Some flowers, like daffodils and dianthus, thrive in the fresh, cool days of spring and early summer. Others can thrive in summer’s toughest heat. These stalwart individuals will keep on blooming even during extremely high temperatures, so if you live in a region with warm temperatures, then you might consider planting a few of these flowers.
Here, we asked experts about their favorite flowers that can tolerate the heat and will shine even when the sun is bright.
Meet Our Expert
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Related: These 7 Vegetables Thrive in the Heat—Even When Everything Else Wilts
01 of 08
Zinnias
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For stunning blooms that envelop your landscape in beauty, zinnias are an ideal summer flower. “With endless choices of colors and varieties, they produce more and more blooms as heat intensifies,” says flower farmer Jennifer Joray.
She recommends watering zinnias well and cutting the mature blooms down to the next set of leaves or deeper for longer stems. “Japanese beetles love them, so knocking them off with a small bucket of water underneath helps us to catch them as they roll and fall off the leaf. Do this every day and your zinnias will have fewer chomps,” she says.
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Mature size: 14 to 18 inches tall x 20 to 24 inches wide
Care requirements: Full soil, well-drained soil
Related: How to Grow and Care for Zinnias, an Easy Flower That Blooms All Summer
02 of 08
Mexican Sunflowers
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If you love brilliant summer colors, don’t miss the Mexican sunflower—a cousin of traditional sunflowers.
“Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia spp.) are an annual flowering plant that blooms in bright hues of orange, yellow, and red,” says author Kathy Jentz. She says this plant attracts plenty of pollinators to the garden, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
And since Mexican sunflowers are native to Central America, they’re naturally heat resistant. “Water them if there isn’t enough rain when they are seedlings, but once mature, they are quite drought-tolerant,” she says. Jentz suggests fertilizing and deadheading them occasionally to encourage repeat blooming.
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Mature size: About 5 feet tall x 3 feet wide
Care requirements: Full sun, not overly rich soil or it may grow too much foliage. Excess humidity isn’t the best.
03 of 08
Globe Amaranth
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“Globe amaranth is a drought-tolerant annual flower,” says Jentz. “It blooms in tight balls in an array of colors including pink, purple, white, red, and orange.” If you’re seeking flowers that can handle the heat, this South American native is a fine option and is hardy to Zones 9 through 11.
“It thrives in hot, full-sun locations with well-draining soils,” says Jentz. “It’s a prolific bloomer, and it’s a great choice for cutting gardens.” She emphasizes the easy maintenance of Gomphrena globosa and says it doesn’t require fertilizer, although you can top-dress with compost in the root zone.
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Zones: 9 to 11 as a perennial, can be grown as an annual nearly anywhere else
Mature size: About 24 inches tall x 12 inches wide
04 of 08
Celosia
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Very heat-tolerant with blooms reminiscent of fire, celosia can add a dash of the dramatic to your landscape. “It’s an annual flowering plant in the amaranth family that is also known as woolflower or feather cockscomb,” says Jentz.
She notes that depending on the variety, the flowers can be bright yellow, orange, deep red, purple, or pink. and that they have a long season of bloom from June until heavy frost. “Celosia will self-sow and return year after year in the same spot if you let them,” says Jentz.
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There are three major forms of Celosia argentea blooms, according to Jentz: the candle-like spicata, the flame-like plumosa, and the cristata, which can form into interesting shapes.
Zones: 10 and 11, grown as an annual elsewhere
Mature size: About 12 to 24 inches tall, but some reach double that height
Care requirements: Full sun, well-drained soil
05 of 08
Cosmos
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The lovely colors and delicate large petals of cosmos make these flowers a delightful addition to any garden space. Best of all, they can handle warm temperatures.
“Cosmos love the heat, even when it’s intense, and despite their delicate nature, will produce more and more blooms until all branches have been cut, usually over a period of about three weeks,” says Joray. “For longest vase life, cut the single varieties when they’re showing a colored bud and the double ruffled varieties before they have opened fully.”
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She notes that cosmos are easy to care for and don’t require good soil to grow well. “The Bright Lights variety makes the prettiest seed heads that shimmer after weeks of blooming is complete, and if some flowers are left to go to seed, it can easily be saved for the following season from those pods,” she says.
Zones: 2 to 11 (might survive the winter zones 7+)
Mature size: About 48 inches tall x 24 inches wide
Care requirements: Full sun, soil that leans dry rather than moist
06 of 08
Pincushion Flower
Pincushion or scabiosa makes an excellent cut flower in the home garden
Credit: Angela England
Similar in appearance to bachelor’s buttons, pincushion flower is the kind of flower that doesn’t mind a hot summer day. “It produces so many attractive, smaller, disk-shaped blooms that all kinds of pollinators flock to,” says Joray.
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She adds that Scabiosa is easy to start from seed and will bloom even in the hottest part of summer, although on slightly shorter stems than in cooler weather. “Their graceful, arching stems wave gently in the breeze and make an excellent cut flower,” she says.
Mature size: 2 to 4 feet tall
Care requirements: Full sun, well-drained soil
07 of 08
Marigolds
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Marigolds are so commonly grown that it’s easy to overlook them in a landscape, but you’ll be thankful for those bright and cheery blooms when summer temperatures start to soar. Marigolds are well-known for being deer resistant, but they’re also able to withstand the heat of summer while still producing flowers.
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Mature size: 6 to 12 inches tall x 6 to 12 inches wide
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil
Related: Pair Marigolds With These 23 Plants for Fewer Pests and Bigger Harvests
08 of 08
Spider Flower
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Spider flower may look delicate and wispy, but its appearance (and those soft pastel colors) belie its true strength. Cleome does very well in hot temperatures and loves warm soil. Like the marigold, spider flower is known for being deer resistant.
Mature size: 4 to 6 feet tall x 3 to 5 feet wide
Care requirements: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
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