heat

It seems very hot for fall. No rain going on two weeks now. I'm starting to wash dishes by hand, just to have extra water to throw on plants and not use the hose so much. It's nice that the cooler nights are deterring many pest insects, but the heat is stressing some of my plants. Most of my tithonia are thriving, it's like a glowing wall of flowers-

but this one suddenly wilted. I think it was the cold- just don't know why the others around it are fine. Maybe it got a draft?

Pink coleus in the front yard also suddenly lost a lot of lower leaves; it doesn't matter so much because they are behind the line of mums- which are starting to bloom!

I notice the lime-and-orange coleus are doing best of all- they seem more tolerant of both heat and cold. And they don't flower. I never have to pinch flower spikes off the top like I do with the pink ones and the 'kiwi fern'.

Back to the torch flower: they attract lots of pollinators. Not so many wasps as the celosia, but there are always half a dozen or so skippers, and I frequently see a monarch or swallowtail. Yesterday there was a different butterfly- I think it's a painted lady.

Half open flower. Almost every day I go out to cut off flowers that are done and turning to set seed, so the plants will stay in bloom.

That one orange celosia finished forming its bloom- and it turns to pinkish hue on top. I think it's my favorite, and I only have one!