If you are looking for an annual that flowers all summer long, attracts pollinators and is low maintenance Lantana is your plant. Lantana is native to the tropical Americas and Africa and is in the Verbenaceae Family. In Ohio, it is grown as a garden annual and is valued for its long season of reliable blooms. In the south, from Florida to California, Lantana is grown as a perennial shrub of 3 - 6’ tall. Many cultivars display multiple colors within each 2” wide disc shaped flower head.
Lantana adds color and form to annual beds and container plantings throughout the summer and comes in a wide variety of sizes, from 5 – 6’ upright clumps to 12” high weeping plants that spread to 4’. Many new varieties have entered the market in recent years, giving the gardener many options on size of plant, bloom colors, and growth habits. The weeping forms are wonderful for trailing over the edges of planters and walls.
The colorful flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Once established, they are quite drought tolerant and require little fertilizer. A light fertilization in spring will usually be sufficient. They do well in most soil types. If plants outgrow their assigned space, they tolerate trimming back during the growing season.
