Not Begonias, Not Impatiens: The Annual Flower That Can Take The Heat In The Garden

Once the summer heat really settles in, many of the plants you thought could handle these tough months start looking like they're being put through the wringer. Even after carefully selecting summer-blooming annual flowers that can take the summer heat, you may be giving more attention to your garden than you anticipated — and all before summer is even halfway over. Gardeners love begonias (Begonia spp.) and impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) for their humidity tolerance as much as their colorful flowers. However, these shade-loving annuals don't do well in the mid-summer heat. Enter the 'Truffula Pink' globe amaranth (Gomphrena pulchella 'Truffula Pink').

'Truffula Pink' is perennial in USDA Zones 9 through 11, and it's grown as an annual everywhere else. For gardeners tired of watching their flowering annuals struggle in peak summer heat, this globe amaranth cultivar is a refreshing, low-maintenance alternative. It delivers the nonstop color people want from their flowering plants with added, unbeatable heat tolerance.

This cheery option brings a completely different aesthetic to traditional flower gardens. Rather than the large, showy petals so common in flowering annuals, 'Truffula Pink' boasts flowers with a unique shape — round, pom-pom-shaped blooms in super-pretty shades of pink that look like they're floating atop wispy foliage. Plus, it blooms throughout the growing season and tolerates heat like a champ. The cultivar provides much-needed texture to mixed plantings, cut or dried flower gardens, and large, exposed areas where not much else will survive the summer heat.

As a gardener, you likely have your go-to annuals that will flower from spring through summer once your peonies have faded. Major bonus points if it keeps blooming through the hottest days of the year. 'Truffula Pink' globe amaranth is quickly becoming one of those dependable picks, filling landscapes with a pop of hot pink as the heat zaps the color out of other plants. As other annuals wilt dramatically when the temperature creeps up, despite looking picture-perfect just a few weeks ago, 'Truffula Pink' stays upright and blooming. In fact, its cute pom-pom-like flowers will keep popping out from late spring until the first frost of the year arrives, giving you long stretches of color with very little care. 

'Truffula Pink' isn't overly persnickety about the type of soil it puts its roots into, so long as it's well-draining. Once established, it's highly drought-tolerant and you don't have to fertilize it. It needs a site that sees at least six hours of sunshine a day for the most abundant flowering, but you don't need to deadhead it. If you want to beautify your landscape with summer-blooming plants that backyard pollinators will love, this globe amaranth cultivar is a must-have. 'Truffula Pink' attracts both bees and butterflies to its pollen- and nectar-filled blooms in droves. As a bonus, this annual flowering plant is relatively compact, maxing out at 28 inches tall and 26 inches wide. It also won't spread all over your garden, unlike other Gomphrena species, because its seeds are sterile.