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P ERENNIALS THAT BEAT THE HEAT !
B OWOOD ’ S B EST B ETS :
DON’T YOU WORRY ABOUT A THING!
BOWOOD FARMS HAS PLANTS FOR A ST. LOUIS SUMMER…
The following is a list of perennials that have been proven to thrive in the St. Louis heat. Some of
the plants listed are underutilized in this area and deserve to play a major role in your garden.
Others are brand new but tailor-made for our heat and humidity.
Agastache ‘Heat Wave’/ Anise Hyssop
Cool down just looking at these graceful, tall, flower spikes of lavender pink dancing in the wind
from summer to fall. With pale, blue-green foliage, it makes a striking backdrop for other summer
bloomers or foliage plants. Attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds – and smells like Bazooka
bubblegum!
Height: 20” / 36” in bloom
Light: Full Sun
Moisture: Moderate to High
Spread: 20”
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Buddleia davidii ‘Evil Ways’ / Butterfly Bush
Bright yellow foliage contrasts with very dark purple flower clusters that are highly fragrant,
attracting scores of happy butterflies and humming birds from June until frost. Sure to become a
favorite, its cheerful color combination will pull you outside (away from the air conditioner!) to
enjoy your garden. And – yippee – it’s deer-resistant!
Height: 4’ - 5’
Light: Full Sun
Spread: 4’ - 5’
Moisture: Moderate
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Caryopteris divaricata ‘Snow Fairy’ / Blue Mist Shrub
Striking green and white variegated foliage endures the severest of summers with great aplomb
due to its great drought tolerance and leaf scorch resistance. A woody perennial or small shrub, it
has lacy, deep-blue flowers that bloom from mid-summer to frost.
Height: 2’ - 3’
Light: Full Sun
Moisture: Low to Moderate
Spread: 2’ - 3’
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Coreopsis ‘Galaxy’ / Tickseed
This compact, well-branched, easy-to-grow perennial is loaded with large, semi-double to double,
canary yellow flowers from early summer through the beginning of fall. It is shorter than most
coreopsis cultivars but still perfect for cut flower arrangements.
Height: 12”
Light: Full Sun
Spread: 12”
Moisture: Moderate
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Heliopsis helianthoides ‘Summer Sun’ / False Sunflower
Strong, upright stems, glossy leaves, and great heat tolerance combine with an abundance of nonstop, bright gold, semi-double flowers to make this a perfect summer bloomer.
Height: 3’
Light: Partial to Full Sun
Spread: 2’ - 3’
Moisture: Moderate
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www.bowoodfarms.com
314/454-6868
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Hemerocallis ‘Going Bananas’ / Daylily
Large, slightly fragrant, lemon yellow blossoms with a green throat bloom almost continuously
from June through fall. Displays excellent branching with 10 – 15 well-spaced flowers per scape.
Daylilies are excellent choices for harsh conditions such as poor, dry soils, pollution, or proximity
to pavements that are salted in winter.
Height: 19” - 22”
Light: Partial to Full Sun
Spread: 18” - 24”
Moisture: Low
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P ERENNIALS THAT BEAT THE HEAT !
B OWOOD ’ S B EST B ETS :
Heuchera x ‘Southern Comfort’ / Coral Bells
Make a bold statement with this new coral bell: huge cinnamon-peach leaves mature to amber
with pale purple undersides. Grows into a broad, lush clump. Partial H. villosa parentage gives this
one what it takes to thrive in a hot, humid environment – St. Louis!
Height: 14” / 22” in flower
Light: Partial to Full Sun
Spread: 24”
Moisture: Moderate
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Hosta ‘Eskimo Pie’
Just saying the name will cool you on a hot day – and the creamy white centers with chartreuse
streaking will light up your shade garden. The variation in leaf patterns is exquisite – as if they
were each painted by hand. Tall white flowers appear mid-summer.
Light: Partial to Full Shade
Height: 26”
Spread: 32”
Moisture: Low to Moderate
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Hosta ‘Tropical Storm’
Heart-shaped, puckered leaves of good substance have brilliant, yellow-gold margins around a
green center. Lavender flowers appear in early to mid-summer. This new introduction is small, but
really packs a punch!
Light: Partial to Full Shade
Height: 8” - 10”
Moisture: Low to Moderate
Spread: 16”
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Kniphofia hirsuta ‘Fire Dance’ / Red Hot Poker
This is the perfect Red Hot Poker for smaller spaces – without diminishing its colorful impact or
attraction of hummingbirds and butterflies. The tough, blue-green leaves are ignored by deer and
rabbits and the plants themselves have a superior hardiness.
Height: 20”
Light: Full Sun
Spread: 20”
Moisture: Low
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Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eisler’s’ / Black-eyed Susan
A Black-eyed Susan with a difference: tightly quilled lemon-yellow petals and a chocolate-drop
center atop tall, narrowly, upright plants. They start blooming in late July and continue into fall,
making a great companion for asters, caryopteris, and ornamental grasses.
Height: 4’ - 5’
Light: Partial to Full Sun
Moisture: Low
Spread: 2’ - 3’
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Sedum ‘Chocolate Drop’ / Stonecrop
Here’s a sedum to add depth and contrast to your summer garden – upright mounds of lightly
scalloped, round leaves with the color of lustrous dark chocolate. Sprays of soft rose flowers arrive
mid-summer, attracting flights of butterflies.
Height: 8” / 10” in flower
Light: Full Sun
Spread: 14”
Moisture: Dry
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www.bowoodfarms.com
314/454-6868
kh
Stokesia laevis ‘Elf’ / Stokes Aster
A very short and compact Stokes Aster which doesn’t stint in its blooming – from mid-summer to
early fall, lots of large lavender blue flowers top each tidy mound of foliage. Easy to grow, with a
great heat tolerance, it makes a lovely edging for any garden.
Height: 8”
Light: Partial to Full Sun
Spread: 5”
Moisture: Low to Moderate