Ornamental · Verbenaceae
Lantana
Lantana camara
Given full sun and lean soil, lantana crowds itself with tiny two-tone flowers all summer, though every part of it is poisonous.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
39–48°F · 4–9°C
USDA 7–11
Overview
Lantana is a fast-growing shrub in the verbena family, and up close its charm is in the flowers: tight, rounded clusters of small tubular blooms, each head a mosaic of tiny florets. Many of those florets shift color as they age, so a single cluster carries two or three shades at once, in oranges, yellows, pinks, and reds. It draws butterflies and hummingbirds to those clusters all season and shakes off heat, drought, and poor soil once its roots take hold.
The stems and leaves have their own rough character, and it comes with a warning. The foliage can prickle and irritate bare skin, and every part of the plant is toxic, the small unripe green berries most of all. Those hard green berries ripen dark and are the piece to guard against, so grow lantana where pets, livestock, and children cannot reach them.
The plant fills out from midsummer until the first frost, its color running through oranges, yellows, pinks, reds, and bicolors by variety. In habit it ranges from low, ground-hugging spreaders to upright shrubs, giving a range of shapes for a border, a container, or a hot, dry slope where little else takes.
Care
The short version: give lantana full sun and well-drained soil, water moderately and let it dry between drinks, feed lightly, and shear it to keep it bushy and covered in bloom.
Light
Lantana needs full sun, 6 or more hours a day, for the flower clusters to pack in tight and bright. Give it less and the plant runs to leaf with few blooms, so set it in the brightest, hottest spot you have.
Water
Water moderately and let the top half of the soil dry out between drinks, roughly every 5 to 10 days. Once established, lantana takes drought in stride, and soggy ground does it far more harm than a dry spell.
Soil
It grows in clay, loam, or sand, even poor ground, as long as it drains well. A pH anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0 suits it.
Temperature
Lantana is a warm-climate plant with little cold tolerance, hardy only in zones 7 to 11. It survives brief dips to about 39°F to 48°F (4°C to 9°C), but frost blackens and kills the top growth, which is why it is grown as an annual where winters bite.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity is all it asks, so there is no target to hit. Good airflow matters more than any moisture level, especially on plants crowded together over winter where pests build up on the leaves.
Feeding
Feed monthly through the growing season with a balanced fertilizer. Go easy on the nitrogen, since too much swells the leaves at the expense of the flower clusters.
Pruning
Pinch or shear the plant through the season to keep it bushy and thick with bloom. On plants carried over as perennials, cut them back hard in late winter or early spring to spur fresh growth.
Size & spacing
Lantana ranges from 1 to 6 feet (30 to 183 cm) tall depending on the variety, its stems spreading 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm) wide. Give each plant room to fill out and let air move through the foliage.
When to plant
Lantana wants warmth and dies back at the first frost. Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, set plants out once the cold has passed and the soil has warmed, and watch the flower clusters build from midsummer until frost ends the show.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before last spring frost
- Plant: After all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed in spring
- Harvest: Midsummer until first frost
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–11
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Lantana stays trouble-free outdoors most of the time, and what problems do appear tend to show up on plants kept over winter indoors, often first on the leaves. Match what you see below and act before a minor pest or a bloom slump takes hold.
Tacky leaves and a scatter of minute white flies
Leaves that feel tacky under a fingertip and lift a puff of tiny white specks are showing whitefly, which settles most heavily on plants brought inside for winter. A hard stream of water knocks the adults off the foliage, then insecticidal soap or horticultural oil coats the pale nymphs clinging to the leaf undersides. Loosening the crowding around overwintering plants keeps their numbers down.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage with a strong stream of water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to leaf undersides
- Improve air circulation around overwintering plants
Dull bronze, finely speckled leaves and faint webbing
When the green surface turns finely speckled and dull bronze, laced with the faintest webbing, spider mites are feeding, and they thrive in hot, dry air and on plants wintered indoors. A leaf tapped over white paper drops tiny moving specks that give them away. A spray of water dislodges the colony, insecticidal soap or horticultural oil clears the rest, and higher humidity keeps them from coming back.
Fix:
- Spray foliage with water to dislodge mites
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Raise humidity around overwintered plants
Plenty of leaves but hardly any flowers
A plant thick with deep green leaves yet nearly bare of the little flower clusters is almost always short on sun or heavy on nitrogen. Six or more hours of direct sun and a switch to a balanced feed turn it back toward bloom. Pinching off the faded, browning flower heads clears the way for a fresh set of buds.
Fix:
- Move or site plant in full sun
- Reduce nitrogen and use a balanced fertilizer
- Deadhead spent blooms to encourage reflowering
Toxicity
This is a genuinely dangerous plant. Lantana holds liver-damaging compounds called lantadenes through leaf, stem, and berry, and the small unripe green berries carry the heaviest dose. It poisons cats, dogs, horses, livestock, and people alike, so keep every part well away from animals and children.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
A cat that chews the leaves or berries can begin vomiting, break into diarrhea, grow weak and dull, and struggle for breath. The lantadenes attack the liver, so even a small mouthful is reason to call the vet.
Dogs Severe
Dogs are drawn to the round green berries, the most toxic part of the plant. The signs to watch are vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and labored breathing, any of which can give way to liver failure.
Horses Severe
In a horse the toxin brings on dullness, weakness, and stomach upset, then liver damage and a yellow cast of jaundice. Sun-exposed skin can blister as the failing liver triggers photosensitization, and severe cases turn fatal.
Rabbits Severe
Rabbits are no safer than other mammals here. The same hepatotoxic lantadenes act on them, so a rabbit that grazes the foliage can suffer gut upset and liver injury. The plant belongs well out of reach.
Livestock Severe
Lantana is one of the worst poisoning risks for grazing stock. Cattle, sheep, and goats go constipated first, then jaundiced, with liver damage and a swollen, photosensitized muzzle and eyelids. It frequently kills.
Birds Caution
The glossy berries catch a bird's eye, and the unripe green ones hold the heaviest dose of toxin. Some birds pass ripe seed without harm, but the plant is best treated as unsafe around pet and backyard birds.
People Caution
The unripe green berries are the real hazard, and children have been poisoned by eating them, with vomiting, diarrhea, and liver effects. Handling the rough foliage can also irritate skin, so wear gloves and keep the berries away from curious children.
All parts are toxic; the immature green berries are the most toxic part. Keep plants away from pets, children, and grazing animals, and wear gloves as foliage can irritate skin.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Lantana comes in dozens of named selections, set apart mostly by flower color, cold tolerance, or reduced spread. These few turn up most often.
Miss Huff
An unusually cold-hardy selection whose flowers blend orange and yellow, surviving to USDA zone 7b and resisting phytophthora better than most.
Ham and Eggs
A bloomer in soft pink and yellow that shrugs off Piedmont frost and returns hardy to about zone 7b.
New Gold
A low, spreading form smothered in golden-yellow flowers that can stretch to roughly 6 feet wide.
Bloomify Red
A near-sterile UF/IFAS cultivar in red tones that sets little seed and curbs the plant's tendency to spread.
How to propagate
Lantana is simple to increase, and taking cuttings is the surest way to hold a named variety's exact flower color true to type.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Take softwood cuttings in late spring or summer during active growth · Roots typically form in about 2 to 4 weeks
Lantana roots readily from cuttings. Take soft, green-stemmed softwood cuttings in late spring or summer while the plant is growing fast, and they form roots in about 2 to 4 weeks. Seed and division work too, but only cuttings carry a named cultivar true to the parent's exact flower color.
Myths
The poison is in the flowers alone, so lantana of any shade is safe to grow.
The whole plant is poisonous, and the small unripe green berries carry the most toxin of all. The color of the flowers has no bearing on the danger, so every plant, whatever its shade, calls for the same care.
Lantana is no more than a mild tropical annual for beds.
It is really a tender perennial that has slipped out of gardens across the world. In warm regions it stands as a Category 1 invasive in Florida and a noxious weed elsewhere, packing into dense thickets that crowd out native plants.