10 Annual Plants for Hot, Dry Climates
Finding annual plants for hot dry climates that will thrive all summer long in hot, dry climates can be challenging. These heat tolerant annuals are great options to consider for your containers and landscape, especially if you’re searching for drought tolerant annual flowers that won’t fade in extreme weather. Many of these varieties are also considered the best annuals for full sun, performing beautifully in intense heat and bright conditions.
Senorita Blanca® and Senorita Rosalita® Cleome
Common Name: Spider Flower
This trio of plants is tall, well-branched and easy to grow, making them excellent annual plants for hot dry climates. They are a great way to add temporary height to your garden. The plants are easy to grow and have almost no pest or disease issues. They thrive in heat and shrug off tough conditions like true heat tolerant annuals.
24-48” tall, Pequena Rosalita 18-36”. Part Sun to Sun. Annual.
Uses: large upright containers, pollinator gardens, cut flower gardens, mass plantings in landscapes
Common Name: Large Firecracker Plant
Do you love hummingbirds? If so, firecracker plants should be a staple in your garden. It attracts hummingbirds like crazy, is easy to grow and flowers like mad even when the heat is on, making it one of the best annuals for full sun. This is a fairly large, bushy plant that’s perfect for filling space in the middle of the border and performs reliably as one of the top annual plants for hot dry climates.
Uses: large upright containers, pollinator gardens, mass plantings in landscapes
18-28” tall. Sun. Perennial in zones 8-11, grown as an annual elsewhere.
Diamond Frost®, Diamond Mountain® and Diamond Snow® Euphorbia
Common Name: Euphorbia
Back in 2005 when we introduced Diamond Frost euphorbia, little did we know that we had introduced a plant that would become a staple for gardens and combination containers everywhere. This plant thrives in any climate and couldn’t care less if it’s hot or not, humid or arid, sunny or shady, proving itself among the toughest heat tolerant annuals. Though it looks frilly and delicate, it is tough as nails and dependable as one of the most adaptable drought tolerant annual flowers.
Since then, we’ve introduced two more euphorbias that are just as easy to grow but have different forms. Diamond Snow is a more densely mounded plant with double flowers. It’s beautiful as an edging along sunny pathways and doesn’t mind the reflected heat there. Diamond Mountain is an extra-large euphorbia that’s made to mix with other very vigorous plants like Supertunia Vista® Bubblegum in containers and is large enough to take the place of a small shrub in the landscape.
Uses: upright containers, mass plantings in landscapes, perfect mixer in combinations
12-18” tall except Diamond Mountain - 24-36” tall. Part Sun to Sun. Annual.
Common Name: Dwarf Morning Glory
Some of the best-known sky blue flowered plants, Delphinium and Lobelia, are not lovers of hot climates. BUT those of us in hot climates no longer need to envy our northern neighbors. Blue My Mind thrives in heat and blooms best in hot conditions, making it one of the most reliable annual plants for hot dry climates. So, rather than wilting when it gets hot, it blooms even better and stands out among drought tolerant annual flowers!
Uses: upright containers, annual groundcover, spiller in combinations
6-12” tall. Sun. Perennial in zones 9-11, grown as an annual elsewhere.
Common Name: Globe Amaranth
This is such a fun plant! It is loaded with small, fluffy pink flowers with yellow-orange stamens and blooms like crazy in the heat, easily ranking among the top heat tolerant annuals. The blooms attract pollinating bees and butterflies which add color and movement to your garden. This is a fairly large plant that shines best in landscapesand thrives as one of the best annuals for full sun, but you could also use it as a thriller in large container recipes.
Uses: landscapes, upright containers, hanging baskets, filler or thriller in combinations, pollinator gardens
22-28” tall. Sun. Perennial in zones 9-11, grown as an annual elsewhere.
Luscious® Lantana – Available in 10 Colors
Common Name: Lantana
Lantana is an amazingly tough plant for hot, dry climates and a classic example of annual plants for hot dry climates, but it is loved by gardeners everywhere for its season-long, colorful blooms. Dare we say it’s nearly indestructible as long as it’s not too cold or too shady. Lantana adores heat and will flower through pretty much anything the summer can throw at it—heat, humidity, drought, summer thunderstorms, you name it. If you live in zone 9 or warmer, lantana will be hardy for you and grow to be a small shrub. For the rest of the country, it’s a wonderful annual. They are great pollinator plants, attractive to birds, bees and butterflies.
Uses: large upright containers, pollinator gardens, cut flower gardens, mass plantings in landscapes
Height varies, up to 36”. Sun. Perennial in zones 9-11, grown as an annual elsewhere.
Intensia® Blueberry, Intensia® Red Hot™ and Intensia® White Phlox
Common Name: Phlox
For warm climate gardeners, Intensia phlox are a gardener’s best friend. But there’s a catch: this is a plant you’ll need to buy later in spring. That’s because they need warmth and sun to grow well. They may start out small, but you’ll be amazed how they grow once you get them out into the garden. They will take off and add color all summer long, performing beautifully as best annuals for full sun in warmer regions, with butterflies coming by to hang out, too.
Uses: landscapes, combination planters, patriotic combinations
10-16” tall. Sun. Annual.
Mojave® Portulaca - Available in 5 colors
Common Name: Purslane
Here’s another annual that doesn’t just tolerate heat, it needs heat to grow and bloom well. The hotter it gets, the more flowers you’ll see, which is exactly what you want from heat tolerant annuals. Something unique about it is that its flowers close up at night, so you can watch them “wake up” in the morning as you enjoy them with your morning coffee. Purslane is a low growing plant that works beautifully as one of the most dependable, drought tolerant annual flowers for low-growing color. IThe plant will spill nicely out of containers or act as a flowering annual groundcover in the landscape. Butterflies are attracted to their hot colored blooms that come in shades of red, orange, fuchsia, yellow and pink.
Uses: spiller in combinations, pollinator gardens, annual groundcover in landscapes
4-8” tall. Sun. Annual.
Common Name: Sedum
Chartreuse is one of the most versatile colors to use in the garden. It mixes beautifully with almost every other color and brings a pop of vibrancy to containers and landscapes. Lemon Coral sedum forms a bright chartreuse green carpet of soft, touchable, needlelike foliage. It works great as a small scale groundcover and is wonderful in container recipes. Plant it in a shallow bowl and add a few citronella candles to make a fun patio table centerpiece. Like all sedum, this plant loves heat and will handle low humidity with ease, making it ideal for annual plants for hot dry climates. It performs well in containers and landscapes and pairs beautifully with other heat tolerant annuals.
Uses: spiller in combinations, annual groundcover in landscapes, on its own in containers
3-10” tall. Part Sun to Sun. Perennial in zones 7-11, grown as an annual elsewhere.
Whirlwind® Blue, Whirlwind® Pink and Whirlwind® White Scaevola
Common Name: Fan Flower
This Australian native is as tough as they come. Whirlwind fan flower has been grown for about 25 years in North America, but for a long time, the varieties available bloomed sparsely and had long, awkward branches. Our modern, refined Whirlwind fan flowers are packed with color and have a beautiful shape. They love heat, don’t mind low humidity or moderate drought, and don’t need much plant food to thrive, making them reliable drought tolerant annual flowers. Bees will thank you for planting them.
Uses: upright containers, pollinator gardens, mass plantings in landscapes
8-14” tall. Sun. Annual
Want to Learn More?
- Explore our Pinterest board of Drought Tolerant Plants.
- Watch this video featuring 5 heat tolerant perennials.
- Learn how to keep your annuals blooming strong all summer in this article.
- Calculate how many annuals needed for your flower bed.
