North Texas gets hot. Really hot. The flowers that thrive in Portland or Charlotte will cook here by July. Picking the right plants for each season is the difference between a flowerbed that looks good for six months and one that dies in three weeks.

Spring (March through May)

This is DFW's best planting window. Soil is warming up, you're getting rain, and the brutal heat hasn't arrived yet.

Petunias go in now and will bloom until the heat kills them in late June or July. They're cheap (about $3 per 4-pack at any nursery) and give you a ton of color fast. Lantana is another good spring plant that actually loves Texas heat and will last all summer. Pentas attract hummingbirds and handle full sun without flinching.

For beds that get afternoon shade, plant impatiens or begonias. Begonias are tougher in our heat than most people think, especially the wax varieties.

Summer (June through August)

This is survival mode. Soil temps hit 90°F+ and most flowers struggle. The ones that make it are the ones adapted to heat.

Vincas (periwinkle) are the go-to summer flower in DFW. They thrive in 100°F heat with minimal water. Zinnias handle full sun and bloom continuously if you deadhead them. Purslane is a succulent ground cover that takes the worst heat DFW can throw at it and still flowers.

Don't bother planting petunias, pansies, or snapdragons in June. They're dead by July.

Fall (September through November)

Fall planting is almost as good as spring. The heat breaks in late September and you get another window of decent growing weather.

Mums are the obvious choice. Every grocery store and nursery has them by the truckload starting in September. They'll look good through Thanksgiving. Ornamental cabbage and kale give you something different in the beds once temps drop below 70°F consistently.

Late October is when we start putting pansies in. They're the backbone of DFW winter color and they go in earlier than most people think.

Winter (December through February)

Pansies. That's pretty much the list. Pansies and violas handle DFW winters like champs. They'll survive freezes down to the low 20s, go dormant during the worst cold snaps, then pop back up and keep blooming. We plant thousands of pansies every winter across our customer properties.

Snapdragons are another option that handles light freezes. Cyclamen works in shaded areas. Ornamental cabbage carries over from fall and lasts until spring.

Save money with this schedule: Instead of replanting four times a year, plant lantana, salvia, and Black-Eyed Susans in spring. They'll carry you from March through October. Then swap to pansies for winter. Two plantings instead of four, and your beds always have color.

Perennials Worth Considering

If you're tired of replanting every season, go with perennials that come back on their own. Texas sage (cenizo) blooms purple after summer rains and is basically indestructible. Autumn sage comes in red, pink, and coral and blooms spring through fall. Mexican feathergrass adds texture and movement to beds without needing any attention.

Native plants are always the smartest long-term investment for a DFW yard. They're adapted to our soil, our heat, and our drought cycles.