Late last summer, hubby and I happened upon a Lantana (never knew what they were) plant at a local greenhouse so bought it and brought it home.
It was supposed to be able to survive Zone 5 winters even tho' , I believe, a couple here told me ""it might not"" . Well, it didn t so I replaced it with a Boomerang Lilac that is doing fine.
On Sat., hubby and I went to Lowes' to get another bag of mulch and on my way in (didn t put my blinders on...LOL), I spotted 3 healthy looking Lantana, so of course, I HAD to have ONE. Their multi-colored blooms are so pretty and the leaves a luscious green.
One Lantana in cart and on to the mulch ~~ One bag of mulch but long line at check-out so HAD to shop around a bit. Nothing else caught my eye but by the time I was paying my bill, I had not one but TWO Lantana s in my cart . Hmmmm ~~~~
Brought them home and put one in a barrel that one of my mums hadn t survived in ~~~ The hummingbirds are going crazy around it today/this evening. Now I have to decide where to plant the other one ~~~
Marilyn
Why oh why can t I learn to just pick up and pay for what I originally go to the store for ??? LOLOL ~~~ Hope these make it thru this next winter ~~~
Marilyn...lantana are beautiful plants and the hummers do love them. I doubt that they will winter over for you in a barrell, but I bet they will in a protected area in the ground. The thing is you have to be patient in the Spring. They are like hardy hibiscus and do not come back until the ground is very warm....just about the time you give up on them and replace them with something else....lol. Charlene
Yes, they are beautiful, Charlene ~~~ when hubby and I saw our first one last year, he didn t even balk at the price. He just put it in the cart so I felt really bad when it didn t make it thru this winter.
So you don t think it would survive winter in a barrel ? I know the tag with it says it likes ""direct sun"" and I ve been thinking of planting the other one on the east end of the house where it would get morning sun but not the hot afternoon/evening rays.
I also thought of planting one by the mailbox where I have a huge coralbelle on one side of the post but nothing on the other. Except I guess maybe not as what about salt from the winter road crew plowing snow ? Hmmmm ~~~
At any rate, I ll make sure that I plant them both in a safe environment and hope they make it thru the cold. Do you think it would help if I covered them in the cold temps ?
I have one that overwinters in my d'way bed. I can never get any others to last through the winter, not even in the GH. Does the tag say perennial? Some are more hardy than others. The one in the d'way bed is just like Charlene says. It comes back from the ground every year like a hibiscus so I never cut it back till it starts showing green again. And I just realized I haven't bought any Lantana this year. I need to go find some, I love them.
Marilyn....I think the more leaves you can pile on it the better for survival. I have grown them in full sun and they seem to like that. I have also had them where they only get part sun and they do okay. I have never had one winter over, but I am only zone 4.....zone 5 is marginal so the more protection you give them, the better your chances of seeing them next year. They will come back from the root and not from the stems. Charlene
Cove, that sounds encouraging to me and I m going to try everything to help them survive. I ll even move the one from the barrel for winter if need be.
I just looked at the plant info card attached and it doesn t specifically say perennial but they were in the perennial section.
I did also read where it says to cut them down in the late fall/winter so I will do that also.
Charlene, thanks for all the info ~~~
OhioLilacLady:I did also read where it says to cut them down in the late fall/winter so I will do that also
Tip: If it is the type that comes back & you cut it down you better mark where it is because they are one of the last things to come up in the Spring & you'll forget where it is. BTDT. That's why I don't cut mine till it starst coming back up again. I do the same thing with the Hibiscus. If yuu do cut them I'd leave at least 6" sticking up. JMO
This is the only one that comes back for me. I don't know if it is a certain variety or not. Remember I'm in a warmer zone than you.
I love lantana. However I have never had one come back from the year before. I love seeing the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds that they attract. This is a picture of the first lantana I grew. It was in 2007.
I think I have fallen in love with Steve....I mean with Steve's Lantana. :-) Gorgeous blooms.
Thank you Marilyn for this thread, I really like this plant now that I have seen Steve's pic of it. Just might be a must have for next year...
Donna :-)
I learned the hard way not to cut lantana back in the fall...wait until new growth shows in the spring. I replaced more lantana every year until I found that one out. Put some leaves over the bottom of the plant and leave it until spring...once new growth starts at the bottom cut the tops back.
I would love to try lantana again. I saw some when I was at the garden center on my birthday but didn't want to be disapointed. They do have them marked as annuals.
I had a male humingbird at my coralbelles yesterday. One of those moments where you wish you had a camera. I'm going to stop after work tonight and pick one up to put next to it and I'll try the overwintering tips here. If it doesn't make it, it doesn't make it but at least I can enjoy it for now. I'm so glad I saw this.
I put a bag of leaves over top of mine (but I did cut it back, had to, it was huge) and it did not make it but I did have a couple of cuttings root and make it but they sure aren't thriving this year ... yet. I'm zone 6 and I've yet to get one to overwinter.
-Deloris
I put mine in a big pot 2 years ago and cut it back in the spring.I bring it in the house for the winter and it had leaves all winter. I watered it less in the winter also. But when I put out this spring it didn't survive.So I replaced with another one and it's growing just fine in the same pot. Sandy
I can relate Marilyn as I also have tried to over Winter 3 Lantanas last year & so far have not seen any greenery emerge? Wondering if I should continue to wait or pull them at this point?
These Lantana are planted on a slope that doesn't retain much water & is usually quite dry. The Abutilion (which are planted right beside the Lantana plants) have come back this year & they are listed as perennial to zone...9?
So I bought 2 new Lantana plants & they are presently growing in pots. Just couldn't take the chance that I wouldn't have any Lantana growing in my yard. It is true that the hummingbirds enjoy the Lantana. But I usually can't resist buying at least one more Lantana by the end of Summer when they are loaded with blooms & butterflies.
I have some of the tall lantana. I want to get the short, sprawling ones, and maybe put some in hanging baskets, but haven't. If you don't think it will survive, you could try taking cuttings before the first frost. It will actually survive for quite a while in just water, even after it gets a lot of roots. One of mine is hiding behind other things, so I took more cuttings this past weekend. I usually end up giving them away after I pot them, but this time I plan to keep a few for myself.
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