Last week's heatwave proved to be much worse than anticipated in our area. Our temperature reached 105F (40C) on Monday afternoon. I can't recall a temperature that high since we moved here and, coming on the heels of unusually cool conditions in May and early June, many plants just couldn't adapt. I don't think I've ever lost so many plants virtually overnight. The heatwave was a reminder that drought tolerant doesn't mean heat tolerant. Some plants died immediately, others were scarred and, as I've heard can be true of winter freezes, the damage took days to show in other cases. It was a scary start to what forecasters have predicted may be a particularly difficult summer, especially with the simultaneous arrival of aggressive wildfires in California and throughout the Southwest. Luckily for us along the coast, the marine layer returned last Tuesday, bringing our temperatures back down; however, they're already on the rise again. So, paraphrasing Bette Davis: fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy summer!
Many flowers retreated when the heat struck but I have some heat tolerant survivors. My
Grevillea in particular took the beating in stride with just a bit of burnt foliage.
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| Front view |
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| This back view is somewhat nondescript but does highlight the graceful foliage of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' |
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| Top view |
As you can see, I was able to find some heat tolerant companions for the
Grevillea.
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| Clockwise from the far left, the vase contains: Grevillea 'Superb', Achillea millefolium 'Apple Blossom', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark', Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach', Gaillardia grandiflora 'Arizona Sun', and Jacobaea maritima |
Most of the
Eustoma in bud or bloom also survived the heat, although some of the foliage got toasted. I noticed that the plants installed last year have far thicker and more succulent leaves and stems than any of the plants installed as plugs this spring, which presumably gave them greater resilience.
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| Front view |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| From the left, the vase contains: Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) , Heteromeles arbutifolia (a California native commonly known as Toyon, this is the official native plant of Los Angeles County), Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' (shown here with Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy') and Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' |
I've still got
Agapanthus in bloom but couldn't find inspiration for any new pairings there. The dead sweet peas plants went into my green bins but I planted
Zinnia plugs in their place.
Zinnias are heat tolerant, if not especially drought tolerant, so I hope they'll provide new options in future weeks. In the meantime,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, our illustrious "In a Vase on Monday" hostess, to find other floral and foliage creations.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
