Common Lantana(Lantana camara) is a small evergreen shrub with beautiful spherical inflorescences.Lantana varietiescan bloom white, yellow, pink or orange. In our climate of , lantana is grown in apot and placed in the garden, balcony or terrace in summer.Wintering of common lanthanummust take place in a frost-free room. Learn allsecrets of lantana careand see what to do to make it bloom profusely every year.
Common lantana - Lantana camara
Fig. pixabay.com
What does common lantana look like?
Lantanas are small evergreen shrubs or shrubs that in their natural habitat can reach up to 3 m in height. In our climate,lanthanum grown in potsusually does not reach more than 1 m in height. The grafted (standard) forms in the form of small trees with a height of 30 to 200 cm are very attractive. These plants look great in pots on the terrace.
Lantanas belong to the verbena familyand if someone looks like vervain, which is much more popular in our country, this association is absolutely correct: -)
Common lantana produces green leaves,egg-shaped, 5-10 cm long. They are rough and slightly toothed at the edges. The flowers are small, gathered in very nice spherical inflorescences ranging from 5 to 7.5 cm in diameter.Common Lantana blooms from June to early Septemberand therefore throughout the summer.Depending on the variety of lantana, the flowers can be white, yellow, orange, pink or red. It happens that one plant produces flowers of different colors.
The fruit of the lanthanumis a black, spherical drupe, 5-7 mm in diameter. In the center of each fruit there are 1-2 seeds that are easily spread by the birds. These fruits resemble blackberries, but are highly poisonous to humans.
Common lantana - Lantana camara
Fig. © Krysia, forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Common lantana - varieties
Althoughthe cultivation of common lanthanumis not very popular in Poland yet, the plant can already be purchased in several interesting varieties. Lantana 'Snow White' has creamy white flowers, while lantana 'Lemon Glow' has white flowers that change color to yellow. Lantana 'White Sun' has white flowers with yellow centers, while lantana 'Goldsonne' and 'Sundancer' are decorated with fully yellow flowers.The lantana variety 'Feston Rose' has deep pink flowers, while the 'Brasier Rouge' variety blooms in shades of pink and orange. Fully orange flowers can be found in the 'Orthenburg Castle' variety.
The most famousvarieties of lantana with multi-colored flowersare 'Tutti Frutti' (white-orange-pink flowers) and 'Pink Passion' (cream-yellow-pink flowers). If there is a small amount of space on the balcony or terrace, it is worth paying attention tolanthanum dwarf varieties , such as 'Cream Carpet', which is only 30 cm tall. In pots hanging on balconies and terraces, the creeping cultivar 'Sundancer' works well, its shoots covered with yellow flowers will hang nicely from the pot.
Common lantana - properties
Before we decide to grow lanthanum , it is worth knowing that it is a poisonous houseplant. All parts of this plant are poisonous, including shoots, leaves, flowers and fruit.Of course, there are no contraindications to grow lantana as an ornament, but you should be careful if you have a small child or a cat who likes to nibble at plants.Caring for lanthanum , especially pruning its shoots, should be done with gloves.
Many poisonous compounds in minimal doses can have a healing effect. In the past, in folk medicine , a decoction of lanthanum leaveswas used for swelling and body aches, while the tart bark was used to prepare a balm for leprosy ulcers.The medicinal properties of common lanthanumhave never been widely used, however, and the plant is grown solely for its ornamental qualities.
Common lantana - Lantana camara
Fig. © Krysia, forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
In tropical and subtropical regions, the common lantana is considered a weed because it spreads very easily and displaces other plants.In this respect, however, there are no contraindications togrowing lanthanum in our climate , because due to the lack of frost resistance, it will not survive the winter outside. However, it is worth knowing that it has allelopathic properties and inhibits the growth of other plants in its vicinity. Thereforepots with lanthanum better not to be placed in the immediate vicinity of other plants
Common lantana
Fig. © Joanna Białowąs
Common lantana - cultivation
Due to the lack of frost resistancewe grow lanthanum in pots, placed outside only seasonallyIt is an excellent plant to be planted in pots on the terrace or balcony. Choose a sunny, warm and sheltered position for lantana. The soil in the lanthanum pot should be fertile, permeable (preferably light soil with the addition of clay) and moderately moist.Slightly acidic to neutral soil is recommended, preferably with a pH of 6-7.
During the growing season, remember towater lanthanumwhen the soil in the pot is slightly dry, and o moderate fertilization.For lantana fertilizationchoose a potassium-rich fertilizer for flowering plants to aid flowering, and avoid nitrogen fertilization, which causes lantana to produce a lot of leaves and bloom less.
Blowing inflorescences should be removed so that the lantana does not produce fruitThanks to this, more new flowers will be formed and the flowering period will be extended.
Common lantana - Lantana camara
Fig. © Krysia, forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Common lantana - wintering
In autumn, before there is a clear cooling effect (usually in October)lantana pots should be taken to a bright room with a temperature of 8-14 ° Cand the shoots should be shortened by 1/3 or even half their length.During winter, the temperature should be 6-10 ° C and never drop below 5 ° C.
Since the plant is evergreen,requires bright rooms with access to sunlightTherefore, during the winter, lantana can be difficult to store for people who do not have a cool orangery or a bright and frost-protected porch. In such situations, you can save yourself by exposing lantana to the window in the staircase.
Common lantana - Lantana camara
Fig. © Krysia, forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
After passing through its winter dormancy period, the lantana begins to grow again. Then, in early spring, you can trim the lantana shootsagainto correct those that have stretched out excessively during the winter and give the plant a regular shape. At this time, the plant should also be transplanted into fresh soil and a slightly larger pot. Remember, however, that lanthanas bloom much less in too large pots. We leave the pots with lantana outside when the risk of frosts is over , i.e. in the second half of May.
In practice, however,lantana is not always able to overwinter, and people with experience with this plant say that it is not worth trying. This is due to the fact that in spring we will buy new seedlings at reasonable prices, and new plants will be much nicer than those from winter storage.
Common lantana - reproduction
In the wildCommon lanthanum is very easily reproduced by seeds , which are spread by birds over longer distances. The plant is easy to take and grows quickly. In our climate, however, growing lantana from seeds can be troublesome, and ornamental varieties do not repeat the characteristics of the mother plants. Therefore, it is worth propagating only species-pure plants from seeds. Seeds taken from such plants are sown in a multiplier in spring.
More oftenis the vegetative propagation of lantana through cuttings In summer, herbaceous cuttings are cut from lantana shoots, or semi-woody cuttings closer to autumn. In the latter case, it is best to take the cuttings while pruning the lantana before moving it to the room for wintering. The cut lanthanum shoots are placed in moist sand and placed in a bright and warm (approx. 20 ° C) room. After about 1 month, the rooted cuttings are transferred to pots and kept until spring in a very bright room at 16-18 ° C.
