My favorite is Benary giant zinnia⦠I am tempted to grow NOTHING else⦠the colors are fantastic, and theyâÂÂve got great vase life. I do pinch once, but other than that they do great on their own. I love dahlias as well for cut flowers⦠and are nice since the (here in PA) bloom season picks up when other stuff is dying down. p.s.- my Lisianthus takes FOREVER. And it will stay TINY for the longest time. As long as youâÂÂve got grow lights on them, they should show up eventually!! Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

Yes, I have a similar spot. An East-facing wall with vine-supporting lattice that gets sun from sunrise till about 2pm during the height of summer. Not to mention, it gets reflected heat from the concrete driveway that leads up to it. I have also tried morning glories and moonflowers here. Both also failed. But I've got some things working for me... I have two different vines on it right now. One is my Clematis henryi, which was an experiment. It blooms, yet wilts. Has survived one year. Probably will not survive for the long term. The other is Blue Sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora). This is a rampant vine. It has gone from a small 1-gallon potted plant to covering 3/4 of a 10'x20' lattice in about 4 months. I have to prune it back every few days, but it is a tough, beautiful vine with nice blue flowers. Confederate Jasmine could work. You might also try any one of the many Passion Flower vines. Another neat vine that I like is Brazilian Nightshade (Solanum seaforthianum). This vine stays neatly in bounds and has cool purplish white flowers. It takes the heat in stride and does quite well. Good luck on your search!

let us know how it goes; I did find this comment on a site called learn2grow in conjunction with Lowes - When the weather gets hot (over 85 degrees F), blue mist will slow down and flowering will decrease, but pruning back old blooms will encourage new ones. Very hot summers and very cold winters are the bane of this plant, so it can be short-lived. Plants arenÂt grown from seed, but they can be propagated easily from cuttings. As a result, it may be best to treat blue mist as a short-lived shrub and replant periodically (every 3-4 years). To create new plants, take softwood cuttings (the easily bendable, green wood) during summer. TheyÂll root easily, so rooting hormones arenÂt necessary. Just stick your cuttings in a good, well-draining potting mix and provide even humidity and lots of light (but not direct sunlight). So it may be that Texas heat isn't good for it. http://www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/shrubs/featuredplants/BlueMist.aspx You might also chat with High Country Gardens, they also know their stuff - a search for blue, xeric, in our area yielded this list: http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/find/results/?category=101&query=&tags%5Bbloom-time%5D=&tags%5Bsun%5D=902&tags%5Bmoisture%5D=502&tags%5Bsoil%5D=&tags%5Bheight%5D=&tags%5Bflower-color%5D=303&regions=801&zone=&x=30&y=9 Have fun, I know what it is like to try to find the perfect plant for the tough spots...

Arghh! I wrote a long answer and lost it. You need something with woody stems and waxy leaves like the Euonymus, not the more delicate stems of the MG and clematis. Move the clematis since it won’t survive the between root competition from the Euonymus, the reflection from the rock and fence, and the hot breeze, all of which combine to create desert-like conditions. One of the honeysuckles with tough leaves may well work there (avoid Japanese honeysuckle for its more delicate stems and ability to seed everywhere.). Give at least a foot between the Euonymus and the honeysuckle. It will need a much stouter trellis. I grow my honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens Major Wheeler on a trellis of 3/8” iron rod. It will take a couple years to settle in and flower IME so if you need flowers now, try a large hanging basket on a shepherd’s hook. That may work well in the long run also to provide flowers, though it will need at least daily water, but it will be above the worst of the hot breeze. Anything planted in the ground needs to have weed fabric (if it is installed under the rock) pulled back at least a foot, and you will need to keep a close eye on soil moisture. Another possibility is an annual vine in a tall, large pot that will get it above the worst of the AC wind. Something like mandevilla has waxy leaves and a woodynstem and is fairly drought tolerant for me, and I bring the pot into the house where it spends the winter in a front of a sunny window in a room that stays cool. i can’t see much in your photo, but unless this is a frequently viewed area such as just outside a window or porch or in the front yard, I would just have the foliage of the Euonymus and not add a flowering plant since you don’t want to pull attention towards your AC units.