Hanging Plants That Do Well in the Heat of Summer

As the sun shines down upon the garden and the temperatures soar, many flowers emerge to light up the landscape with their classic, striking blooms. Often, heat-loving flowers are drought-tolerant to withstand the arid, warm climate. Tucked within their hanging baskets, they thrive in the high summer temperatures, but without sacrificing their color and ability to produce masses of long-lasting blooms.

Petunia

Petunia (Petunia x hybrida) flowers are a hardy annual flower that have a spreading and cascading growth habit. Thriving in the high temperatures of summer, petunia blooms grow 6 inches to 18 inches tall and 12 inches to 14 inches wide. Petunia blooms come in a wide range of colors, including red, purple, white, yellow and pink. Drought-tolerant, petunia blooms tolerate limited moisture while still producing masses of colorful blooms. A butterfly and hummingbird attractant, petunias emerge in summer to last through fall, making for a long-lasting hanging basket variety. Tolerant of harsh growing conditions, petunia flowers prefer full sun and well-drained soil to thrive.

Verbena

An annual flower, verbena (Verbena x hybrida) is a rapid-growing flower with a spreading growth habit. Drought-tolerant, verbena flourishes in the high heat of summer, but without sacrificing their colorful blooms. Verbena flowers grow 6 inches to 12 inches tall and 12 inches to 18 inches wide, the ideal hanging plant. Verbena flowers grow in a wide range of colors, including purple, white, pink, red and blue. Emerging in late spring to last into early fall, verbena flowers attract butterflies to the garden. The striking foliage on verbena flowers is dissected and bright green to contrast with the cluster-like flowerheads. Divide verbena in spring to use in other areas of the garden like flower borders and beds. Verbena prefers full sun and well-drained soil to thrive.

Cosmos

Cosmic red cosmos (Cosmos sulfureus), a drought-tolerant annual flower, has a clumping growth habit and rapid growth rate. Growing 6 inches to 12 inches tall and wide, cosmic red cosmos do well in soaring summer temperatures. The vibrant, bright red blooms on the cosmic red cosmos emerge in summer to produce an abundance of flowers. Tucked into a hanging basket or container, cosmos create a vibrant and showy display. A butterfly attractant, they also attract the winged insects to the garden to drink the sweet nectar. Cosmos flowers prefer full sun only and well-drained, nutrient rich soil. To promote flowering, deadhead the spent blooms as soon as they are visible.