It's 105 degrees in the shade right now and we're lucky it's that cool, lol. We've already had some 113 degree temps, with higher still yet to come. I'm so glad for plants that can take blast furnace heat. I would love to see what does well for others in very high temps. I'll post some pics from my garden. First, the thermometer that snaps me out of denial, lol...
And I thought that the 73 degrees we have today was hot.
This is one of the thevetia trees. The hotter it gets, the better they like it.
LOL, well, Mobi, it's relative, isn't it?
Yep, Our winters are mild but you guys would think they were freezing. It had gotten up to a 100 in years past but not usually till August.
I have to keep after the ruellia but I love the blooms.
I think it's nippy if it's below 70, lol. Our humidity is lower here, though, than what you have, so your 100 probably feels more miserable than ours! But during monsoon we get high humidity, and it's not pleasant then , lol.
This is a new tecoma sunrise that is starting to bud. Poor little guy, gotta love their hardiness.
Mobi, what plants grow well for you in your hottest months?
The gardenia put out a couple of new blooms yesterday. I really want to put her in the ground but have to wait to get some shade up.
The natal plum loves the heat, too. It blooms off and on all summer.
This is a new hibiscus that's blooming today. I see them blooming around town all summer. Hope mine do, too, lol.
I would love to see what others grow in the heat. [Doesn't have to be extreme heat or anything. :)]
What humidity? We have none. But we have been getting some rain, but we don't have monsoon season. Sedums do very well as do roses, 4'oclocks, bishops weed, sumac, so many things. But then we don't live in a desert, just a semi-arid climate. The sun gets us at this altitude and burns things pretty quickly. The 4'oclocks do the best in heat, direct sun and little or no water. I love those plants. No pics as they haven't started blooming yet.
You know, I had spaced the intense sun you guys get there. That's got to be as much a challenge as our temps. So many things just won't grow here or else need shade to survive. A friend here has clocks and loves them, too. I might have to give them a try. (Some of my family lives in CO, and it was so moist when I was there that condensation formed on the windows. I'd never seen anything like that.)
It was pretty tough here yesterday since our A/C went out. Better it happen now than when it's really hot. Was wishing I was as equipped for the heat as a yucca right about then, lol.
I have and evaporative cooler which makes more moisture but then we rarely have such intense heat. 4 O'Clocks are an annual but the reseed very well. You could probably ask your friend for seeds as they are prolific seeders. Of course our native plants do well in the heat here as well. I love smooth sumac - it is a native tree that looks almost tropical.
http://fp.bio.utk.edu/botany/Botany_courses/botany330/plantlist.su00/new%20webpage/anacardiaceae/Smooth_Sumac_2.jpg
Bishops weed is great here as well but needs some shade. Very invasive in other parts of the country.
My sedums do very well here as well.
That sumac is so pretty and I love the tropical look of it, too. Anything that looks tropical catches my eye, lol.
Anyone who wants plants for the heat should ask gumlla (Kaleem, in Mirpur, Pakistan). We correspond several times a day and I was complaining of the heat at 75 degrees yesterday: he had 120. The house has no air conditioning: many don't because the city electricity charges are far too expensive. He loves plants and has a lovely courtyard setting and has many thriving species.
You can find him looking around in daylilies, irises, hosta and probably tropicals.
Arlene
desertdew..thanks for the pics! I lived 15 yrs up in Prescott before moving here to 'hotlanta' about 8 yrs ago. Even though I love it here, sometimes I sure get homesick for AZ and the special beauty out there.
carole
Carole, glad you've enjoyed them. It's nice to meet someone so familiar with the Prescott/AZ area. 15 years is long enough to establish roots that just won't leave the heart. (You know what they say...you can take the girl out of AZ but you can't take the AZ outta the girl...) I have been here about 42 years and used to spend a lot of my childhood weekends in Prescott/Dewey/Mayer. Back when the antelope in Prescott Valley outpopulated anything else, lol. (I bet you love the plants you can grow there in Atlanta?)
Arlene, we "officially" get into the 120's occasionally, but the official readings are not taken where people actually live at just several feet off ground level and many times in direct sun. Those temps are actually into the 140's and up. It was "offically" 112 yesterday, lol.
When I was a kid I used to hear folks say it was hot enough to fry an egg...so I tried it...and it was, lol. We didn't have any cooling back then and I can vouch that that is no picnic, lol.
