This article contains affiliate links for advertisers of this site. See disclosure page for more information.
When spring arrives and it is time to buy flowers, I’m like a kid in a candy store.
I could literally buy everything in the garden center.
Everything is fresh and vibrant, gloriously full of color.
However, after the heat of summer, these lush, beautiful flowers can turn into brown, crispy sticks.
No matter how much you water and how much attention you give them, they just don’t like the intense heat that summer brings.
It’s such a disappointment!
What a waste of time, money, and energy!
However, there are heat-loving annual flowers.
Before you begin your shopping this spring, take this list with you so that you will have beautiful, vibrant blooming plants all summer long!
Heat-Loving Annual Flowers
Brazilian Dwarf Morning Glory (Evolvulus glomerata)
- A low-growing trailing plant ideal for hanging baskets, containers, or as a ground cover
- Height: 6″-18″, Spread: 2-3′
- Unique blue flowers
- Grows best in full sun
- Flowers close at night and cloudy days
Cockscomb (Celosia argentea)
- Showy, feathery flowers available in red, yellow, orange, purple, and cream
- Plants tolerate heat and mild drought
- Grow best in full sun
- Varieties are available in heights that range from 1-3′
Creeping Zinnia (Sanvitalia)
- Low-growing and forms a mat
- Best to sow seeds directly into the ground or pot as seedlings don’t transplant well
- Grows best in full sun
- Flowers resemble mini sunflowers
- Height: 4-6″, Spread: 8-18″
Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit)
- A flowering vine that needs to grow on a support structure such as trellis, arbor, or fence
- Height: 6-12′, Spread: 3-6′
- Easy to grow from seeds
- Star-shaped flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies
- Attractive, fern-like foliage
Dahlia (Dahlia various species and hybrids)
- Very showy flowers available in a myriad of colors, shapes, sizes, and textures
- A wide range of sizes: heights range from 1-6′ and spread 1-3′
- Flower best in full sun
- Attract butterflies
- Dahlias grow from tubers that can be dug and stored indoors during winter and planted again the following spring
Diamond Frost (Euphorbia hypericifolia ‘Inneuphe’)
- Whispy, white flowers that create a delicate, airy appearance
- Somewhat drought tolerant
- Mounded shape, height: 12-18″, spread: 12-18″
- Deer and rabbit resistant
- Ideal for hanging baskets, containers, and garden beds
Fan Flower (Scaevola aemula)
- Unique, dark blue fan-shaped flowers
- Somewhat drought tolerant
- Trailing growth habit, height: 9-18″, Spread: 24″
- Ideal for hanging baskets, window boxes, containers, and garden beds
Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana species)
- Flower colors available: white, pink, purple, yellow, green, and red
- Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
- Flowers have a slight fragrance
- Height: 3-5′, Spread: 1-2′
- Ideal for garden beds and larger containers
Four o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa)
- Compact, bush-like plant with erect branches
- Height: 2-3′, Spread: 2-3′
- Flower colors: pink, rose, red, magenta, yellow, white
- Deer and rabbit resistant
- Flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies
Gazania (Gazania rigens)
- Bright, cheery flowers in a myriad of colors
- Ideal for containers, window boxes, and flower beds
- Drought tolerant
- Height: 6-2″. Spread: 6-12″
- Grows best in full sun
Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena globose)
- Flowers are actually insignificant, but papery bracts develop into striking globes shapes
- Globes make great dried flowers, also referred to as an everlasting
- Drought tolerant
- Height: 1-2′, Spread: 6-12″
Lantana (Lantana camara)
- Showy, fragrant flowers available in many colors
- Drought tolerant
- Height: 3-4′, Spread: 1-3′
- Ideal for containers, hanging baskets, flower beds
- Attracts butterflies
Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha)
- Purple and white flowers on tall spikes
- Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
- Deer resistant
- Height: 2-3′, Spread: 2-3′
- Attractive, velvety foliage
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)
- Best grown in a ground bed as it gets 4-6′ tall and 2-3′ wide
- Flowers can be used as a cut flower
- Can tolerate drought conditions
- Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
- Deer resistant
- Prefers poor soils to rich, loamy soils!
Moon Vine (Ipomoea alba)
- A vine that will need a structure to support it- deck, fence, lamp post, etc.
- Also ideal for a hanging basket
- White, fragrant, showy flowers
- Deer resistant
Morning Glory (Ipomoea species)
- A vine that will need a structure to support it- deck, fence, lamp post, etc.
- Also ideal for a hanging basket
- Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
- Deer resistant
Moss Rose or Purslane (Portulaca grandiflora)
- Flower colors: red, rose, orange, yellow, or white
- A succulent that is drought tolerant
- Grows in a mat, spreading habit; Height: 4-8″, Spread: 6-12″
- Ideal for containers, hanging baskets, rock gardens
Salvia (Salvia species)
- Bright red flowers on spikes, cultivars are available in shades of red, pink, blue, lavender, orange, white and bi-color
- Plants grow in a clump habit; height: 12-24″, spread: 8-18″
- Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
- Deer resistant
Star Flower (Pentas lanceolata)
- Star-shaped flowers in pink, magenta, lilac, white
- Height: 12-24″, Spread: 12-24″
- Attracts butterflies
- Ideal for containers, window boxes, and garden beds
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
- Yellow, red, mahogany, bicolor rays with brown to purple center disk
- Height: 3-10′, Spread: 1.5-3′
- Attracts birds and butterflies
- Deer resistant
- Drought tolerant
- Seed heads can be saved and used to feed birds in the winter
Verbena (Verbena hybrids)
- Trailing growth habit; height: 8-12″, spread: 12-24″
- Many flower color options
- Drought tolerant
- Ideal for containers, window boxes, hanging baskets, and flower beds
Vinca/Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)
- Bushy growth habit, height: 6-18″, spread: 6-18″
- Rosy pink, violet, red with white or mauve centers; cultivars available in many shades
- Drought tolerant
- Glossy, attractive foliage
I hope you will give these heat-loving annual flowers a try.
There is a myriad of beautiful colors and textures to select from so that you will have a beautiful backyard all summer!
We’ve had trouble with deer eating our flowers! Do you have any suggestions for flowers the deer don’t like?
Hi LJ! I sure do- I have an article with 25 annuals and 50 perennials that are deer-resistant. https://trilliumlivingllc.com/deer-resistant-annuals-perennials-for-the-midwest/ My favorites are Diamond Frost Euphorbia, Zinnia, lavender, Shasta daisy and Black-eyed Susan. Happy Gardening!