Hummingbird said:In early spring they are beautiful! Once it starts warming up to the 80's they seem to die of the heat even if I put them in a shaded area.
I've found this series to be reliably heat tolerant -
http://suntorycollection.com/g...
I situate the plants so that root areas are completely shaded and the tops are in half day sun that will turn into dappled sun by the hottest days of mid summer. I've also found that planting in straight compost works best in a typically dry summer climate.
Also, if planting in containers choose the deepest ones you have available. If you don't over water in the plants' initial growing stages the roots will run quite deep to find moisture. These plants will benefit greatly once the heat arrives by having previously established roots in deeper, cooler soil.
Happy growing, Hummingbird.