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Summer Flowering Plants for North Texas

June 8, 2019
, Plants

Summer is usually the time that most plants go into survival mode. Most North DFW spring flowering plants are a bit exhausted after a season of flowering and growing. They are prepared to survive on less water now that the rains have subsided and they are gearing up to withstand the unrelenting summer heat. However, there are a few plants that really come to life in these conditions. Below you will find a list of our favorite summer flowering plants for North Texas.

Lantana

Lantana can be purchased as an annual or a perennial and typically do not even become available at most nurseries until late in April or early May. Considered to be a low-growing and bushy plant, Lantana blooms throughout the summer and well into the fall season. One Lantana from a 4-inch pot can easily quadruple in size within just a few weeks. Yellow or Texas Red (orangey-yellow) are the most common flower colors, but you can also find a great selection of multi-colored blooms referred to as Confetti. We would suggest planting your Lantana en masse or if you are planting several different annuals, plant them towards the back since they will likely exceed the height of other summer flowering plants and annuals.

Canna

We find Canna to be one of the hardest working and inspiring of all the perennials. Dying back each winter, the Canna begins to emerge during the spring and grows to the astounding 5 feet in height by summer when it really puts on a show. Many people plant Canna just for the dramatic, paddle-like foliage, but during the summer, this North Texas summer flowering plant offers large, colorful blooms. These blooms repeat throughout the summer. One single Canna plant will spread about 2 feet out and depending on the variety, grow between 3-7 ft in height. The Canna can provide some unique interest in any garden, but you can expect your Canna to die back during late fall and take a well-deserved nap throughout the winter as it prepares to return again.

Oleander

In the southern region of the country, the Oleander is considered an evergreen shrub. While perhaps blooming for only a season, evergreen shrubs do not drop their foliage during the winter months. With our mild North Texas winters, you can expect to enjoy your Oleander year-round. Oleander can be grown as a large shrub (between 8-10 ft in height and width) or you can focus your pruning on the lower branches and actually transform your Oleander into a beautifully manicured tree. The Oleander is another summer bloomer offering white, pink or hot pink/red flowers. The only drawback to the Oleander is that the foliage is poisonous to both animals and humans so don’t eat it…just sit back and enjoy it!

Crape Myrtle

One of the most trademark trees throughout North Texas has to be the Crape Myrtle. While most other trees have either just finished putting on their very short-lived spring show or are gearing up to wow you with their fall foliage, the Crape Myrtle proudly displays their lush and colorful blooms for almost an entire month during the summertime. Crape Myrtles are available in a variety of bloom colors: white, light pink, dark pink, red, lavender and purple. Crape Myrtles also offer a variety of growth habits from a dwarf (3-5 ft tall), intermediate (5-10 ft tall), medium (10-20 ft tall) and tall (more than 20 ft tall). Summer is the perfect time to pick out and plant your Crape Myrtle as you will be able to select it while in bloom. One of the greatest places to witness the Crape Myrtle during the summertime is at the Dallas Arboretum with their widely appreciated “Crape Myrtle Allee”.

So while you may prefer to hide out in the comfort of your air-conditioned home during the summer, when designing a new landscape in the spring plan to showcase one or more of these fantastic North Texas summer flowering plants…perhaps right in front of a window where you can enjoy all they have to offer, but from the inside!