The winner: Begonia, 86/100. Runner-up: Coreopsis at 83. Lowest upkeep of the qualifiers: Christmas Cactus at 74.
Heat lists written for Arizona die in Georgia. Every species here carries a documented humidity-tolerance record, then earns rank on heat, months of bloom and upkeep in sauna weather.
The picks
The flowers that won
The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
Bloom through the swelter: 12 months · Care while it grows: medium · Reaches the Deep South: 11 to 12
Flaws, not dealbreakers:asks for some seasonal upkeep; toxic to cats
Not for cat households
79/ 100tap for the breakdown
Bloom through the swelter35 / 3512 months
Care while it grows17 / 30medium
Reaches the Deep South20 / 2011 to 12
Stands up to deer7 / 15no published rating
The protocol
How the score is built
4 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
Bloom through the swelter35 pointseight or more months 35; six to seven 31; four to five 27; three 17; two 9; one 4; no bloom data 9 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Care while it grows30 pointslow upkeep 30; middling 17; demanding 5; sources disagree, we average the range; no rating 15 Read from: how much upkeep extension guides report.
Reaches the Deep South20 pointsrated to zone 10 or beyond 20; zone 9 15; zone 8 9; cooler-only ratings 4 Read from: the zones it survives.
Stands up to deer15 pointsRutgers A, rarely damaged 15; B 11; C 5; D, deer candy 0; not rated 7 Read from: the Rutgers deer rating.
Not ranked here: no extension source documents humidity tolerance.
The full method ↗
The leaderboard
The top ten
The 10 highest of 12 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this question is not theirs.
no extension source documents humidity toleranceRoses, Tulips, Peonies and 70 more
The winner's badge
Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Begonia
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit the question is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
shown. When the table changes, every score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
