Weeping Lantana (Lantana montevidensis) is a very hardy plant that grows well in frostfree areas. In Tucson, it is evergreen. Hardy to 20 degrees F., it may drop its leaves or die back at lower temperatures, but it revives easily. It has a long blooming season and attracts moths and butterflies. It has long stems that form wide clumps from 18 to 24 inches high and as much as six feet in diameter. Its leaves have a somewhat rough, hairy texture and the crushed leaves have a pungent, rather unpleasant scent.
11 comments:
Very pretty plant.
It wouldn't survive around here - which seems a shame as it is very pretty. It looks a little like an african violet - they grow as indoor plants here in our cooler climate.
cynthia, jimmy - I usually see lantana as a mass of colour. I cropped this out of a much larger photo and noticed the beautiful detail of each little flower.
chiefbiscuit - What kind of weather do you have? African violets are grown indoors here, too.
Lovely,
My father had lantana in our yard in southern California... Discovered I am alergic to the lovely thing :) I still think it is lovely but avoid touching it.
That's quite beautiful, pam. For some reason it looks more delicate than what I expect to be growing in the desert.
beautiful picture and what I like about it is the rabbits don't eat it. I go into nurseries looking for plants that say-- rabbits leave alone-- but they never label them with that as one nurseryman said it varies as to which they won't like. Lantana seems to be one that mine at least let be.
In this part of NZ we have frosts in winter and our mean temp would be about 18 degrees celsius, I guess. It's 13 today (maybe colder) and has been raining for over twenty four hours - heavily. (Which is a little unusual I have to admit ... the heavy rain I mean.) I'm thinking the poor little plant would curl up and die in our winters ... They'd maybe survive at the top of the South Island, or in our North Island.
endment - I've read that the leaves can be extremely irritating. I use gardening gloves, but I do love it, because it's so easy to grow.
rd - It's actually very hardy, not delicate at all. It's not a US native - comes originally from Africa, but likes it here. It's used a lot to for soil erosion abatement.
rain - I guess you're right. The rabbits have never touched it. Never occurred to me.
chiefbiscuit - You prompted me to look up Dunedin (about time, right?). I didn't realize how far south you are. It also looks like a lovely place to live - lots of wildlife and ocean walks.
I love lantanas, too. Very pretty flowers, yet I haven't ever noticed butterflies paying it any mind, like the books say they should.
laura - We've had these lantanas for a while, but this is the first year I've been home enough to be able to pay attention during the day. I'll be interested to see if anything shows up on the lantana.
Yes, the Lantana is certainly easy to grow. In fact, in the tropical areas of Australia it has grown so well that it has managed to smother large areas of natural forest and has become a 'weed of mass destruction'. Such a shame as they are so lovely - I particularly love the red/yellow variety.
Post a Comment