What Bloomed Through the Heat?

I was very surprised! The very best performing plant I had through the entire drought and hottest month in history in any state - was my Passion Flower vines. They come up every year, I guess from seed, and we let them have their way where ever they are not in the way. This year we had a couple on trellises and on an arch and NONE of them were watered much at all - one never. And they all bloomed all the way through the heat and drought. They never wilted at all, and they seemed to bloom more profusely in the heat than they ever have before. Big, beautiful purple blooms! So what made it through for you? What surprised you? What cratered?

For me, it was my pitcher blue sage, Mexican waterlily, chisme, and hedgehog cactus. The peppers, basils, and mints were also flowering. What surprised me most was that my spider lilies survived the drought, and are starting to grow again. They never even turned yellow!
Brandon

Twice a week watering, two roses are still doing fantastically well - Caldwell Pink and 'Spice' (both "Earthkind") have been blooming non-stop with nary a sign of stress.

Also Stapelia, Plumeria (with minimal burning) and several begonias have all done really well.

Moss rose, portalaca, flame acanthus, lantana, a turk's cap that's in partial shade. My purple coneflower has bloomed, but something is killing them and its ot the heat. After we got some rain, the silverado sage went nuts. Unfortunately slavia gregii look horrible and coreopsis are dead

I had to laugh at your passionflower vine...this is alittle too much of a good thing!

Here's another view that won't hurt your neck

lol.

Mine gets chowed down to nubs everytime it puts out a new leaf. Do yall not have the butterflies? Or somehow the vine got far enough ahead of them that they can't eat it all?

Haha! I guess your cats are hungrier than mine.

I have only seen 1 or 2 Gulf Fritillaries this summer. Usually my PF vine is eaten to a nub, but this year it's being left completely alone. :-(

Carla

Very few fritillaries here too, so sad!

My PV is intact as well, but I did see a butterfly flittering around it last week. Didn't have time to investigate what type of butterfly it was, though.

The things that have done the best for me are: Turk's Cap, Frostweed, Ironweed, Rock Rose, Cowpen Daisy, Mealy Blue Sage, Willowleaf Aster, Passion vine, Pink Skullcap, West Texas Mistflower, East Texas Mistflower, Brazos Penstemmon, Pigeonberry, Gomphrena, Esperanza, rain lily, purple coneflowers, and Salvia greggii.

Do you see a pattern??

Yep, natives all the way!!!

I will have to go thru and copy all of these down so I know what to buy or plant for next year. haha!

The only thing that has bloomed here is the white and lavender Rose of Sharon. I'm sure my daylilies did back in May, but I was gone, so did not get to see them.

The jasmine has just gone to town on my gazebo that WAS going to be my hut. I had pulled all of the jasmine down in Feb or so....then DS did not get my hut done and now the jasmine is going full strength again!

The plumerias are doing OK, but none of them bloomed that I know of....or the ginger...and I actually fed them in the Spring before it got too HOT!

Thanks for this thread, like I said, I will go thru and take notes for next year!!!!!

Jeanne

You know, we used to have lots and lots of the caterpillars on our passion flower vines, but for the last few years, there haven't been that many. I still see the butterflies, but I guess the vines are staying ahead of the munchers. As you said, they used to have them down to the nub by the end of summer. I have found that the bumblebees LOVE passion flowers!

Also, the small zinias came through better than any other bedding flowers - very hardy, kept blooming even with not-that-much watering. Also the Texas Star hibiscus. I had planted some young rhododendrons in the spring - even in good shade, good soil and good watering, I don't know if any will make it. Many azaleas bit the dust also, I am afraid.

Thanks for this thread. I did go thru and copy it all down. I have some seeds that I've had forever, so I'll take that list and go thru my seeds come Spring......

Anybody know what the winter is supposed to look like? Any chances that it at least will stay warmer? I'd start the seeds this fall.

Jeanne