Summer flowering plants that cope with South Australian heat

Summer flowering plants that cope with the heat here

The trouble with picking flowers off a nursery bench in spring is that everything looks good in spring. The test is what is still standing in February after a fortnight of hot northerlies, and there is a fairly short list of things that pass it around here. These are the ones I would plant.

Kangaroo paw

The claw shaped flowers on tall stems, and about as tough as a flowering plant gets in full sun. Plant it in well drained soil, sandy or loamy rather than clay, and water it regularly while it is getting established and then back right off once it is away. Feed it with a native fertiliser that is low in phosphorus, because natives will sulk on a general purpose feed. Cut the spent flower stalks out at the base and it will push more up.

Salvias

Spiky flowers, hard workers, and the bees will find them within a day. They want full sun for the best flowering but they will take part shade. Water them deeply and not often, which is what teaches the roots to go down and find their own water, and trim them back after they flower for a second flush. Mulch over the top of the bed and they will barely need you.

Lavender

Lavender wants exactly the conditions that kill most things, which is hot, dry and sharply drained. Gravelly soil suits it. The commonest way to lose one is kindness, because if you keep watering it the roots rot, so plant it and then leave it alone. Prune lightly after flowering to keep the shape, and put it somewhere you brush past it.

Marigolds

Bright, cheap and useful, since they are one of the standard companion plants for a veggie patch. Sow the seed or put seedlings in, in full sun, and keep taking the dead heads off so they keep making new ones. Give them a bit of space between plants, because crowded marigolds get mildew.

Bottlebrush

A native shrub that gives you height and brings the birds in, which is half of why you would plant it. Sunny spot, well drained soil, deep watering while it is young and through a dry spell. Light prune after it flowers, and a native friendly fertiliser rather than a general one.

Petunias

The colour workhorse for beds, borders and hanging baskets. They want richer soil than the natives do and they want it well drained, and the baskets are the ones that catch people out because a basket dries out in a morning. Pinch the faded flowers off and feed them with a balanced liquid fertiliser every couple of weeks and they will keep going.

Grevilleas

Nectar rich, bird friendly and they hold interest all year rather than only when they are flowering. Full sun for the best display, sandy or loamy soil rather than heavy clay, and a low phosphorus native fertiliser. Prune lightly to keep them from going leggy.

Portulaca

Also called moss rose, and it is a succulent, so it does the ground cover job in the dry patches where nothing else will hang on. Full sun, sandy soil, water sparingly. Good along a path edge or filling the gaps in a rockery.

Hibiscus

Big showy flowers, and it will do well in the heat as long as it gets the water it wants. Sunny but sheltered, because wind shreds the flowers, in rich well drained soil. Water regularly and let the soil dry a little between times, and feed monthly with something high in potassium to keep the buds coming.

Oleander

Hardy, heat tolerant and the one people plant as a colourful hedge. Full sun, well drained soil, deep but infrequent watering once it is established. Prune lightly to shape and take the deadwood out as it wakes up in spring. One warning worth taking seriously: every part of an oleander is toxic, so wear gloves when you are handling it and keep the prunings away from anywhere stock or kids get to.

The thing that makes all of them work

Mulch. Every one of these will do better under a layer of mulch than it will on bare soil, because the roots stay cooler and the water you give them stays in the ground. That is one bag doing more for the bed than most of the fancier products on the shelf.

Shop related products

• Easy Wetta Garden Mulch 50L. Bagged mulch for beds and borders, and the single best thing you can do for a summer garden.
• Martins Organic Sugar Cane Bale 11KG. Light bale mulch that covers a lot of ground for what it weighs.
• Brunnings Garden Compost with Seaweed 25L. Dig it through before you plant, especially in clay.
• Neutrog Gyganic 1.5kg. Certified organic all purpose feed for the flowering plants that are not natives.
• Go Go Juice 1 Litre. Liquid tonic for a bed that has had a rough run of hot weather.

The natives want a low phosphorus feed rather than any of the general ones, and we keep native fertiliser in the garden centre, so ask when you are in and we will point you at the right bag. There is more in the garden range online and in the D.T Brown seed range. The heavy bags go on the delivery run if you would rather not lift them, $5 around Strathalbyn and $10 regional, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Local delivery.

Read next

• How do I plant a tree?
• Setting up dripper irrigation, a beginner's guide
• What is the cardboard weed barrier method?

Half of gardening well here is just picking things that were never going to need rescuing.

Candeece

Follow our Facebook page: Strathalbyn H Hardware