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9 Drought-Tolerant Plants for Hot Climates You've Probably Never Heard of

By Carol J. Alexander Dengarden

Updated July 2, 2026 12:40 PM

arena photography — EuToch / Getty Images

When you plant a garden, you want more than a pretty spring show. You need plants that can stand up to long, hot summers without constant watering.

But the best drought-tolerant plants do more than survive dry weather. They thrive in low-water conditions and keep the garden interesting through heat, wind and dry soil.

In this article, we share nine drought-tolerant plants you may not have considered before. You'll find pollinator-friendly flowers, structural plants and even an edible option, along with expert tips for helping them thrive in hot climates.

9 Drought-Tolerant Plants for Hot Climates

Every seasoned gardener already knows about the drought-tolerant properties of lavender or Black-eyed Susans. If you live in a climate with increasingly dry and hot summers and want to add something new to your planting scheme, or your climate is very hot year-round, and you need low-maintenance landscaping options, all of the following plants are well worth seeking out.

1. Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora)

Noelle Johnson, horticulturist, landscape consultant and author of the popular blog Desert Gardening 101, recommends red yucca for low-moisture gardens. "It's an architectural succulent-like perennial with coral flower spikes that attract hummingbirds year-round," she said.

While not a true yucca, Red yucca has dark olive-green leaves that grow two to three feet high. From March through July, it sends up a flower stalk about five feet tall, with showy coral-colored flowers that hummingbirds love. In winter, the leaves can take on a plum-colored tint, adding interest after the blooms fade.

2. Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Butterfly weed is a native perennial that adds color and ecological value to hot, dry gardens. Its bright orange blooms attract butterflies and other pollinators, while its preference for sunny, well-drained sites makes it useful in low-water borders.

What makes Butterfly weed so great? It combines drought tolerance, pollinator value and bold color in one native plant. And did we mention that it has a surprisingly lovely fragrance? Blooming from June to August, the plants reach two to three feet tall.

3. Parry's Agave (Agave parryi)

While any species of Agave is considered drought-tolerant, Johnson points out that Parry's Agave is a "dramatic sculptural succulent with thick water-storing leaves and exceptional heat tolerance." It grows larger than many other agaves with leaves of seven to 20 inches long. Agave also easily reproduces, sending out many offsets.

Slow-growing, this plant requires little water, making it the perfect choice for southwestern states like Arizona and New Mexico. Parry's Agave thrives in the ground or in containers.

4. Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

Little Bluestem adds height, movement and prairie-style beauty to your garden. The grass-like foliage helps hot-climate gardens stay attractive long after spring flowers fade. Growing to about three feet in height, the stems stand tall throughout the winter, keeping your low-water garden from looking flat.

Little Bluestem turns from a rich blue-green to dazzling shades of copper, bronze or crimson in autumn. It also produces fluffy seed heads that feed local songbirds and add seasonal interest.

5. Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticosa)

A Mediterranean native, Jerusalem sage has woolly gray-green leaves and tiered yellow flowers and reaches three to four feet tall. It's a sculptural choice for full-sun dry gardens where you want something more unexpected than lavender or Russian sage. It blooms in late spring through summer, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Jerusalem sage grows well in the ground or in containers and can be dried for flower arrangements.

6. Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora)

Moss rose is a low-growing annual for hot, sandy locations. Its semi-succulent foliage helps it to handle dry conditions, while its flowers bring bright color to rock gardens, hot patio pots or roadsides where many annuals wilt. A native of the dry plains of South America, Moss rose is a member of the purslane family, cultivated for the showy flowers that bloom all summer long.

7. Salvia Golden Girl (Salvia x jamensis)

"Salvias in general are built for the heat," said Kevin Lenhart, design director and landscape architect with Yardzen. "You can take your pick, and you won't be disappointed." But the Golden Girl (aka Yellow Autumn Sage) is especially stunning. "I love the creamy yellow blooms of this salvia, which are close enough to the ubiquitous tan tones of dry landscapes to offer a sense of subtlety that you don't get from bolder flower colors."

Salvia maintenance is simple: give it good drainage and plenty of sun.

8. Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)

Consider the tasty sweet potato as an edible ground cover for your hot climate garden. It's a warm-season vine with attractive foliage and edible tubers. While sweet potatoes require hot weather to thrive and produce their rich orange flesh, gardeners will get better yields with steady water during establishment and root development in the spring. Sweet potatoes can thrive in garden beds, along walkways or in containers.

9. Silver Falls (Dichondra micrantha)

Another low-growing groundcover, Silver Falls, is typically used as a trailing accent for hanging plants, but it also thrives in the garden. Native to Texas and Mexico, this plant has small, pewter-colored, fan-shaped leaves and silver stems that trail along the ground on runners. "It's quite happy in full sun and dry conditions," says Lenhart. He advises allowing for good drainage and letting it dry out between waterings to avoid root rot.

How to Help Drought-Tolerant Plants Thrive in Hot Weather

Drought-tolerant doesn't mean "never water." Even plants that thrive in hot, dry climates need consistent care and weekly watering while their roots are still developing. To help drought-tolerant plants get through hot weather:

Water early in the morning, so more moisture reaches the roots before the heat of the day
Use drip irrigation or water close to the soil surface to reduce evaporation
Apply two to three inches of mulch to conserve moisture
Keep mulch away from plant stems and crowns
Use shade cloth during extreme heat, especially for new or stressed plants
Pay extra attention to containers, as they dry out faster than in-ground beds

A little extra care during the first season can make the difference between plants that merely survive and plants that settle in, bloom well and handle hot summers with less help later.

Hot-climate gardening doesn't mean settling for a dull landscape. With the right plant choices, you can grow flowers, texture, pollinator plants and even food with less water.

Choose your planting sites with care, provide regular watering during the first year, select plants that match your growing conditions, and you can have a healthy garden for years to come.

Sources:

Noelle Johnson, horticulturist, landscape consultant and author of the popular blog Desert Gardening 101
Kevin Lenhart, design director and landscape architect with Yardzen

This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 12:11 PM.