Planting Those Really Hot Spots

Suggestions on planting in the harshest hot areas of your lawn or garden.

Agave parryi
Item # J2753 		Agave parryi
Parry's Century Plant, Flagstaff form

each $18.99
Antirrhinum x ‘Dulcinea’s Heart’ (Dulcinea’s Heart Cold Hardy Snapdragon)
Item # 19990 		Antirrhinum 'Dulcinea's Heart'
Dulcinea's Heart Cold Hardy Snapdragon

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Teucrium aroanium
Item # 94620 		Teucrium aroanium
Gray Creeping Germander

each $5.99
3 to 6 plants $5.79
7 or more $5.59
Salvia x 'Raspberry Delight'®
Item # 84796 		Salvia 'Raspberry Delight'®
Raspberry Delight Hybrid Bush Sage

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Stanleya pinnata
Item # 92870 		Stanleya pinnata
Prince’s Plume

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Dasylirion wheeleri
Item # 39550 		Dasylirion wheeleri
Sotol, Desert spoon

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59

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It seems that everyone has a spot or two that really cooks in the summer. You know; that west facing wall off the garage or the baking bed on the south side of your house in front of the big picture window. But fear not. Numerous xeric (waterwise) plants welcome the dry heat that these microclimates create, and with the right choice of plants you can actually put this little piece of the Sahara to your advantage.

Go Up a Zone

Usually very hot summer locales are also warmer in the winter months. Using these places allows us to grow plants that normally wouldn’t be quite cold-hardy enough to survive in our area. It’s not uncommon to be able to grow USDA zone 6 plants in a zone 5 region, or a zone 7 plant in a zone 6 area. Create microclimates by adding heat-absorbing rocks or stone walls to garden areas.

Tips for Planting Xerics

Several secrets exist to establishing plants in very hot sites:

  • Don’t plant in the heat of the summer! Plant in early spring or fall to allow plants to establish their root systems before the extreme heat of summer.
  • Incorporate water absorbing crystals like Soil Moist into the backfill of the planting hole then deep water your new transplants regularly their first growing season.
  • Use a 2 or 3-inch layer of mulch to cool the soil and retain soil moisture.

Favorite Sun-loving Plants

Some of my favorite succulents for extreme heat include:

  • Dasylirion wheeleri (Sotol) with its sculptural form and attractively toothed blue-green foliage,
  • Hesperaloe parviflora (Texas Red Yucca) with its arching evergreen foliage and summer long display of coral-red flowers on tall spikes and
  • Agave parryi (Parry’s Century Plant) with its magnificently spined rosette of thick leaves.
  • Note that all these succulents prefer spring planting in zone 6 and colder climates as they need the hot weather to establish their roots.

Desert grasses with their graceful foliage and tawny seed heads are the perfect companion plants to these beautiful succulents:

Heat-loving Perennials include:

Try Exotics

Many excellent choices come to us from the hot regions of the Mediterranean. Gray Santolina mixes together wonderfully with Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Irene’ (Irene Rosemary), Teucrium aroanium (Gray Germander) and the various Lavender varieties. Not only do these plants love the heat, they also have wonderfully fragrant foliage that will perfume the air of their planting site.

So as they say, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” with some heat loving xeric plants and enjoy the results.