5 Tough Flowers to Grow if You Want a Challenge

How long have you been gardening? Maybe gardening in Arizona and Colorado is difficult for some people, but you’ve been doing it for so long that you know how to get flowers and vegetables through the summer droughts. Maybe, after raising the same flowers year after year, you want something different and challenging. We have several hard-to-grow flowers that might be perfect for you to try growing this season.

If you want to try growing hard-to-grow flowers this year, be sure to stop by your local Pioneer Landscape Center to get all the supplies you’ll need. We would bet that you will certainly need a lot more than usual to grow these flowers.

Tough Flowers to Grow In Arizona and Colorado

We did our research and found flowers that can grow in our home states but aren’t the easiest. They’re only for well-experienced gardeners to try growing if they don’t want dead seeds and wilting plants halfway through the growing season. 

This isn’t to say they’re impossible. We’re not going to recommend a plant that grows in the cold winter of Siberia. These flowers can be grown here. It’s just going to take a bit of hard work, experience, and trial and error.

#1. Azaleas

You won’t find this flower growing naturally in Arizona. The natural soil of the desert can’t support them. This isn’t from a lack of nutrients, however, but a high alkalinity level. This flower needs a more acidic mix to survive. What this also means is that while it doesn’t grow naturally, it can be grown in a carefully curated garden. 

You can get mulch, soil, and fertlizers that can artificially raise the acidity of your garden. This way, you can get your spring garden growing Azaleas! Be sure to keep watch over the pH levels of your garden, and if you do, you might have tough flowers that no other garden is growing in Arizona.

#2. Texas Sage

An offshoot of Hydrangeas, these flowering bushes bloom in a beautiful shade of purple. They usually grow in ocean climates, where the air and soil are salty. This presents a different challenge to experienced gardeners.

The one thing you can count on, though, is the Texas Sage attracting bees, which are known for loving this bush, and pollinating it as needed.

#3. Hydrangeas 

Closely related to the previously mentioned Texas Sages, these hard-to-grow flowers are even more challenging to grow but come with a bigger reward. They grow in the colors of white, blue, and pink. You can affect the color if you use aluminum sulfate in the soil. 

These flowers are usually found by the ocean, which is what makes them difficult to grow in Arizona, but not impossible. You need to make sure you cultivate a garden environment where you get your plants the correct amount of moisture and a similar pH level to start growing them. 

#4. Hostas

Don’t let first impressions fool you. While these flowers are popular across the Midwest, the same cannot be said for the West. They prefer the shade, which will be an experienced gardener's biggest hurdle when it comes to growing these flowers. You can grow them around trees or close to your house. It’s important to find a place where they are in the shade more often than not. 

Thankfully, they don’t require acidic soil, which leaves you with more freedom with what to plant them with. They’re also drought-tolerant, so when growing them, you have one large challenge to focus on. When that challenge is protecting hard-to-grow flowers from the sun, that is a tall ask.

#5. Peonies

It’s not entirely agreed upon what peonies prefer. Do they like a cold chill or a light cold season? These are flowers you can prepare to grow in the fall and into the winter. They prefer cooler climates, but preferring it doesn’t mean that they need it. You can try growing these, but you would have to do a lot of experimenting and research. 

It’s not well agreed upon what’s best for these tough-to-grow flowers, making it the ultimate challenge for any experienced gardener. 

Contact the Experts at Your Local Pioneer Landscape Center for Help

Our experts have been helping novice and experienced gardeners across Arizona and Colorado for years. Whether they want materials to grow something familiar or something tough, we can help. 

If there are special materials you need to cultivate some tough-to-grow flowers, you can count on our experts to help. Contact us today for more information.