Lantana: A Foolproof Flowering Plant for Florida Gardens

As a favorite plant of South Florida gardeners, lantana's vibrantly colored blooms can be seen adorning Florida landscapes, even through the brutal heat of a subtropical summer. If you are looking for a plant you never have to water, fertilize, or spray, lantana is the plant for you. Native to the American tropics, lantana can be either annual or perennial, depending on your particular zone. In colder climates, the hardy lantanas will die back in the winter, and return in the spring. The flower clusters, which can be solid, bi, or tri-colored, resemble miniature nosegays, and bloom continually throughout the warm weather months.

As an added bonus, butterflies love lantana. You will not find a flower that is better at attracting these fluttering beauties. They will flit around a bush for hours, sucking up nectar and putting on a spectacular show. I once had a native lantana growing around a pine tree that grew 5 feet tall and 8 feet wide. I called it my butterfly bush, because it was always host to one or more species of butterlies.

Native Lantana Species

Common lantana (Lantana camara) grows into a shrubby, rounded plant, 4 to 5 feet high, with orange, red, pink and yellow flowers. It is sometimes seen in older gardens, or on fence rows in pastures and fields. Listed as a Class 1 invasive plant in Florida, it is not allowed to be sold in garden centers, but you will have no problem finding seeds for one if you really want it. If there is one within a couple of miles of your home, a bird or storm will probably deposit seeds in your yard at some point.

Trailing lantana (L. montevidensis) has thinner stems, and a sprawling habit. Its white or purple flowers grow on plants that reach about a foot in height, but whose stems can grow to six feet long.This plant roots wherever nodes touch the ground, and has to be watched carefully lest it become invasive.

Depressed Shrubverbena (Lantana depressa) is an endangered native Florida species that grows in rock pinelands. Natural fire clearing of pinelands is essential to the survival of the species. Fire suppression and clearing of rock pinelands for development have made L. depressa an endangered Florida native plant.

Hybrid Lantanas Come In Many Colors, Shapes, and Sizes

Lantana has been hybridized since the 1800's, and it seems there is always a new variety available. The hybrid lantanas come in a bevy of colors, from gold to red to rainbow colors. Some favorite hybrid varieties are:

• New Gold - a profuse bloomer with golden yellow flowers and a trailing habit
• Dallas Red (aka Texas Flame) - a mounding plant growing up to 3 feet tall with yellow, orange, and red tri-colored blooms that turn a deep red
• Lemon Swirl (aka Samantha) yellow edged leaves set this yellow flowered, seedless variety apart. It grows to 2 feet high and 3 feet wide.
• Patriot Rainbow - a compact plant that grows to about a foot tall and wide with gaudy orange, fuschsia, and yellow tri-colored flowers.
• Landmark Hybrids - These dense, mounding plants grow up to 1-1/2 feet tall and 2 feet wide with orrange, white, pink, gold, peach or rose colored blooms. They have a uniform growth that makes them a great plant for borders.

You can see that lantana is a very versatile plant that can find a place in any garden. Add a few to your Florida landscape, watch the butterflies flock to it, and you will soon be a fan of this beautiful and care free plant.

Sources:
University of Florida Extension Service: Lantana Camara
Southern Living: The Foolproof Flower that Blooms Nonstop