10 Shrubs That Like Full Sun and Heat

If you garden where the summer’s heat seems unrelenting, choosing suitable plants for your landscape that can handle consistently high temperatures is especially critical. Maybe you’ve found that some shrubs in your garden just can’t seem to take the heat like they used to. Instead of spending your time and energy pampering them along, consider swapping them out for varieties that will naturally thrive in your climate instead. Here’s a closer look at ten shrubs that like full sun and heat.

Close-up of vibrant purple azalea flowers in full bloom, with delicate petals and green leaves in the background. The flowers are clustered together, creating a lush and colorful display.

Perfecto Mundo® reblooming azaleas

Designed by southern plant breeders to perform in the heat, you won’t find a better series of reblooming azaleas. Now available in ten colors, these shrubs are loaded with brilliantly colored, large flower clusters in spring, later summer and fall. In between, their glossy, evergreen to semi-evergreen foliage creates a rich backdrop for other plants in your garden. Best suited to coastal zone 6b and heat tolerant through zone 9, these reblooming azaleas thrive in mostly sunny to partly shaded conditions. See individual cultivars for plant sizing.

A dense shrub with glossy green leaves, covered in clusters of small, white star-shaped flowers, growing in a mulched garden bed.

Steady As She Goes® gardenia

Few gardenias offer the unique combination of heat and cold tolerance like this stunning cultivar. Unlike many which quit blooming once the heat of summer arrives, Steady As She Goes® gardenia was named for its ability to bloom all season from spring to fall. Bright white, fully double, strongly fragrant blossoms glow against the glossy, dark green foliage that forms a broad mound. Where it is hardy in zones 7-10, it prefers full sun to part shade. Thankfully, you won’t worry about deer browsing your gardenias. Steady As She Goes® reaches 3-5’ tall x 4-7’ wide at maturity.

Tall clusters of bright pink, ruffled flowers bloom among long, pointed green leaves on El Niño® Chitalpa, set against lush green foliage. - Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners, Inc.

**El Niño™ desert orchid (x Chitalpa)**

One of the most exciting newer plant introductions for the South is x Chitalpa, a cross between desert willow and catalpa. It combines all the arid heat tolerance of desert willow with the large, fragrant, orchid-like blooms of catalpa in one large shrub. Commencing bloom in late spring to early summer, El Nino desert orchid continues to produce its large clusters of bright pink blossoms sporadically throughout the summer. Since it towers at 10-15’ tall and 8-10’ wide, it makes a fantastic privacy screen or backdrop for the border. This shrub grows well in sun and part shade in zones 6-9 where it attracts pollinators and hummingbirds.

**Juiced® Orange jessamine (Cestrum)**

This fun shrub is a dream come true for gardeners in zones 7b-10! If you tallied up all the traits you wished a shrub would possess, we’d bet Juiced Orange jessamine could deliver them all. Start with strong heat and drought tolerance, then throw in a healthy helping of deer resistance. Couple that with an ability to produce clusters of citrus-scented, orange creamsicle-colored flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds for months on end from spring to fall. A bushy 4-5’ tall x 3-4’ wide shape makes it a perfect foundation plant for full sun to part shade garden beds. There’s so much to love about Juice Orange jessamine!

Clusters of bright red blooms and glossy green leaves on the Estrellita® Scarlet Firecracker Bush (Bouvardia) create a vibrant display, perfect for attracting hummingbirds against a blurred dark green background. - Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners, Inc.

**Estrellita™ firecracker bush (Bouvardia)**

A perfect pairing for Juiced Orange jessamine is the Estrellita™ varieties of firecracker bush. The two share many of the same traits and cultural preferences, but Estrellita comes in a much smaller 1.5-2’ tall and wide package. Plant Estrellita Little Star® and Estrellita™ Scarlet firecracker bush in front of Juiced Orange jessamine for a colorful, layered look along your home’s foundation bed. Even if you garden in high arid heat, these shrubs will shine! Bouvardia is hardy in zones 8-10 and prefers full sun.

Vivid orange trumpet-shaped flowers of the Chicklet® Orange Trumpet Bush (Tecoma) bloom on leafy green stems, filling the sunlit garden with a lush, vibrant display. - Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners, Inc.

**Chicklet® trumpet bush (Tecoma)**

Not to be confused with trumpet creeper vine (Campsis), the Chicklet series of well-behaved, non-invasive shrubs shines in both arid and humid regions of the Southern U.S. You’ll enjoy their large, lemon yellow or tangerine orange blossoms all summer as they bloom through the heat with ease. Hummingbirds find the large, trumpet-shaped flowers easy to access and irresistible, as do pollinating bees and butterflies. However, deer tend to pass trumpet bush right on by. Once established, this will be one of the easiest and most rewarding shrubs in your landscape. Hardy in zones 8-11, prefers full sun.

**Austin Pretty Limits® oleander (Nerium)**

Want to enjoy bright pink blooms every day of the year? Plant Austin Pretty Limits oleander! More refined than most, this stunning cultivar was selected for its bushy, rounded habit with bright green, strongly disease resistant foliage that remains attractive all season. It thrives in the hot, humid climates of zones 8-11 where it makes a colorful hedge or specimen plant in full sun. Expect this shrub to grow 4-6’ tall x 4’ wide at maturity. Note that if you have small children or pets that like to munch on your garden plants, use caution when growing oleander which is notoriously toxic if ingested. It is this same trait which makes the plant reliably deer and rabbit resistant.

Close-up of Center Stage® Red Crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia) flowers with vibrant ruffled red petals and buds glistening with water droplets. Striking dark purple leaves and stems create a bold backdrop for this flowering shrub. - Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners, Inc.

**Center Stage® crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia)**

You can’t go wrong with this classic, heat-loving shrub in zones 6b-10. Gardeners across the South will appreciate the extra-dark, highly disease resistant foliage of this brilliant series of shrub-form crapemyrtles which have proven to exhibit excellent heat tolerance in Florida trials. Bred to bloom earlier than many other varieties, you’ll enjoy their glowing red, pink or coral colored blossoms for many months from summer to fall. Plant these sizable 6-12’ tall, deer resistant shrubs in full sun as a privacy screen, specimen or dramatic backdrop for lighter colored plants in the landscape.

Close-up of a blooming pink camellia flower with yellow stamens, surrounded by green leaves and additional pink flowers in the background.

Just Chill™ camellias

Rounding out the season with their elegant fall and winter blooms are the classic Just Chill series of camellias. These handsome evergreen shrubs can withstand the heat of zone 9 but come into bloom as the air begins to chill, continuing on into early winter even in cooler climates. This series was bred for extra cold tolerance, surviving winter with protection in zone 6b, and for their abundant blooms. Choose from double-flowered cultivars or Just Chill Red Tip™ which has the added bonus of burgundy accented foliage. Plant your camellia in moist, well-drained, acidic soil in a full sun to part sun location.

Juke Box® Pyracomeles

If you’re looking for a reliable, disease resistant alternative to boxwood, consider Juke Box pyracomeles which was developed with this use in mind. Both shrubs have a very similar look when pruned to the shape you desire. However, pyracomeles is a little leaf evergreen that naturally thrives without the worry of boxwood blight or spider mites. It prefers full sun to part sun in zones 7-9 (zone 6b with winter protection) and grows 1-3’ tall and wide but can easily be kept to whatever size that fits your space. Use it to make all the hedges, topiaries and bonsai you desire! Blue ribbon winner at the University of California-Davis Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials.