14 Of The Best (And Worst) Plants In A Heatwave

Parts of the UK are right on the brink of their sixth heatwave, and brown grass carpets much of the south. (Luckily, that doesn’t mean your lawn’s died).

Still, that, alongside hosepipe bans, has had a knock-on effect on gardeners. Writing to Reddit’s r/GardeningUK forum, posters shared their “heatwave casualties” and outright deaths.

But other Redditors were surprised to see that certain species, like lavender, seemed to thrive.

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how to drought- and heatwave-proof your garden for 2027.

If you’re looking for specific species, however, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) conducted an Extreme Heat Survey this July, “painting a clear picture that even established, formerly healthy plants could not cope with the searing temperatures, which reached well above 30°C.”

They received responses from over 8,000 UK gardeners who’d just been battling with weeks of unprecedented dry weather and drought.

Per the RHS’ data, the “losers” in extreme heat were:

1. Hydrangea
2. Acer
3. Fuchsia
4. Astilbe
5. Roses
6. Anemone
7. Ferns
8. Heuchera
9. Phlox
10. Crocosmia.

However, while crocosmia might show damage early on, that doesn’t mean it’ll be hurt in the long run.

Leigh Hunt, the RHS’ principal horticultural advisor, said: “As temperatures become more extreme don’t replace like for like – if a plant is struggling in your garden you can plant something better suited to the space.”

The RHS also ran a separate (unexpected) trial in their own Wisley garden.

The area went without rain for almost six weeks, and gardeners took note of what survived.

1. Persian roses
2. Baptista
3. Wild carrots
4. Crape myrtles.

Other drought-tolerant plants include lavender, rosemary, and grasses like Festuca arundinacea.

BBC Gardeners’ World said geums, hardy geraniums, bearded irises, nepeta, sea hollies, and sedums can flourish in dry weather too.