Autumn Sage
Salvia greggii
A tough little evergreen sage that feeds hummingbirds from spring to frost in Texas and the Southwest.
- Full–part sun
- Dry
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Apr–Oct
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- Flame Acanthus
Orange-red
Shrub
Flame Acanthus
Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii
A heat-loving shrub covered in tubular orange flowers through the hottest, driest weeks of summer.
the desert Southwest
Growing Flame Acanthus
Blooms hardest exactly when the garden is most stressed by heat. A hummingbird favorite and host to the Texas crescent butterfly. It’s deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, and long-blooming.
Where it grows
Flame Acanthus is native to the desert Southwest. In the wild you’ll find it across Arizona · California · Nevada · New Mexico · Texas · Utah. Always confirm it suits your specific county with your state native plant society before planting.
Regional Garden shows Flame Acanthus on 6 state pages.
Good for
Sourcing
Where to buy Flame Acanthus
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.
Plant it with
Companions & kin.
Natives that share Flame Acanthus’s range and conditions.
Gregg's Mistflower
Conoclinium greggii
Fuzzy blue flowers that act like a magnet for queen and monarch butterflies in the Southwest.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms May–Oct
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
The most intense red in the native flora, built for the hummingbirds that pollinate it.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa
The West's monarch milkweed — bolder, fuzzier, and more drought-hardy than its eastern cousins.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul