you deadhead yours?

To make matters worse, after I tapped these blooms into my pan, I noticed a host of bad bugs and wonder if they're not adding to my issues. In addition to lots of thrips (I have a very thrip-y yard -- gardenia blooms don't last long.), I saw a couple of spider mites and these guys -- no clue what they are:

(click to enlarge)

^^ This one is the largest, so perhaps adult? Has wings.

There were a lot of smaller ones crawling around, too:

These are crawling around in the other bed, too, where the Short Stuff Zinnias are planted. Zinnias are just not loving my yard. :/

Not sure what the bugs are.

No, I’ve never deadheaded my Profusions. I had them in driveway beds at my last house, right on the curb. A pretty dry area, and full on afternoon sun. They were actually very neglected!

These are awful, washed-out cell phone pics I took a couple of mornings ... the first year and second year. Each year, they spread more, and I had some pop up in a bed about 10ft away, too! Birds, I guess. Wish I had better pics of these! They really were pretty. By year 3, they’d completely covered that part of the bed.

It is much too soon for Texas to turn into the 7th level of hell. We didn't get nearly enough springtime this year, although my allergies would insist otherwise. DH and I enjoy "suburban hikes" of a few miles daily, and already those have gone from invigorating to just about unbearable.

I planted salvia in my front bed last weekend and it droops daily. I've also discovered that we need to amend our sprinkler system to include the area where the salvia were placed, as I thought we had coverage there but we don't and I'll be darned if I intend to hand water a bed on a regular basis.

So far we've escaped severe weather. Got a little smattering of hail several weeks ago, but nothing major. I hope that trend holds ...

But, yeah. Summer is upon us. Already.

Oh, and is it TMI if I complain about being 55 and enduring heat flashes during weather like this? (Yeah, it is. I know.)

I can mow or weed for about half an hour before taking a cool off break in the shade of the covered patio. I use a lot of the neck things designed to cool us down quickly but they quickly become body temp or higher. I just strive to get it done in the morning and cool off in the ac when it is too hot to bear.

Ida, same here ... we love to hike, but I melt when it’s upper 90s and up. Ugh! My Yankee husband LOVES our heat. I told him, yeah, you haven’t lived with it your whole life, weirdo!

PK, thanks for reminding me about those neck cooling things — love those.

Javiwa, sorry, I should have been clearer ... the Profusions (and some other types) are reseeding annuals, not perennials. I really wasn’t expecting them to do so well there, sure miss them! I planted some in pots and a window planter here and they’re not happy at all. Moving them today, just got back with some pentas for the containers instead. I’ll put the zinnias in a bed.

ETA: Also got my Magilla perilla today. Can’t not have them every year! And a coleus.

Hmm. Most recent forecast has upped Thursday to 106. Sigh. Should be some really fun water and electric bills coming up.

Gahhhhh! But on the bright side, those are some gorgeous plants you just shared! Coleus is such fun!

Thanks! It’ll fill that pot fast ... I’m taking bets on who will prevail: the coleus or the potato vine. :D