- Author: Trisha Rose
Published on: October 20, 2014
Early this morning while walking my dogs I am appreciating that many of my neighbors are placing Lantana shrubs strategically. Many homes on this street have cement utility pads on the ground or upright metal boxes placed near the sidewalks. While I understand the necessity for these cement and metal intrusions in our landscape, they certainly are not beautiful. We are a street of neighbors that get out and walk, run or bike a lot, we are noticing which plants are doing well and placing those in our own gardens as a continuing evolution as we learn to adapt to using less water and reducing maintenance as we age.
Fortunately we have individually come upon a useful shrub, the Lantana species are classified as tropical natives which can bloom almost year round. A bonus comes from the "native" identifier in that these plants are drought tolerant. Additionally I have not experienced any pest problems. In our region the mid-winter frosts put an end to the blooms, most leaves drop and the shrubs shrivel up until early spring.
Lantana camara is an upright shrub which can reach 6 feet tall and wide. Lantana montevidensis is a 2 foot by 3-6 foot ground cover. There are many colorful hybrids to choose from, yellow ground covers are favorites on this street. They happily put up with the summer's heat and year-round wind and thrive. Although once we get our winter frosts the Lantana "die-back" with darkened branching which encourages pruning. I have learned to wait until February before hard pruning. The debris of the frost bitten branching provides some insulation for the main plant, so I have learned not to take the plant back to the main branches until then. Some of my neighbors trim in the late fall though, once the frost has done its damage to the lantana the results are not pretty.
Every year, now 14 for our garden, all along our street, we enjoy flush new growth each spring with an avalanche of color blending with nearby shrubs, cascading over cement pads and sundry utility devices with glee until late fall returns and the cycle begins again.
Note: The leaves and berries of Lantana species can be toxic to animals. If placing these shrubs in your garden, please keep this in mind.
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