Do you have areas that get very hot, full sun, and nothing seems to survive? These 22 heat-tolerant edible plants to grow in HOT full-sun locations will help you grow productive edible gardens. I’ve been growing food here in Perth, Australia, for the last 10 years, and let me tell you, it was a big change and learning curve coming from the lush green of New Zealand.

Today, I’m sharing some plant ideas to plant in those super hot locations, but keep reading to the end because it’s not just about what you plant, but also when and how! Bonus tips on that, so you can turn your hot barren wasteland into productive edible gardens.

Click to WATCH 22 heat-tolerant edible plants

22 Heat-tolerant Edible Plants for Full Sun

1. Rosemary

Attracts bees 🐝 and has healing properties, and is great for skin and hair care. Flavour-enhancing culinary herb🌿 When I first moved here, I wondered why so many houses had Rosemary hedges out the front – and it’s because it thrives on neglect and our poor sandy soils. Rosemary is a great heat-tolerant addition to your edible garden. Try making your own Rosemary Salt.

2. Guava – Strawberry & Tropical

Strawberry/cherry, lemon cherry, and tropical Hawaiian/Thai guavas are really hardy, low-maintenance fruit trees that produce bucketloads of fruit!

3. Mulberry

Another powerhouse perennial that survives on neglect – they grow super fast so you can use these as a nanny plant or a pioneer plant. If you have a barren hot area you could plant a Mulberry to get quick shade established and later on remove it or heavily prune if it gets too big. Mulberry also loses leaves in winter to let light in.

4. Lavender

Lavender is drought-tolerant – a great pollinator plant with many medicinal (calming and sleep) and culinary uses. In my garden (which will be different with climates and varieties) Lavender flowers at the same time as my Feijoas so I have it planted in between them to attract pollinators and increase my Feijoa harvests.

5. Feijoa / Pineapple Guava

If you have been following me on Instagram or subscribed to my YouTube, you will have guessed this plant would make the list 😂 Low maintenance, super hardy, and produces plenty of food! Feijoas do taste better when they get 50 chill hours a year so they aren’t optimally grown here in Perth, but they do grow well and are drought-tolerant. They are evergreen and super bushy, so they can be grown as an edible hedge. They are known to have fire-retardant qualities, which is very handy for hot, dry climates. If you are looking to purchase a Feijoa, choose a named variety (such as Duffy, White Goose, Mammoth, plus more) as these will perform better and produce fruit faster than generic seedling plants.

6. Passionfruit

Passionfruit is an edible vine that can be used to cover a fence, structure, or grown over an arbor to create shade. This can help cool your garden down and provide delicious fruit. Passionfruit flowers can also be used to make calming teas to aid in sleep and anxiety. NOTE: Avoid planting a grafted variety the grafts take over and become invasive, hard to get rid of, and don’t produce good fruit.

7. Citrus

Citrus like full sun and, once established, can thrive in hot environments. Avoid planting new trees before or during the hot summer so that they have time to get their roots established before the added stress of summer.

8. Lemon Verbena

A fragrant lemony scent that is similar to lemongrass. Lemon Verbena is great in teas, baking, and all the things! Lemon verbena is one of those plants that quietly becomes a favourite. Its leaves have a sweet, lemony fragrance—similar to lemongrass but softer—and the whole plant smells incredible when you brush past it. It’s perfect for teas, baking, syrups, and infused water, and it keeps its flavour really well when dried. I always keep a jar in the pantry for quick herbal tea blends. In the garden, lemon verbena is easy to grow in full sun and well-drained soil. It drops its leaves in winter (don’t worry, it’s normal!) and comes back quickly once the weather warms.

9. Pomegranate

Pomegranates are one of the best heat-tolerant fruit trees you can grow in a hot climate. They thrive in full sun, handle dry conditions like champions, and still reward you with glossy red fruit and bright, beautiful flowers. They’re incredibly low-maintenance, needing far less water than most fruit trees once established. Their deep roots make them drought-resilient, and they’re also naturally pest-resistant — perfect for gardens with harsh summers. If you’re building a resilient, water-wise garden, pomegranates are a must-have: tough, productive, and beautiful all year round.

10. Loquat

Loquats are incredibly hardy, fast-growing fruit trees that thrive in hot, dry climates. They handle poor soils, need very little care once established, and fruit heavily in late winter–spring when not much else is producing. Their sweet, tangy fruit is amazing fresh or made into sauces, and the large, glossy leaves give your garden a lush, tropical look with almost no effort. Loquats can be a pest plant because they grow so easily, and birds spread the seeds, so check with your local area.

11. Lilly Pilly

Lilly pillies are tough, water-wise Australian natives perfect for hedges, screens, or structure in hot climates. They handle heat, humidity, pests, and pruning exceptionally well. Many varieties produce edible pink or purple berries that can be made into jams or syrups. They’re also fantastic habitat plants for beneficial insects and birds. Part of the Syzygium genus is a great dense evergreen hedging plant with bright pink fruits. The fruits are edible and can be made into jams, sauces, and even sparking wine!

12. NZ Spinach / Warrigal Greens

NZ Spinach is one of the best heat-tolerant leafy greens for summer. It thrives when regular spinach collapses, spreading as a groundcover that shades and protects the soil. Harvest the tender tips regularly for stir-fries, and sautés. It’s low-maintenance, productive, and perfect for filling gaps in hot, sunny beds. Due to oxalates it does need to be cooked first.

13. Malabar Spinach

Malabar spinach is a vigorous climbing vine that absolutely loves the heat. Its fleshy, succulent leaves stay tender and productive even in scorching weather, and it grows beautifully over trellises to create summer shade. It’s ideal for warm climates but doesn’t tolerate frost, so give it a protected spot if your winters are cold.

14. Quince

Quince is a hardy, drought-tolerant fruit tree that thrives in hot conditions and poor soils. It produces large, fragrant yellow fruit perfect for making jams, jellies, pastes, and preserves. The tree itself is stunning with pretty spring flowers.

15. Zinnia

Zinnia is an edible flower that thrives in hot dry conditions. Zinnia has vibrant flowers in a huge range of colours. The great thing about Zinnia is that it produces nectar so it attracts a diverse range of pollinators to the garden such as bees, hoverflies, butterflies, and small birds. Zinnia is susceptible to powdery mildew so great for dry summers.

16. Sunflower

I love growing Sunflowers because they attract a huge amount of pollinators to the garden, and you can pretty much eat the whole plant! I use the petals fresh in a salad or press them to use on baking as garnishes. The seeds can be used on top of salads, to make oil, or to make spreads, and the leaves are also edible. Sunflower stems can even be made into flour! Sunflowers also help remove toxins from the soil, so they are a fantastic addition to a hot, full-sun garden.

17. Figs

Figs are one of the most reliable hot-climate fruit trees. They adore full sun, tolerate drought once established, and produce incredibly sweet fruit with almost no fuss. They grow well even in poor or sandy soil, making them ideal for Perth-style gardens. Prune them in winter to keep them compact and productive.

18. Olive

Olives are true Mediterranean survivors, heat-tolerant, drought-resilient, and long-lived. They thrive on tough love and poor soil, and they’re surprisingly productive even with minimal watering. Whether you grow them for fruit or as hardy ornamental structure, olives add beautiful silvery foliage and year-round resilience to hot-climate gardens.

19. Grapes

Grapes are great for growing over structures to provide shade to your garden and help other plants grow. Grapes are deciduous so they lose their leaves in winter to let light in and have full leaf coverage in summer to protect from the harsh midday sun. Grape plants have so many uses from fresh delicious table grapes to jams, preserves, and wine! grape leaves also have many uses in the kitchen.

20. Hollyhock

Hollyhocks are edible flowers that can grow up to 10 feet tall! They attract 100 of pollinators to the garden, and their height acts as a flag inviting them in. The leaves are also edible and can be cooked to make wraps. Hollyhocks are an annual so they will need to be planted again each year but they are so worth it! They can be susceptible to powdery mildew.

21. Thyme

Thyme is a hardy herb that thrives in hot conditions. Thyme is very versatile in the kitchen and pairs well with tomato dishes, on pizza, and roast veggies. Thyme also produces masses of tiny white flowers that attract an array of beneficial insects and pollinators. Thyme creeps over the ground so it makes a great edible ground cover plant.

22. Macadamia Nut

Macadamia nut trees can take a long time to start producing (5-7 years) but are really hardy and nuts are great additions to a homestead to make flour and milk from.

8 Tips for Successfully Growing Heat-Tolerant Edible Plants

Many of these heat-tolerant plants listed are perennials, and the reason perennials are so good for hot environments is that they have established roots and have time to get used to their environment. Annuals such as lettuce and tomatoes are planted new and have shallow roots so are more vulnerable to overheating.

Below are some tips to help you get your plants established and thriving through hot periods.

1. Focus on good soil with plenty of organic matter
2. Mulch, much, mulch
3. Have water available nearby
4. Avoid planting in hot weather (always check the forecast)
5. Provide temporary protection, such as shade cloth or umbrellas, during hot periods.
6. Grow nanny plants or pioneer plants (quick-growing trees that provide dappled shade in summer eg: grapes, mulberry, and deciduous fruit trees)
7. Plant new trees in pots until after the summer heat has passed
8. Plant densely – allow other plants to protect and shade each other and the soil.

Need SHADE-loving plants? Check out this video 👇