Lovely Lantana Lures Butterflies

Lantana camara excels in the southeast. It tolerates heat, humidity, and drought. Lantana begins flowering in mid-summer and blooms continuously until frost. Most Lantanas are annuals, but a few are reliably winter-hardy. Plant hybridizers are releasing more cold-tolerant cultivars each year.

Lantana blooms consist of a grouping of small flowers carried together in a form known as an umbrel (think “umbrella”). They are irresistible to bees and butterflies. Though there are some single-color varieties, flowers are usually a combination of colors. The colors appear to change with age as individual flowers open within the umbrel, so a flower that starts as solid red may become red on the outer flowers, orange on the middle ring, and yellow at the center.

Removing spent flowers before plants generate seeds, or at least before the seeds ripen and turn black, will result in many more blooms. Utility scissors are a good tool for this job. Lantanas bloom at the ends of their stems, so they may become lanky as the summer progresses. Prune as part of deadheading to keep the plants compact, cutting back to a lower set of leaves. Like other plants with square stems, Lantana is easy to propagate. Unfortunately, they seem to lure whiteflies into the greenhouse, so I have ended the process of overwintering the tender types.

Grow Lantana in full sun, in slightly acid soil that is well drained, in garden zones 7 through 11.  Provide light irrigation only until roots are established. Wet soil will induce root rot. Plant outdoors in spring after frost and freezes are past. Lantanas are especially salt tolerant, so they perform well in beach gardens as well as adjacent to parking lots where salt de-icer is used in winter.

Some Lantanas grow vigorously to become large, rounded shrubs. Check plant tags to determine mature height and whether the cultivar is upright or trailing. The trailing forms work well in hanging baskets or planters. ‘Miss Huff’ is a cold-hardy, upright variety that grows well in upstate South Carolina. I measured one in a business parking lot at 60 inches tall. Of course, this was in its fifth or sixth year. I am certain that it was not that large in the first year or two. ‘New Gold’ is another cultivar that is reliably cold hardy and shorter than ‘Miss Huff.’ Its flowers are school bus yellow, and pair well with purple Verbena ‘Homestead.’ ‘Santana’ is less floriferous but is clothed in lovely variegated foliage.

If yours does not leaf out in spring, do not automatically assume it died from winter cold. Lantanas are late to wake up after winter’s end, and may only start to show new growth in May. Here is a hint to help keep your Lantana coming back year after year. Do not prune dormant plants in fall or winter. Instead, wait until spring, when the plant has begun showing signs of life.  Yes, this means that it will be a pile of leafless sticks throughout winter. It seems a small price to pay for an amazing show during the growing season.

Lantana leaves are feel rough, and are fragrant when touched or brushed. Sensitive skins may experience contact dermatitis.  Deer or rabbits do not browse it. All plant parts are toxic if consumed. Do not eat or allow your pets to nibble. Birds are immune to the toxins and eat ripe seeds.

Lantana 'Miss Huff'

Lantana 'New Gold'

Lantana 'Bandana pink'

Lantana 'Santana'

Shrimp Plant

One of my favorite plants is having an identity crisis. First it was Belaperone guttata. Then its name changed to Justicia brandegeeana. Now it is Phlogacanthus guttatus. I’m going against normal practices to call it by its common name, Mexican Shrimp Plant, because it is easier to say and spell. This is a tropical beauty that is cold hardy only to zone 9 (or 8, in a sheltered location). I grow it outdoors in my zone 7 garden during the summer months, then bring it indoors as a houseplant during winter. Though it is considered a shrub, it has never grown above thirty inches tall in my containers.

The plant itself is ungainly, with skinny stems and bland leaves. But, oh, the flowers! It’s not hard to understand how the common name emerged. The unusual salmon-colored flower bracts, accented with touches of yellow and green, form an elongated tubular shape that looks like a cooked shrimp. The true flowers extend from the end of this tube, a couple of white petals with deep red dots There are other bract colors. I occasionally see a yellow-flowered form in the indoor garden center at local home improvement stores. These structurally unique flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds, second only to Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ in the Mary Snoddy garden. Butterflies like them, too. Flowers last a long time and gradually turn dark when spent. They will drop off by themselves if not removed by the gardener.

Grow Shrimp Plant in fertile, well-drained soil. It likes high humidity but will not tolerate wet feet. It is an understory shrub; morning sun with afternoon shade is ideal. If it gets too leggy or stops blooming well, cut it off just above ground level. It will regenerate quickly. Trimming back a few stems at a time will be less drastic but will result in a fuller plant. The trimmings can be used to propagate new plants. For rooting success, each cutting should have at least four leaves. A rooting hormone helps. Large clumps can also be divided. The stems of older plants tend to be somewhat brittle and may break if exposed to strong winds.

For areas with hard freezes, bring Mexican Shrimp Plant indoors during the cold months. Place it in a bright window and give it a drink of liquid fertilizer. It will continue to flower throughout winter. When the plant is moved indoors, be alert for aphids, spider mites or whiteflies.

Perennial Bellflowers Ring a Long TIme

Oops – I did it again. Another impulse purchase of a plant that may not be a good choice for my area. One of the local grocery stores has strategically placed their flower section directly in my path, between the salad bar (packaged salads during the pandemic) and the fresh fruit. I’m already needy when I go in, and those small containers of cute potted plants seem to jump in my cart without my involvement. This week’s purchase was a pair of tiny (2.5-inch containers) Campanula. That was the only identifier on the label. No mention of the species. Sigh…

It could be Campanula carpatica, C. glomerata, C. persicifolia, C. takesimana, C. rotundifolia, C. medium, C. punctata, or C. rapunculoides. The one thing all these species share is ease of growth. A few prefer cool summers. Most (but not all) have bell-shaped flowers. (The common name is Bellflower or Canterbury Bells.) Most are in shades of blue or purple, but a few are pink, lilac or even white. My newest acquisitions are a deep purple, with upward facing blooms. Unless appearances are deceiving, it will be a dwarf, spreading form.

In the Snoddy garden, Campanula punctata ‘Pantaloons’ has been a star performer during the last ten years. A single plant, situated in poor soil with partial shade, spread rapidly via rhizomes and seeds to make a large, lovely community without any deadheading, staking, fertilizing or watering. Campanulas prefer neutral to alkaline soil, but mine has done fine in acidic soil. The punctata species is perennial in zones 5 through 9. It has a long, long bloom period. Deer shun all Campanulas.

‘Pantaloons’ was a gift plant from the gentleman who taught most of my Master Gardener classes in 2002. He labeled the plant “Purple Pantaloons” which reminded me, oddly, of the saloon girls in old television Western shows like Gunsmoke. Mr. Maple is deceased now, but his memory lives on in my garden.

Campanula punctata. Image by GLady from Pixabay.

“Bearded Bellflower” showing the fuzzy threads that gave rise to the common name.