Beat the Heat – These 5 Plants Work Like Natural Air Conditioners to Keep Patios Cooler in Summer
Don't let a heatwave ruin your outdoor living this summer. Add a few vines to block the sun, airy trees to let the breeze in, and plants that release cool moisture.
We look forward to summer sun all winter long, then the heat arrives and we remember the glory of shade. Not to worry! You can create shade and cool your patio with plants. Patio plants properly placed - whether small trees, potted plants with big leaves, or hanging baskets - can step between you and the sun to cool things down. Using leafy trees and lush vines won’t turn summer back into spring, but it can create a fresher, cooler microclimate exactly where you need it.
When you are designing your landscape, it’s always a good idea to install shade trees to cool your home. If you need shade pronto, you’ll want to make a trip to the garden store and bring home ready-made sunshine-blocking houseplants. If you are starting early, some of these are easy to start by rooting cuttings. (Adding a Shark FlexBreeze Misting Fan from Amazon will help complete the patio oasis transformation!)
Here are 5 of our top choices.
5 Plants that Cool Your Patio in Summer
Here at Gardening Know How, we think that any houseplant is a good houseplant. But different plants play different roles in our landscape. If you are looking for plants to provide patio shade, we’ve got you covered. The top plants for cooling a patio will offer height, dense foliage and large leaves and turn scorching sunlight into dappled shade.
Here are the 5 plants we recommend to make your patio a cool outdoor retreat.
1. Elephant Ears
Think of an elephant’s ears - big and heart-shaped. That’s what the leaves of Colocasia esculenta look like, one of the species of tropical perennial plants termed “elephant ears.” They are grown for the very same huge leaves that gave them their name. The species plant grows emerald green leaves with a matte finish, but - for sunny patios in search of shade - we recommend varieties with dark leaves that can take direct sun.
Two great choices include ‘Black Coral’ with its huge, glossy black, corrugated leaves, growing to 4 feet (1.3m) tall, and ‘Black Magic’, with dusty purple-black leaves and dark petioles. It grows to 6 feet (2m) tall and wide. 3 to 6 feet tall and wide.
Provide your elephant ear plant with fertile, moist soil and don’t neglect regular irrigation. They grow best in warm temperatures and high humidity. They thrive in USDA hardiness zones 8-11.
2. Star Jasmine
Yes, this plant deserves its “star” designation for its powerful fragrance alone. Then there are the frothy, star-shaped flowers, the vigorous vine, and the plant’s tolerance for sun and shade. Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) grows rapidly to 6 feet (2m) tall and wide if provided with warm temperatures and well-draining soil. And it’s so easy; a member of the “plant and forget” club.
This vine works well for a hot patio since it will do just fine in hot sun and loves to run up a trellis. The star jasmine is a fast-growing vine and, without something to climb, will spread quickly in the landscape, potentially suffocating nearby plants. Its thick, twining vines create a heavy plant screen just where you need it and bloom from spring through September.
3. Crape Myrtle
Star jasmine will build a leafy wall between your patio and the sun, but if you’d prefer a dappled approach, consider a container tree like crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). This leafy flowering tree releases water vapor through its long eaves, cooling down the nearby air. But it also offers masses of flowers that create an effective sun screen on a deck or patio. Sited in sun and soil that drains well, it only needs regular watering in summer in USDA zones 6-9.
Crape myrtle is a wonderful plant to cool a patio as it has naturally airy canopy, creating dappled shade without making a space feel dark or blocking out the light.
Crape myrtles are not necessarily small trees. Planted in the garden, they can grow to 25 feet (8m) tall and almost as wide. So choose a cultivar that meets your needs. For example, 'Enduring Summer White' is a dwarf cultivar that won’t get taller than you are yet offers lacy white blooms. Or for something taller and more colorful, go for 'Catawba' with bright purple flowers and fiery fall color, topping out at between 10 and 15 feet (3-5m) tall and wide.
4. Grapevine
Grapevines (Vitis vinifera) are fast climbing vines that prefer a full-sun location. Lots of my friends in French Basque Country have planted grapevines on a pergola or overhead frames in the patio to create a cool seating area below. Grapevines grow fast and can create a dense summer roof of leaves in a season or two. The “ceiling” of grapevine leaves blocks sun in summer, but leaves drop off in winter to allow the sunshine in.
Yes, grapevines are fruit plants that produce grapes. They hang down into the pergola like decorations. The entire set-up gives you the sense that you are sitting in a cool Mediterranean getaway instead of a hot patio.
Plant your grapevine in a full sun area, especially if you hope to ripen the fruit. They grow best in well-draining soil with regular water - at least an inch a week. You’ll need to prune every year to keep growth healthy. They are hardy in USDA zones 6-9.
5. Hostas
Leafy container plants can change the atmosphere of a small garden or patio in summer, turning it into a cooling station. We all know hostas (Hosta spp.) as easy-care plants for our shade gardens, but there are some that have huge green cooling leaves but love the sun. These are the ones to consider to cool your summer patio.
Bring in shade-loving varieties as second tier patio plants, or select sun loving varieties for sunny corners. We particularly like Hosta ‘Big Daddy’, which delights with its massive leaves. They grow to 12 inches (30cm) long in a really cool frosty blue. ‘Big Daddy’ can grow happily in full sun, partial sun or shade. It also works well in containers, The entire plant will get 2 feet (.6m) tall and 3 feet (1m) wide. It offers showy white flowers that appear in late summer and attract pollinators.
Hosta species have individual sun requirements, but they all need moist, well-draining soil. Hosta is hardy to USDA Zones 3-9.
