I'm trying the Laura Bush petunias too and can't wait to see them! Other annuals I have that love the heat are zinnias of all kinds, pentas, sun coleus, vinca, marigolds, cosmos, purple hyacinth bean.

Will it really ever be that hot again?:)

Yes, in about six weeks.

I like ornamental sweet potato vine and blue daze.

Blue Daze is awesome! I got spoiled the first year I had them bec Lowe's sold them for 99 cents a pot. I bought tons of them and practically edged with them. Then the next year the price never dropped below $4 and I went on serious Blue Daze withdrawal!

Heat loving annuals include portulaca, marigolds, zinnias, and vinca, cosmos, dusty miller, and sunflowers. Also consider the herbs, many love dry heat (thyme, lavender, rosemary, and sage) and some flower nicely. Thyme & lavender is hardy for me here. Rosemary occasionally overwinters but it likes it drier than I can maintain. Happy planting.

ohhhh - tell me about blue daze - not familiar with that but love anything blue - most of my yard is on south and west - lots of sun.

Amelia, there is a link below to info on Blue Daze. It has never overwintered for me but....the ones I have planted in a public garden seem to have maybe, possibly, hopefully made it so far this year. The flowers open in the morning and close in the evening. Gorgeous blue!

Here is a link that might be useful: Blue Daze

Hi Sissy,

All the above are great! Also, don't forget lantana! I know some people don't like it, but the yellow loves the sun and is a butterfly magnet. It seems to me the hotter it gets the happier it is! For some reason, the purple and white are not like that for me, in the heat of the summer they stop blooming and get very large green, leggy but no blooms, then when it turns fall on they go and they are very pretty .. the bicolor seems to love the sun also! I have had great luck with direct sowing zinnias, salvia and sunflowers in full sun beds! Good luck!

Jenn

Hi, Jenn! Wish I had the shade ya'll do in Midtown. When they built this place, the dozed everything in sight...

Bloomin'Annie, are you gonna direct sow your petunias? I have the world's worst luck with seeds, but you can't buy the plants, yet...
Sissy

Dahlberg Daisy (yellow-very short-reseeds), Salvia Victoria (blue spikes- medium height), Scaevola (Aka Fanflower-blue-flowers do not close like Blue Daze- low growing), Zinnias (love them, Thumbelina is a low growing mix that you can sow in ground yourself about mid-May), Moss rose (Portulaca-they usually bloom themselves out by late summer in my garden). Vinca (Periwinkles) have a problem in some gardens with a soil born disease. Once you have the disease, the soil will be contaminated forever. I can no longer plant them in my garden, so be very careful with them.

Sissy, I wintersowed my Laura Bush Petunias this past week and saved some of the seeds for a second round in a couple of weeks in case round 1 doesn't work. If you haven't tried it, go to the wintersowing forum and see if you can't improve your chances of germinating seeds. I have about fifty varieties started now and lots of things sprouting!

That winter sowing thing has me confused...
I have always thrown a pack of lettuce, larkspur, poppies, and some other seeds, in the fall. They come up-but just kinda sit there until the Spring. Have I been winter sowing this whole time and not known it?!!?
I guess I haven't done it with warm weather annuals, but I could sure try.

You are direct sowing, Sissy. Wintersowing is done outside in containers where the conditions can be controlled a bit and the seeds and seedlings protected from the elements and critters. This is my first year doing it but so far I've had great success.

Check out the wintersowing forums FAQ's for more info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersowing forum

I live in South GA. Is it too late (late May) to be sewing Laura Bush Petunia seeds? Should I wait until Fall or next Spring?

It probably is too late for most petunias, though I am not familiar with that variety. They are usually at their best in the cooler temps of spring here. Once it hits in the low nineties regularly, they peter out. You'd be better off with pentas, salvias, zinnias, portulaca, or even marigolds now. All but the pentas are dead easy to start from seeds.

Annuals I like the most are Sweet potato vine, green and black. I have recently gotten coleus and I think its amazing, especially if you dead head it. I also like purple heart. All 3 of those varieties can have cuttings taken from them and placed in water, but all 3 wont do well during a freeze so you'd have to take them inside for winter and reroot every year, but they do spread profusely.

Did anyone mention Angelonia? It blooms nonstop and comes in tall, medium and short-wide types...pinks whites purples and bi-colors. Sun coleus would be my next best bet, and love cupheas. Petunias are usually a fizzle.