Summer heat and resulting drought can be brutal on plants. In this post, I will outline some of the best and toughest perennial kids on the block that can handle heat and drought. These perennials are hearty and can withstand a lot of difficult weather during our hottest months.  Well Established Perennials Can Take a Lot of Heat Before I present you with a list of perennial plants that can handle a lot of heat, I need to emphasize that they must be well established and thriving before anyone can expect them to manage summer heat. What does a well-established perennial look like? A well-established perennial has been growing in the ground for at least 3 years and is mostly independent of a gardener’s intervention in its daily growth. Transplanting perennials and getting them to develop strong, reliable roots takes about 3 growing seasons.  I always say that the third year is a perennial’s magical year because, by this time, they start flowering and grow larger each spring. There is a saying about perennial growth that goes like this:  the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap. Here’s what the typical growth pattern looks like for a transplanted perennial:  Perennial Year 1:  ‘The first year they sleep’  The season a perennial is transplanted into your garden is considered its first year of life. Treat a newly planted perennial like an annual during this season.  Water and fertilize them regularly to encourage root