Annual Flowers That Can Stand Heat

Cosmos

• During the mission period in Mexico, Spanish priests grew the cosmos in their gardens. The southwestern cosmos (Cosmos bippinnatus) grows to about 3 feet high to 3 feet wide at maturity. Its white, purple or pink flowers bloom from summer to fall, and attracts butterflies.

Dyssodia

• Yellow daisy-like flowers of the golden dyssodia (Dyssodia pentachaeta) bloom from late spring to fall. A low-growing plant, it grows to about 6 inches wide by 6 inches high. The golden dyssodia attracts butterflies. Another name for the plant, when sold at gardening centers, is Thymophylla pentachaet.

Spreading Fleabane

• Butterflies flutter to the white to pink daisy-like flowers of the spreading fleabane (Erigeron divergens), which blooms in the spring. It grows to about 1 ½ feet high by 2 feet wide. Its stems and leaves are hairy, and flower petals narrow.

Mexican Gold Poppy

• The Mexican gold poppy (Eschscholzia californica ssp. Mexicana) has bright orange or yellow flower blossoms which bloom from late winter to spring. It's a good selection for the gardener looking for a flower that easily reseeds itself. Each plant grows to about a foot high by a foot wide.

Blanket Flower

• The summer blooming blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella) produces yellow- and red-colored flowers. The plant grows to about 1 ½ foot high by 1 ½ foot wide. Other common names for the plant include Indian blanket, firewheel and rosering gaillardia.

Maximilian Sunflower

• The Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) has bright-green foliage and boasts a yellow daisy-like flower that blooms in the fall. It is a large plant, which reaches some 10 feet high and 2 feet wide. Birds love to munch on the plant's seeds.

Arizona Poppy

• The Arizona poppy (Kallstroemia grandiflora) has dark-green, fine-textured foliage and orange flowers with dark orange centers. It flowers during the summer, primarily during the rainy season. The plant grows to about 1 foot high by 3 feet wide.

Red Flax

• The bright red flowers of the red flax (Linum grandiflora 'Rubrum') bloom in the spring. The plant, a native of North Africa, grows to about 2 feet high by 2 feet wide. Its gray-green leaves are narrow, with erect branching stems.