I live in cleburne,texas and this year every plant I have planted has died. I could not even get succulents to survive, my marigolds died after two days. I get the hot afternoon sun from the west and am beginning to think I should just plant rocks or gravel. Please I am open for all suggestions on how to make a sparkle in my flower beds. Should I plant in. Ground or pots. Help. Thanks

to ATP, Sandra.

When did you plant your flowers? Timing might be a key issue; especially in Texas.

Here are a couple of ideas you might try. Just click on the titles to view them.
http://garden.org/ideas/view/C...
http://garden.org/ideas/view/d...

I'm using the shade sails here now, too, and they're working wonderfully!

There is not a whole lot that likes our hot Texas sun. Early planting and heavy mulching helps keep the soild moist. And sometimes that isn't enough ! In the afternoon is the worst! Most of my sun-tolerant plants are doing well only because they are being shaded by other plants.

Planted in June for the tips will follow and see what results I get. Just want a cheesey flower bed.

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Welcome to ATP, Sandra Hope we can help you out. Pictures of your planting area might give us a clue or two.

First thing I'd say is planting anything that gets the blazing afternoon sun like that, I'd give them some kind of temporary shade for a couple of weeks after planting. Once they start putting up new top growth, that means they're growing some roots, too.

Any way you can rig up a piece of shade cloth, or even make a tent with an old sheet or something? ( I know, your neighbors will really love it, right?) Shade cloth is pretty cheap and comes in dark colors . . .

Maybe wait another month or so to plant anything more, being as it's the hottest possible time of year right now. If you're buying transplants, splurge on the 3in. or 4in. pots rather than buying little 4 or 6 cell packs of baby plants. Better yet, gallon size. They'll have more roots, and more soil around them as well. A little plant with an ounce of soil and roots around it is just going to fry in the July heat unless you stand over them with the hose all afternoon. Even the big transplants need good, deep watering every morning if the weather's hot.

Mulch is another thing that will keep the roots of your new transplants cooler and more moist. Don't use rocks or rubber mulch ever! They just cause a lot more problems than they cure. Wood chip mulch is far and away the better choice.

so much, your email really gives me good information, good tips. I have a habit of just sitting the plants down in their original containers and wait a few days to plant. They got really hot. My pursalene is doing real well but lantana is struggling would love to plant Moonflowers but think too late. With all the great input I am getting wish I had joined sooner. I put in rubber mulch will remove tomorrow sure. Love the shade cloth but think sheets will draw more attention if my neighbors complain too bad they can then help. Thanks again

Welcome to ATP, Sandra!

Living in the far north as I do, I'm probably the last one to give advice... but even here that late afternoon sun from the west is brutal! Can you plant where there's an eastern exposure? Or, yes, as others have suggested -- provide some shade or plant later. It's all trial and error, and "next year will be better" is pretty much every gardener's mantra, no matter how experienced!

Yep, I do that too, setting the plants down and 'getting around to' planting later . . . learned the hard way to set 'em in the shade where the sprinkler will hit them. If they do get hot and dried out, set them in a bucket or pan of water until they're good and hydrated again before you plant. Potting soil bakes hard as a brick and is sometimes hard to get wetted through again unless given time to soak up.

Good choices on the purslane and lantana. Both stand lots of sun once they are established.

Hot sun..that is my enemy here too..but my plants thrive because they get shaded on the hottest part of the day. Even my lantana pouts big time when it gets that 11 am sun..leaves go lanky as it gets so heated, but it recovers once it gets shaded again.

Even with succulents, most can take it but intense sun will kill it. That's why we hardly see any in the desert, only the real tough cacti and extremely drought tolerant ones can survive it. And there are succulents that are dormant too in summer, so no amount of watering or sun can make them thrive at this time of the year.

I have long ago decided to have my plants in containers, so if needed I can move them around. I also water them early in the day, to allow the roots to cool down, before the plant gets toasty warm.

As suggested already, provide shade, mulch, and water early to help the plants.

So far the only plants that I really see enjoying the blazing direct heat of the sun here are my Yuccas, cycads, adeniums, cacti, bougainvillea, plumeria, calamondin tree, sarracenia and tropical milkweed. With Plumeria, have to water it daily, since we get dry heat and hit high 90's to triple digits often. Tropical milkweed does surprisingly okay, as long as I water it everyday. The only caveat, it is such a magnet for aphids. All my other succulents have some shade and gets watered heavily at least twice a week or every other day when it is hitting triple digit here. Consideration has to be made too with younger drought tolerant plants, although drought tolerant and can take the sun, since it is still young, you have to put them in an area where it can get shaded till it gets well acclimated and adjusted to the hot environment. My Sarracenia psittacina survives the heat as long as I have it sitting in distilled water. My other non-succulent plants do okay as well, as long as I water early in the day, at least every other day.

And one other thing I have learned now..not to plant any new ones anymore by June. I only do new plantings in Spring to allow the plant to acclimate in my area. We get little to zero rain here from end of March to November, so it is important to make those new plants acclimate in Spring before the toasty and very dry conditions set in.

Thank you for the post. I gained quite a bit of information from it and thanks for the plant suggestions. I planted a pursalene the other day and went out to water and poor thing looked like it had been stepped on right in the middle so now am going to have to make it a hanging basket again. I am so glad I have found this site with so many good tips I might have a bootiful flower bed next year. Hope to hear from you again.
Blessings

Sandra. I grow mainly tropical plants and I am always asked where to put these plants, in the house and outside. I always say: "Fall/winter - south exposure; spring/summer - east exposure. There is typically not enough light to grow plants successfully with a northern exposure. A west exposure is doable BUT you must protect your plants from this direct sun from noon until 3:00 PM in fall/winter and until 4:00 PM in the spring/summer." As you have found out, a westerly exposure is really rough on most plants and is a killer for the vast majority of tropical plants.

Thank you Dr Dawg for the info. After visiting your website I have a new love for Plumeria it is such a lovely plant, guess I never looked very close before. I am developing an interest in living plants and their beauty before I could only grow silk or plastic flowers at 1.50 a bunch. when season is right I might plant a bed of Plumeria and sniff and enjoy.

Blessings

Welcome Sandra! There are many Texans here in ATP. I went browsing some of the thread titles in the Texas Gardening forum, but I didn't see any that were clearly focused on handling afternoon sun.

http://garden.org/forums/view/...

Are there any native plants tall enough to give tender plants some shade?

Plant a row of tall, sun-tolerant natives along the West and maybe South edges of the bed, to give shade to shorter, more tender plants.

Someone showed a lean-to arrangement made with poles or scrap wood and slats ... the slats covered around 50% of the surface so they gave 50% shade. That might be less conspicuous than a full shade sail.

I seem to recall some photo somewhere of some poles or sticks lashed together to form a low "table" or rectangular support a few feet tall. Then they laid more poles along that top surface to give 25% or 30% shade ... and that worked even at high noon, casting shade straight down.

One nice thing about poles and slats: they don't tend to fly away in a high wind like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz.


Or something like a picket fence will give dappled shade in the later afternoon.

And set out some drip lines under a few inches of mulch. Put it on an automatic timer so they never have totally dry soil.



This thread is more about prolonged drought in fast-draining glacial rock soil, but it might be interesting to to you.

The thread "Drought and Deep Soil Issues" in All Things Gardening forum

, Sandra, to ATP

I am in So Cal and get temps up to 115-117 degrees in August so our sun is pretty brutal, too. I second the bougainvillea recommendation and I have found that hibiscus, agapanthus, society garlic, (some) daylilies, and (some) roses do fine in the all day, full sun here. I say (some) on the roses and daylilies as some of the varieties laugh at the sun while others go screaming into summer dormancy. I have also been planting bananas this year and the one that is in the most brutal of locations seems just fine - and it was a starter plant in a 3" square pot just 2 months ago. Here are some examples:

(Bougainvillea)
This daylily likes it hot, hot, hot!
(Society Garlic)
(Hibiscus)
(Mister Lincoln Rose)
(Agapanthus)

I do have trees growing elsewhere and the plants that get a break from the searing sun and soaring temps typically do much better. I found long ago that the "full sun" designation on most plant tags means "give me a break during the hottest part of the day" in the part of Cali I live in and I believe it is the same for much of Texas. The most important things I have learned when dealing with these conditions is to plant in autumn for next year's blooms, water deeply but less frequently, and mulch like crazy. By planting in the autumn, the plants get good root systems going before facing the abuse - very important in these types of climates.

I may have missed this somewhere in this thread, but do you have a preference for annuals, perennials, shrubs/shrublets, vines, etc.? Are you looking to plant once and have the garden fill in more and more on its own each year or do you prefer to plant new ones every spring or fall (or a combination of these 2 things)? Do you have a particular style that you like or that you want? Are you looking for an easy care garden or do you prefer to work with it frequently? I hope that I have not overwhelmed you with all of the questions but it may help to steer you towards plants that you like and that would do well in your area.

Again, to ATP!

Thank you for the post. I love dianthus, begonias, falling in like with pursalene, plumeria and lantana is becoming a favorite. I have not thought about anything particular as I had a bunch of boxwoods die and have extracted them this year. I spent a lot of money this year and no matter where I planted them they did not survive, I even killed marigolds. I want a don juan climbing rose but have not been successful in finding one. Welcome any tips or suggestions that are offered.

Blessings

Hi Sandra and welcome to ATP!

I want to help you out also, so I thought I 'round up some of the Texas members and see if they would kindly respond.

@lovemyhouse
@Horntoad
@LindaTX8
@Sheila_FW
@Bubbles

OldGardener said: The most important things I have learned when dealing with these conditions is to plant in autumn for next year's blooms, water deeply but less frequently, and mulch like crazy. By planting in the autumn, the plants get good root systems going before facing the abuse - very important in these types of climates.

Hi, Sandra, welcome. Along with getting the largest plant size that is practical for you, the advice above is the most applicable to us. While Cleburne is--normally --a little warmer and drier than is Garland, picking the right time of year to plant, mulching like crazy, and coddling them the first two or three weeks at least is going to really help the success rate. Don't feel badly about any of this, either. I killed or let die everything I planted the first two years I owned my house. My yard is shaded most of the afternoon, but does get a couple of hours of direct western sun between about 4:00 and 6:00. These plants I have do well in spite of the sun, see what you think:

Bearded Iris
Lilies
Orange Bulbine

Baptisia (does not like heavy clay)
Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)

Mexican Heather
Mexican Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia)

Strawberry Fields Gomphrena
Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena haageana 'Strawberry Fields')

Mexican Feather Grass
Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima)

Russian Sage
Russian Sage (Salvia 'Little Spire')

Coral Drift Rose
Rose (Rosa 'Coral Drift')

Irene Rosemary (weeping/cascading form)
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Irene™)

Wild Thing Salvia greggii
Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii 'Wild Thing')

I would purchase the Don Juan rose during bare-root season and plant it then. For Cali, that would be in January and February. I still see Don Juan quite frequently here (a beautiful rose - you have great taste!!) so, hopefully, you will find one fairly easily. If not, may be one of our rose people can recommend a reputable online vendor. I had a vendor that I used for years (actually 2 of them) but I cannot recommend either anymore in good conscience. By planting in January/February, the rose should be able to acclimate to your place before the heat arrives. If you happen to have a particularly cold winter and cannot get it planted in ground, go ahead and carry it over in a pot and plant it the moment the ground is workable.

I cannot help with the plumeria as mine remain sticks with tufts of 4 or 5 leaves and I am lucky to get one to flower every 2 years (and it is a sad flower). My climate is just too darn dry for them. The good news is that ATP has some expert plumeria growers that I am sure will help walk you through their care if you decide to go this route (and you get humidity).

Lantana is a fabulous choice as they come in most colors and sizes. I would plant mine in the autumn so that it develops "strong feet" before next summer. I have grown a lot of lantana in the past and, at least the cultivars that I grew, were rugged as can be. They also had the extra added bonus of not requiring huge amounts of water once they were established and I do not recall ever fertilizing them either. They were all really easy keepers so to speak. I do not know, however, how they do in humid conditions. Perhaps one of our Texas or southern folks can help.

When you say begonias, do you mean the fibrous ones or the bulb-type? I know that the sun would definitely kill both types here but I am able to grow the fibrous ones on the north to east side of the house (and under a shaded lathe structure). I have also grown the bulb-type in hanging baskets but only in the deep shade.

Dianthus has worked alright for me in the full sun but I cannot say they were as spectacular as they could be if given a little break from the oppressive heat and blazing sun (they kind of have a "dip" at the height of summer but perk right back up when we drop to the 90's - it is not a bad "dip" and it has never stopped me from growing them). If you do plant them (and I definitely think you should if you like them as much as I do), I would try to get them in in the autumn, also.

I hope this helps.