A: To prevent this, deadhead regularly (remove spent flowers) to stop the plant from producing seeds. You can also prune it to keep it from spreading too much. If you live in a region where lantana is invasive, it’s best to plant it in containers to keep it controlled.
A: Yes! Lantana is fantastic as ground cover. It’s low-maintenance, spreads out nicely, and will fill in bare spots with its vibrant flowers. You can plant it in areas that need a bit of color and coverage, but be mindful of its spreading tendency. If you prefer a more controlled ground cover, go for a compact variety like Bandana Red.
A: Lantana is surprisingly tolerant of salt air, making it a great choice for coastal gardens! If you live near the ocean, lantana can handle some exposure to salty winds and can thrive in seaside conditions. Just be sure to provide it with well-draining soil and plenty of sunlight.
A: Red flowers are traditionally associated with love, passion, and courage. They are often used to symbolize deep emotions, making them popular choices for romantic bouquets and special occasions. Different shades of red can convey varying meanings, with deep red representing deep affection and brighter hues symbolizing energy and excitement.
A: Yes! Pairing red and white flowers creates a beautiful contrast in your garden. Consider combining red roses with white lilies, red geraniums with white petunias, or red hibiscus with white gardenias for a stunning effect. This approach enhances the visual appeal of flower beds and arrangements.
A: Some excellent red flower bulbs include red tulips, red lilies, and amaryllis. These bulbs produce bold red hues that can add a striking pop of color to gardens and indoor displays.
A: Several red varieties add a bold splash of color to gardens throughout summer. Some excellent choices include garden mums, red hibiscus, zinnias, and pentas, which continuously bloom under the right conditions, offering vibrant color and unique appeal all season.
A: No, yucca plants are quite drought-tolerant and do not need misting. They grow best with moderate humidity and thrive in dry indoor temperature conditions.
A: Yes! Yucca plants are common indoor plants because they are easy to care for and adaptable. Plants indoors need bright, indirect light, and they should be planted in yucca in a loose, well-draining soil mix.
A: Yellowing lower leaves is natural as the plant is growing, but excessive yellowing could indicate overwatering. Yucca plants prefer dry soil, so water your yucca only when necessary. Also, check if the bottom of the pot has proper drainage holes.
Alright, let’s talk about lantana! If you love colorful flowers that practically bloom forever and don’t need constant babysitting, lantana is your new best friend. These plants are bright, cheerful, and tough as nails, making them a favorite for gardeners who want beauty without the hassle.
But here’s the thing—while you can easily grab a lantana plant from a nursery, growing them from seed takes a little patience. Don’t worry, though! I’m going to walk you through it step by step, and by the end of this, you’ll be a lantana-growing pro.
Before we get our hands dirty, let’s go over what makes lantana so awesome:
Besides the fact that they’re gorgeous, lantanas are basically butterfly magnets. Seriously, if you want to turn your garden into a butterfly paradise, plant some lantana. They also attract bees and hummingbirds, making them a great choice for pollinator-friendly gardens. Plus, they’re heat- and drought-tolerant, so if you forget to water them now and then, they won’t hold a grudge.
There are quite a few lantana varieties out there, but here are some of the most popular ones:
If you’re looking for a hardy, no-fuss lantana, ‘Miss Huff’ is a great pick. It’s one of the most cold-tolerant varieties, meaning it can survive mild winters better than others. The flowers are a gorgeous blend of peach, orange, and pink, creating a warm sunset effect in your garden. Plus, pollinators—especially butterflies—love this one!
This variety stays compact and bushy, making it perfect for containers, borders, or small garden spaces. It produces bold, bright red blooms that really stand out, especially against its deep green leaves. This is great if you don’t have a lot of space but still want that lantana pop of color.
Want to bring hummingbirds to your garden? This one’s a winner! ‘Dallas Red’ features fiery red and orange flowers, and it grows into a medium-sized shrub, which is great for adding height to flower beds. It thrives in the heat and keeps blooming nonstop from spring to fall.
If you love cascading plants for hanging baskets or ground cover, ‘Trailing Gold’ is a dream. This variety stays low and spreads out, creating a golden-yellow blanket of flowers that spills beautifully over pots, window boxes, or garden edges. It’s especially great for covering bare spots in your landscape.
This one is a heat-loving superstar with cheerful, sunny yellow flowers that bloom like crazy all summer. It’s a hybrid of 'Miss Huff', meaning it’s also a bit more cold-tolerant than other lantanas. It stays neat and mounded, perfect for flower beds, borders, or large pots.
If you're growing lantana from seed, patience is key. Lantana seeds take their sweet time to germinate (sometimes up to 8 weeks!), so start them indoors about 10-12 weeks before your last frost date if you live in a cooler climate. If you’re in a warm area (zones 8-11), you can sow them directly outdoors in spring after the danger of frost has passed.
Growing lantana from seed is totally doable, even if you’re new to gardening! The trick is knowing that lantana seeds have a hard outer shell, which makes them a little stubborn when it comes to sprouting. But don’t worry—I’ll walk you through the process step by step, and before you know it, you’ll have lantana seedlings popping up!
First things first—you need lantana seeds! You have two options:
✅ Collecting seeds from an existing plant: If you or a friend already have lantana, you can harvest the seeds yourself. Look for the small, round berries that form after the flowers fade. Once they turn black and dry out, pick them and remove the seeds inside. (Wear gloves—lantana berries are toxic if ingested!)
✅ Buying seeds: If you don’t have a lantana plant yet, no problem! You can buy lantana seeds online or from a garden center. Just make sure you’re getting a variety you love!
Lantana seeds are tough—literally. Their hard outer shell slows down germination, so we need to help them along before planting. This process is called scarification, and it softens the seed coat so water can get inside and kickstart sprouting.
Here’s how to do it:
🌊 Option 1: Soak in warm water – Place the seeds in a cup of warm (not boiling) water and let them sit for 24 hours. This helps break down the tough outer shell naturally.
🪵 Option 2: Lightly scratch the seeds – Rub the seeds gently with sandpaper or a nail file to thin the outer coating. Don’t go overboard—just rough them up a bit so they absorb water better.
Now that your seeds are prepped, it’s time to get them into the soil!
📍 Choose the right soil: Lantana loves light, well-draining soil, so use a seed-starting mix or a mix of potting soil and perlite/sand for good drainage.
📍 Plant them at the right depth: Place the seeds ¼ inch deep in the soil. (Too deep and they’ll struggle to reach the surface, too shallow and they may dry out.)
📍 Water gently: Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. A spray bottle works great for misting the surface without overwatering.
Lantana seeds need warmth to sprout—ideally 70-80°F (21-27°C). If your house is a little chilly, try these tricks:
🔥 Use a seed heat mat – This keeps the soil at the perfect temperature and speeds up germination.
🌞 Find a sunny spot – Place your seed tray or pots in a south-facing window with plenty of light. If natural sunlight is limited, use a grow light for about 12-14 hours a day.
Once your baby lantanas have grown two sets of true leaves (the leaves that come after the first tiny ones), they’re ready for a new home!
🏡 Transplanting to bigger pots: If you started your seeds in small trays, move each seedling into a ****larger pot with well-draining soil.
🌳 Transplanting outdoors: If it’s warm enough (after the last frost), you can plant them directly in your ****garden or outdoor pots. But first, they need to adjust to outdoor life!
🌤 Hardening off: About a week before planting outside, start placing your seedlings outdoors for ****a few hours a day in partial shade, gradually increasing their time outside. This toughens them up for full sun and outdoor conditions.
If you're looking for an easier route, you can always propagate your lantana! Here's a quick step to get you started:
If there’s one thing lantana can’t live without, it’s sunlight. It needs at least 6-8 hours of direct sun per day to really thrive. Too much shade? Your lantana will grow, but it won’t bloom as much (or at all). The more sun it gets, the more flowers you’ll have—simple as that!
Lantana is a tough, drought tolerant plant—but only once it’s fully grown. Young plants need regular watering until their roots are well-established. Here’s the rule of thumb:
✅ New plants: Water every 2-3 days until you see strong growth. Keep the soil moist but not soggy.
✅ Established plants: Water once a week or whenever the top inch of soil feels dry. If it rained recently, skip watering!
This is a warm-weather plant that thrives in temperatures between 70-90°F (21-32°C). However, they are not frost-hardy. If temps drop below 50°F (10°C), it may start looking sad. Below 32°F (0°C), it won’t survive unless you bring it indoors or protect it.
They can handle some humidity, but it does best in well-ventilated areas. If you live in a super humid region, plant it somewhere with good airflow to prevent fungal issues.
Lantana is not picky about soil, but it does insist on good drainage. If the soil stays soggy, the roots will rot, and the plant won’t be happy.
✅ Best soil mix: Use sandy, loamy, or rocky soil—basically, anything that drains well.
✅ pH level: Lantana prefers neutral to slightly acidic soil (pH 6.0-7.5), but it can tolerate a range.
Lantana isn’t super demanding when it comes to feeding, but a little fertilizer goes a long way in encouraging more blooms.
✅ Use a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 (equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) once a month during the growing season.
✅ If your lantana is in a container, you may need to fertilize twice a month, since nutrients wash out faster with watering.
Lantana grows fast, so trim back leggy stems every few weeks to maintain a full, bushy shape and deadhead (remove spent flowers) to encourage new blooms. Lantana is self-cleaning, meaning old flowers eventually drop on their own, but deadheading speeds up the process and keeps it looking tidy.
Here's a tip: hard prune in early spring if your lantana got too big last season. Cutting it back by one-third will encourage fresh, strong growth.
Mulch is a game-changer, especially in hot, dry climates. Adding a thin layer of mulch around the base of your lantana helps:
✅ Retain moisture so the soil doesn’t dry out too fast.
✅ Suppress weeds so your lantana isn’t competing for nutrients.
✅ Protect the roots during temperature swings.
Lantana does great in containers, but it will eventually outgrow its pot. Repot when roots start poking out of the drainage holes or when the plant looks too crowded. This is usually needed every 1-2 years.
If you live in a warm climate (zones 8-11), lantana will survive winter just fine outdoors. But if you’re in a colder area, you have two choices:
🍂 Treat it as an annual—Let the frost kill it and simply replant new lantana in spring.
🏡 Bring it indoors—If growing in a pot, move it inside before the first frost. Keep it in a bright, sunny window and water sparingly until spring.
If your lantana is planted in the ground, you can try cutting it back and heavily mulching around the base to protect the roots. Sometimes, it will regrow in spring!
✔️ Spray with insecticidal soap or a strong blast of water to knock them off.
✔️ Introduce ladybugs or other natural predators to control them.
✔️ If the infestation is bad, try neem oil or a pyrethrin-based insecticide.
✔️ Spray leaves with neem oil every few days.
✔️ Wipe down leaves with a damp cloth to remove mites.
✔️ Increase humidity—spider mites thrive in dry conditions, so misting occasionally can help.
✔️ Avoid overhead watering—always water at the base of the plant.
✔️ Improve air circulation by spacing plants properly and pruning when necessary.
✔️ Use a homemade baking soda spray (1 teaspoon baking soda + 1 quart water + a few drops of dish soap) to prevent further spread.
A: To prevent this, deadhead regularly (remove spent flowers) to stop the plant from producing seeds. You can also prune it to keep it from spreading too much. If you live in a region where lantana is invasive, it’s best to plant it in containers to keep it controlled.
A: Yes! Lantana is fantastic as ground cover. It’s low-maintenance, spreads out nicely, and will fill in bare spots with its vibrant flowers. You can plant it in areas that need a bit of color and coverage, but be mindful of its spreading tendency. If you prefer a more controlled ground cover, go for a compact variety like Bandana Red.
A: Lantana is surprisingly tolerant of salt air, making it a great choice for coastal gardens! If you live near the ocean, lantana can handle some exposure to salty winds and can thrive in seaside conditions. Just be sure to provide it with well-draining soil and plenty of sunlight.
