The Desert Gardener's Guide to Full Sun Plants

Confused About Full Sun?

Whether you are a new gardener or one with some experience in desert gardening, knowing which plants can survive our summers makes a huge difference to successful summer gardening in the desert climate. Perhaps the most confusing for gardeners is that seed packets state that plants can take full sun, and much to the disappointment of desert gardeners, these plants often fail when planted in Arizona or desert full sun.

Seed companies cater to the majority of gardeners who experience a full sun summer with high temperatures at 90 degrees or below. Our desert temperatures are not really considered. We have compiled a list of plants that can handle the heat. These plants can endure temperatures that are above 95 degrees in full sun all or most of the day. These temperatures are typically 100 plus days of temperatures above 100 degrees.

Fruit Trees

Pomegranate

Guava

Fig

Orange

Jujube

Grapefruit

Surinam Cherry

Barbados Cherry

Mulberry

Apple

Peach

Grapes

Apricot

Plum

Lemon

Pecan

Jackfruit

Olive

Jamaican Cherry

Veg, Fruit & Grain

Amaranth greens and grain

Egyptian Spinach

New Zealand spinach

Sweet potato greens

Okra

Winter & summer Squash

Pumpkins

Eggplant

Corn

Long beans( asparagus bean)

Cowpeas

Tepary Beans

Sunchokes

Melons

Sorghum

Millet

Ground Cherries

Herbs

Roselle

Oregano

Basil- all types

Lemongrass

Garlic Chives

Shiso perilla

Rosemary

Yarrow

Papalo

Vetiver grass

Curry Leaf

Notes

Young fruit trees should be protected for the first year until they are established before being exposed to full sun. Trees in containers will require a bit more shade or at least the containers need to be shaded. Also keep thee trunks of trees protected from sunburn.

Fruit trees such as apriums, plumcot . nectaplum and other crosses can also take full sun.

Squash and pumpkin blossoms, as well as melons, will not set fruit above 95 degrees, but fruit that has already set will continue to grow. In containers, some dappled shade is recommended.

Eggplants can take full sun, but fruit sometimes gets scorched, better with dappled shade or afternoon sun.

Get melons that are less prone to splitting. Native desert varieties always do well.

Water ground cherries very well to help them through the summer heat.

Kumquats and limes tend to be slightly more sensitive to both heat and cold. Some sun protection will be beneficial

Flowers

Sunflowers

Mexican sunflowers

Zinnias

Mexican Hats

Ganzanias

Indian Blanket flower(gaillardia)

Vinca

Celosia

Gomphrena(Globe amaranth)

Roses

Chocolate flower

Coreopsis

Angelonia

Lisianthus

Desert Marigold

Arizona Poppy(Caltrops)

Portuluca

Rudbeckia

Butterfly bush

Dahlberg daisies

Palmers and Perry’s penstemons

Guara

Green Manures & Ground Covers

Purselane

Daikon

Amaranth

Sorghum

Buckwheat

Cowpeas

Strawberry clover

Miscellaneous

Sugar Cane

Moringa

Luffa

Pigeon Peas

Grapes

Passionfruit

Huauzontle

Gourds

Prickly Pear

Notes

The list of flowers includes annuals and perennials and even some shrubs. Dessert native plants are always a winner in this climate.

Matt Powers, Permaculture Educator and author of several books does a blend of daikon, orange giant amaranth, Mennonite sorghum, buckwheat, and cowpeas. He calls it the five cousins and it is his recipe for making soil and healing the land. He states that the cowpeas add nitrogen and biomass. Buckwheat accelerates cowpea nitrogen fixation and growth, and adds trace minerals and nutrients. In addition, it can access inaccessible pools of phosphorus in the soil. Daikon radish acts as a biological tiller and deep composter. Sorghum for C4 grass (warm climate grasses) functions as biomass. Amaranth for bird and pollinator food and after a certain stage of leaf growth, they too, act as a C4 grass.

Huauzontle is an edible green that can be dry-farmed( will do better with water in our desert conditions), and is tolerant of extreme summer heat.