Container plants that flower better in July are thankfully many and varied. With a little strategic planning, the color in your planters can continue uninterrupted throughout the hottest months of summer. In fact, you may even find that your containers are at their best and most vibrant.
I've chosen a winning group of my favorite annuals and perennials, each picked for their hot-season flower power and suitability for container growing. Lean in to these beauties, learn a little about how they thrive and you'll have all the later summer color you could ask for. It's all about knowing which plants soak up that scorching summer sun with the most enthusiasm.
When you're searching for container gardening ideas and tending pots of flowering plants, a little recap on plant care and feeding is well worth a look. To help, I've included a few surefire ways to keep that color coming and keep those heat lovers in tip-top condition.
1. Zinnias
In the A to Z of high-performing summer flowers, Zinnias should be given the top spot. This first thing to know about growing zinnias is they're some of the easiest annuals, and perfect for beginners. The jewelled shades of zinnia flowers are absolutely glorious – and with regular feeding (try this All Purpose Plant Food from The Home Depot) they flower their socks off from June to October, reaching their peak in July.
I love the rich jumble of colours you get from zinnia seed mixes, which creates borders and pots with a relaxed cottagey feel. Or opt for a more curated look by choosing just a couple of shades from the best zinnia varieties – rich wine red with zingy lime, for example – to deck your summer pots.
The blooms are either double, with large, elaborate forms, or single, which bring a more natural feel to the garden and also attract a huge number of beneficial pollinators. They'll reach somewhere between 1ft (30cm) for dwarf cultivars to 3ft (1m) for the taller ones. One more thing to love about zinnias: they're brilliant for cutting and bringing indoors, where they'll last well in a vase.
Being native to Mexico and southwestern US, it's more usual to grow zinnias as annuals in most regions as they won't survive temperatures below freezing.
My recommendation is this classic collection of zinnia colors from Walmart.
2. Mexican Daisy
Also known by its scientific name Erigeron karvinskianus, this gorgeous low-growing perennial will flower from May until the first frosts in November, pumping out a profusion of dainty pink and white daisy flowers on wiry, slender stems. Planted en masse it brings an unrivalled air of whimsy and cottage-garden delight.
I love it in a roomy pot or urn, several flowers to each container, where it erupts in a froth of flowers, providing a soft, cascading haze of pinky white that lasts for months, even during the hottest months of summer. It's one of the best low maintenance plants for pots too, enjoying poor, sharply drained soil and little in the way of irrigation.
An added bonus is its promiscuous nature. In a sunny spot, it will self-seed, popping up in between paving stones, in cracks in walls and all over a gravelled garden. It's one of the best self-seeding flowers you can find. Let these seedlings grow where they like or pot them up, grow them on and rehouse them somewhere else in your yard.
Hardiness: USDA 6-9
Treat yourself to this Barnacle Lucy Planter from Anthropologie – its subtle colors will suit erigeron down to the ground.
3. Pelargoniums
More commonly (mistakenly in fact) known as geraniums, these tender perennials are some of my go-to plants for colorful window boxes and planters. There are so many different varieties, colors and leaf types that you're bound to fall in love with at least one or two. Whether you prefer the classic bright reds and white that bring to mind cool Mediterranean alleyways, or something more unusual and sophisticated, perhaps in tones of plum, burgundy and cassis.
Either way, they're ideal for all kinds of pots and containers as they like it hot and they tolerate drought. Popped in the ground in late April, they'll flower from around May until the beginning of winter (I have some in a super-sheltered spot that carry on right through winter.)
Which is where we come to the hardiness part. Pelargoniums are technically tender perennials, so won't survive frosts, but I've had plants that have gone on for more than 10 years, tucked on a kitchen windowsill in a sheltered side return.
I cut them back in spring, then off they go again. If in doubt, a greenhouse or a cool spot indoors over winter is probably a safer bet when overwintering geraniums.
Hardiness: USDA zones 10-11.
You can buy Pelargonium plants at Walmart.
4. Salvias
The sage family contains hundreds of brilliant hot-weather performers, but it's the hardier, shrubbier types of salvias that really come into their own in July. These include Salvia microphylla, Salvia x jamensis , Salvia greggii and popular varieties such as Salvia 'Amistad'.
All have tubular lipped flowers on tall (or less tall), sometimes wiry spikes, which bees and other pollinators adore. They can reach anything from 1ft (30cm) to 6ft (2m) tall. They're natives of the Mediterranean and the Americas, so they need light, free-draining soil and as much sun as possible. Keep deadheading them and they'll flower well into fall, sometimes until the first frosts.
Some of my favourite salvias for late colour in pots are:
Salvia 'Amistad'
Dramatic royal purple flowers on a substantial plant to 4ft (1.2m) – brilliant in a large planter
Hardiness: USDA 8-11
Salvia 'Nachtvlinder'
Delicate wands of deep cherry-plum flowers and blackcurrant-scented foliage that's out of this world; to around 3ft (75cm)
Hardiness: USDA 7-10
Salvia microphylla 'Cerro Potosi'
Hot pink flowers with lovely aromatic evergreen foliage, and a statuesque 4ft (90cm) in height
Hardiness: USDA 8-10
Salvia 'Hot Lips'
Often evergreen and probably one of the most reliable long-flowering salvias you'll find, in stunning two-tone red and white
Hardiness: USDA 8-10
You can shop salvia plants at Burpee.
5. Marigolds
These pollinator magnet tender annuals are just perfect for filling in gaps in all kinds of containers, and they'll flower enthusiastically through the hottest of weather, needing little more than a good soak every other day when it's really hot out there. They're reliable, easy and colorful, so what's not to love?
My favourites for late-summer spectacle are compact French (Tagetes patula) and taller African marigolds (Tagetes erecta), whose bright yellow and gold tones are guaranteed crowd pleasers. If you want to know how to grow marigolds in pots, you'll need rich, free-draining potting compost and keep deadheading for flowers well into fall.
A self-watering planter like this Vivienne design from The Home Depot is a good find for marigolds.
Shop live marigold plants at Walmart.
6. Lantana
Well known for their heat tolerance and pollinator pulling power, lovely lantana is a must-have for a backyard with color in summer's hottest months. The flowers are a delicious combination of peachy yellow and raspberry pink, clusters above mounds of textured serrated leaves.
Lantana fall into two main categories: the upright shrub Lantana camara, and trailing groundcover palnt Lantana monevidensis. In terms of how to grow Lantana, they're often treated as annuals as they won't survive frosts, but of course you can overwinter them in a greenhouse.
All love a spot in full sun, in fertile, well-drained compost, where they're resilient and low maintenance yet full of color. A specialist medium like this Miracle-Grow Moisture Control Potting Mix from Target is a good starting point for Lantana in pots.
Try Lantana camara 'Miss Huff', a powerhouse of color in pink, peach and gold, to 3ft (90cm); or 'Dallas Red' for vibrant orange-red pompom flowers and exceptional heat tolerance.
You can buy 'Dallas Red' lantana at Walmart.
'Miss Huff' lantana is also available at Walmart.
7. Gaillardia
Gaillardia, also known as blanket flower, is one of the most drought-tolerant heat-loving perennials money can buy. It adores the summer heat, even when temperatures at above 90°F (30°C). It's a short-lived perennial, but don't let that put you off. You'll get more than enough bang for your buck with this little beauty.
In a pot gaillardia likes poor, sandy or even rocky soil, so don't save them your best compost. Give them a deep soak once or twice a week, always letting the compost dry out between watering. Apart from this, you'll need to know how to deadhead blanket flowers to keep those sunny red and yellow blooms coming. It'll grow to around 16in (40cm).
Hardiness: USDA 3-10
You can buy 'Mesa Yellow' blanket flower at Walmart.
8. Celosia
With its bright flame like flowerheads in red, orange and yellow, flickering up from exotic coloured foliage, celosia is fiery summer heat in plant form. No surprise then that this tropical annual thrives in hot weather, with each flower lasting up to 10 weeks (even longer if you cut them and bring them indoors).
I like to plant celosia in bold groups for the best, most striking effect. Whether that's in a pot or in the ground, it does need consistent water to stop those flame-like plumes wilting. It's one of the top tips for learning how to grow celosia.
Fun celosia fact: the blooms and leaves are edible. In Nigeria, the spinach-like leaves are often made into 'soko yokoto', which translates loosely as 'make husbands fat and happy'.
Hardiness: USDA 3-10
Go all-in with a red planter like this Gardener's Select Madison Planter from Target.
You can shop the range of Celosia plants at Burpee.
Looking for glorious planter displays at the height of summer, with uninterrupted flowers? Then I hope I've given you the inspiration to you need. You honestly can't fail with these top hot-weather picks.
If you love inspiring garden ideas, outdoor advice, and the latest news, why not sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox?
