Fundamental Facts
HARDINESS: Tolerates light frost
PREFERRED SOIL pH: Adaptable
PREFERRED SOIL TYPE: Average, well-drained
PREFERRED LIGHT: Full sun to partial shade
ATTRIBUTES: Heat tolerant; flowers attract butterflies; for beds, pots, ground covers
SEASON OF INTEREST: Summer, early fait
FAVORITES: 'Greg Grant', 'Samantha' for variegated leaves; unnamed types for multicolored flowers
QUIRKS: All plant parts are toxic if eaten; dispose of berries; flowers attract butterflies
GOOD NEIGHBORS: Zinnia, ageratum, sulfur cosmos, four-o'clock
WHERE IT GROWS BEST: Hot, humid locations; well-drained soil
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: Mealybugs and white-flies indoors
CRITTER RESISTANCE: Excellent
SOURCE: Bedding plants, cuttings
DIMENSIONS: 2-3 ft (0.6-1 m) tall, 2-3 ft (0.6-1 m) wide
Lantana in the Landscape
Any flower that is planted in turnpike median strips has to be able to take scorching heat with little or no care. Lantanas are such plants. They gladly grow in the toughest situations and actually branch out and produce more blossoms the hotter it gets. They rarely need supplemental watering, and they are so fond of roughing it that frequent doses of fertilizer actually inhibit their output of blossoms.
You can find lantanas in confetti combinations of colors, pure white, or soft yellow. The brightly colored, nectar-rich flowers draw butterflies in droves. It's difficult to find named varieties except for very well known strains, such as 'Samantha', the darling of container combinations because of its clear yellow flowers and foliage gently marbled with gold. Another well-known variety, 'Greg Grant', has variegated leaves, which accent its pink-and-yellow blossoms.
Heat-tolerant annuals make fine companions for lantana, including regular and spreading zinnias, sulfur cosmos, and four-o'clocks. If you find a lantana with subtle shades of blue in its palette, team it up with blue ageratum for a combination that will visually cool the hottest days.
Growing Lantana
Most lantanas are grown from rooted cuttings, so they are sold in slightly larger pots than other bedding plants. Often you will find unnamed plants at garden centers in late spring or early summer, showing tempting samples of the colors they will strut in your garden. Each flower cluster contains a dozen or more tiny tubular blossoms, in a rainbow of yellow, orange, blue, and pink. Watch them carefully in the garden, and you will notice that the colors of the individual florets change as they age. Butterflies notice this, too, and quickly learn to approach the newest florets in search of a sip of the sweet nectar.
All parts of lantana are poisonous, and the dark berries that form after each flush of flowers fades may appear tempting to children and pets. Clip-ping and disposing of the berries will give you peace of mind while encouraging the plants to develop new flowering branches.
Increasing the Bounty
Because of lantana's tremendous tolerance of high heat and humidity, it makes an ideal replacement for pansies and other cool-season flowers that grow lanky and stop flowering in early summer. If you want to increase your supply, it's a simple process to root 4 in (10.2 cm) long stem cuttings outdoors in a shady spot. After taking the cuttings, remove all but the top 2 sets of leaves. Insert the lower 2 in (5.1 cm) of bare stem into a container of moistened potting soil. Set the container in a shady spot and keep the soil moist until roots form in a few weeks. Then the new plants will be ready to transplant into a container or the garden.
A Virtually Trouble-Free Plant
Lantanas have almost no problems outdoors. The foliage has a musky scent that is only noticeable when you rub the leaves, but that aroma deters pests. Indoors, lantanas are sometimes bothered by sap-sucking whiteflies and mealybugs, but these are easily dispatched by applying insecticidal soap according to package directions.
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