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| Photo Credit: Mary Moore |
| The pretty foliage and bright flowers of yarrow bring life to the hot summer garden. |
If you can’t stand the heat, get out the garden! At least that’s how I feel about those perennial herbs and flowers that can’t make it through hot, dry summers. Tender selections are just too time-consuming with all the pampering they need to survive.
If your garden gets hit with drought or extreme heat, don’t panic – you don’t have to let your favorite hobby dry up in the sun. Just try a few of these colorful, hardworking plants instead. Not only can these beauties survive hot, dry summers, they’ll return to thrive when temperatures are more moderate. They’re sure to become a welcome addition to your garden! Yarrow: Achillea sp. is a group of self-seeding perennials with ferny foliage that can take full sun and grow beautifully year after year. A sun-loving flower, yarrow needs very well-drained soil and is prone to root rot when sunk into clay. Blooms can be cream, yellow, pink or deep red, and the plant’s medium green or gray-green leaves grow during the summer and die back in fall. When the flowers dry, just rub them and allow the flake-like seeds to fall over the ground to reseed for the next year. Cover seeds lightly with soil, water and wait for your plants to return! | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Mary Moore | | A very aggressive grower, Verbena will often burst into bloom right after a summer rain. ‘Homestead Purple’ is a hardy hybrid variety. |
Verbena: A fast-growing spreader, Verbena canadensis is a perennial that’s often treated as an annual in areas with hard winters. Once the flowers start to appear in late spring, it blooms profusely through fall. Drought may slow down flower production, but as soon as a good rain falls, the plant bursts back into color! Verbena blooms come in a range of hues, including white, pink, magenta, purple, blue and combinations of these. Plants can be propagated by seed or by cuttings. Some hybrid varieties, like ‘Homestead Purple’, are hardier, and will recover in spring after a mild winter. Plant verbena in partial to full sun, and give it plenty of room to grow – particularly if it’s a hardier variety. The plant will spread and root, then spread more!
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| Tips |
- While all these recommended herbs and perennials require very little maintenance, the flowers should be pruned to prevent the plants from spending energy on seed production. If you’ve got a groundcover that produces too many flowers to trim individually, just take shears and trim the plants once the blooms have faded.
- Contact your local garden center to find out when these plants will be available in your area.
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| Faqs |
- Q: When should I plant perennials?
A: Many perennials can be planted in spring or fall. If you have a mild winter but a harsh summer, fall planting will allow your plant to develop a strong root system before facing any summer drought. If you have harsh winters and don’t think your perennials will survive the frost, they can be planted in spring. (In extreme cold, some of these plants may need to be treated as annuals.)
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| Resources |
- You can find more detailed information about the plants mentioned in this article in our Learn2Grow Plant Database.
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