Summer is a great time of year for growing, blooming, planting and everything outdoors. But sometimes the heat can sneak up on our favorite plants and bring unexpected stress to the landscape and garden plants. But you can be prepared by incorporating some perennials that don’t stress in the heat. They can take it when there are extended periods of drought and heat and keep your landscaping from looking scorched.
If you’ve got areas of your landscape that are more vulnerable to plant stress; full sun areas or windy spots, here are some great drought tolerant perennials that can take the heat.
Atlas, Fit 300 Gloves
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You can find these and others like them inside your Wilco Store garden center. Just ask about drought tolerant, and our garden area specialist will be glad to guide you through your choices. Here is an overview of some of our favorites.
Anemanthele ‘Pheasant’s Tail Grass’
A semi-evergreen grass originating from New Zealand. It has an upright, arching habit, and a cheerful mix of green, bronze and golden tones. Blooms in early summer. Lifespan is about 3 to 5 years (similar to Lavender).
Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’
Karl Foerster, or Feather Reed Grass, is a large rounded grass mound that attracts birds. It’s heat tolerant and likes 6 hours of sun a day. Known for its dramatic red-bronze flower spikes early to middle of summer, it will faithfully beautify your garden year after year.
Carex ‘Evergold Sedge’
Easy to care for, Evergold Sedge will add lush greens and creamy gold stripes to your landscaping. They are not finicky to grow and are known for their long bladed leaves that add texture to the view. Coffee colored flowers will emerge in the spring. Evergold will grow to about 18″ tall and 16″ wide. Sedge is a cool season grass, but will survive hot and low water conditions by slowing its growth. You can cut it back in February or when ice melts leaving about one third of the plant intact.
Carex ‘Testacea – Orange Sedge’
Orange Sedge is another grass from New Zealand. It is a narrow-leaf grass that grows to about 18″ tall and spreads to about 24″. It has wispy evergreen leaves that sway with the rhythm of the wind and make your landscape “dance”. They’ll be green-orange in summer and turn to copper-brown in fall and winter.
Radius, Pro-Lite Transplanter
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Pennisetum ‘Hameln’
This bird-friendly choice is great for landscapes, containers and cutting. It will grow up to 3ft high and spread up to 2ft wide.Coarse dark green tufted blades that turn golden-brown in the fall with bristly, greenish white flower spikes that mature to Gray-brown in mid to late summer.
Miscanthus ‘Gold Bar’
This full-sun lover enjoys moist soil, but will tolerate periods of dryness. But it is easy to care for and easy on watering needs. It will grow to 5ft high and spread to about 4ft in width. It grows tall and compact with dense, dramatic gold striping accents on every leaf. Burgundy plumes provide a beautiful winter accent. Miscanthus is great for adding texture to beds and borders and is outstanding in upright containers.
Lavender ‘Ellegance Purple’
Ellegance Purple Lavendar has very deep purple flowers that bloom the first year on large, dense spikes. The plants are bushy, uniform, and well-branched. It will grow 12″ to 18″ high. Plant in a light, well-drained soil (great to add some gravel and sand). Lavender likes a protected, south-facing location and loves the sun and soil that is slightly acidic- pH 6.7 or 6.8 is ideal.
Wilco, Premium Soil Test Kit
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Quikrete, Play Sand, 50 lb
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Lavender ‘Grosso’
Lavender Grosso is the variety of lavender that is normally grown for its oils. Very fragrant and loves being potted as well as providing accents to your landscape. It is also widely used for its visual appeal in both culinary and ornamental applications. Slightly acidic soil of around pH 6.8 is ideal for the best color. Will grow to a spread of 24″.
Agastache ‘Rosie Posie’
Growing up to 22″ high by 30″ wide, Rosie Posie will make a statement in your landscape without requiring much water.
It will produce loads of hot pink flowers with magenta purple calyxes just at the top of the foliage- they always look neat and orderly. Because it is so colorful, this plant looks like it is blooming long after it is finished. Typically blooms start in midsummer through early fall but in can start earlier in warmer zones.
Its foliage is aromatic and pleasant. Agastache are well-adapted to do great in dry soils and loves rock gardens container plantings where it will attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and honeybees.
Asclepias ‘Red Butterfly Milkweed’
Loving full sun and only requiring weekly watering (in extreme heat a bit more and also if in containers) will provide clusters of buds opening to bright scarlet-red and yellow flowers. This is an easy care choice that provides wonderful color. It will handle poor, unimproved soils and is perfect for naturalized areas, meadows, and borders. Grows up to 3ft tall. and spreads to 2ft wide.
Need more choices? Visit your Wilco garden center while selection is good. It’s time to plant! Here are some more easy-watering, drought tolerant perennials you’ll find at Wilco.
- Caryopteris ‘Dark Knight’
- Coreopsis ‘Ladybird’
- Gaillardia ‘Mesa Bicolor’
- Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’
- Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’
- Sedum Sunsparkler ‘Blue Pearl’
- Verbena bonariensis ‘Lollipop’
- Verbena bonariensis ‘Meteor Showers’
- Bergenia ‘Winter Glow’
- Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’
- Euphorbia ‘Tazmanian Tiger’
- Heuchera ‘Fire Alarm’
- Heuchera ‘Forever Red’
- Heuchera ‘Lime Marmalade’
- Heuchera ‘Marmalade’
- Yucca ‘Color Guard’
We would love to see your garden growing, use #mywilcolife on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and tag Wilco Stores.
