Skip to main content

How to grow lantana: Everything you need to know

Grow beautiful lantana flowers with this guide

Pink, yellow, and white lantana blooms
Koy_Hipster / Shutterstock

Lantana is a beautiful and colorful flower that comes in several bright colors, including orange and pink. Not only is it lovely for humans, but it also attracts tons of butterflies, bees, and even hummingbirds. If that sounds like the perfect flower to you, then you’re in luck! Lantana is fairly easy to grow, and this guide to lantana care will answer all your questions, from where to plant it to what other plants it pairs well with. So grab your lantana seedlings and a trowel and let’s get started!

Planting lantana

A swallowtail butterfly on pink and yellow lantana flowers
valtercirillo / Pixabay

Start planting your lantana after the last frost of the year has passed. Lantana is a tropical plant, and it thrives in hot, humid conditions and frost can damage it, especially if it is young or recently planted. Choose a planting location that is in full sun, with rich, well-draining soil. Lantana can tolerate some light shade, but the flowers will be brighter and more numerous if your lantana is in full sun. Lantana enjoys wet soil, but it can still develop root rot or other fungal infections if left in standing water for too long.

Recommended Videos

Neutral or slightly acidic soil is ideal, as is soil rich in organic matter. Mixing compost into the soil before you plant your lantana is a great way to improve the richness, drainage, and pH of your soil. Lantana will also grow in sandy soils, but keep in mind you may need to water it more frequently, since the soil will drain faster.

Lantana care

A black and yellow butterfly on pink lantana flowers
ignartonosbg / Pixabay

As long as it’s getting plenty of sun, lantana requires little care. Water your lantana weekly or whenever the soil dries out. Despite its love of moist soil, lantana is a surprisingly drought-tolerant plant. However, it doesn’t bloom as much or as brightly in dry weather, so supplemental watering is recommended whenever possible.

In addition to regular watering, your lantana will benefit from deadheading. Removing the faded or wilted flowers doesn’t just keep your garden looking fresh and neat; it also encourages your lantana to grow new flowers to replace the old ones. The old flowers make a great addition to a compost pile if you have one.

Lantana goes dormant in autumn and needs less water and care. During winter, your care will depend on both the climate you live in and whether you want to grow it as an annual or perennial. Lantana can survive frost but rarely survives a hard freeze. In mild climates, your lantana may benefit from increased protections such as mulch, covering, or a windbreak. In places with harsher climates, you may need to move your lantana indoors or plant new plants in the spring.

Can you grow lantana indoors?

Orange lantana flowers
papazachariasa / Pixabay

You can grow this plant indoors, as well as in greenhouses. Growing lantana indoors is similar to growing it outdoors, with only a few differences. First, make sure the container you choose has drainage holes. Use well-draining potting soil or a mix of potting soil and compost for the best results, and set your lantana in a sunny window. Since lantana needs full sun, it can sometimes struggle to get enough light indoors. If your lantana is starting to look a little sad, you can supplement natural light with a grow light.

Since the indoors is easier to control than the outdoors, you won’t need to worry as much about frosts and freezes, but you should still try to keep your lantana warm. Avoid placing it near drafts or air vents, which can blow cold, dry air onto your plant and make it weaker and more vulnerable to pests.

Lantana companion plants

Marigolds with a butterfly
Robert Zunikoff / Unsplash

Lantana grows well with many other plants, making it easy to incorporate into an existing garden and fun to use when planning a new one! If you’re planning a pollinator garden, lantana goes well with the following:

  • Petunia
  • Verbena
  • Nasturtium
  • Marigold
  • Nemesia
  • Sage
  • Lavender
  • Yarrow
  • Butterfly bush
  • Butterfly weed
  • Angelonia

All these make for a beautiful display, with pink, purple, and gold flowers that are gorgeous but easy to care for. If you want a garden that puts your lantana in the spotlight, consider accenting it with ornamental grasses, such as fountain grasses. These grasses are beautiful, but they won’t compete with your lantana as much for attention.

Lantana is a beautiful flower that can draw butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. It’s beautiful on its own, but it also looks lovely surrounded by any number of companion plants. Lantana is easy enough for beginners to grow, and also beautiful enough to look impressive, even in an expert’s garden. Whether you choose to grow lantana on its own or as part of a larger display, indoors or out, and as an annual or perennial, you’re sure to love this colorful flower!

Topics
Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
How to get rid of scale on plants: Everything you need to know about these pests
Use these methods to get rid of scale insects fast
Scale insects on a stem

There are many common garden pests that can damage your plants. While some are relatively harmless, others can do quite a bit of damage. Of course, some of the largest danger to your plants comes from pests that travel in groups. Scale insects are one such pest, frequently seen in clusters along plant stems. If you want to know how to recognize this pest and learn how to get rid of scale on plants, this is the guide for you. We’ll explain how to identify scale insects and go over several methods to eliminate them.
Identifying scale on plants

Scale insects are related to aphids and mites, but they're easy to tell apart from other pests, because they don’t move much. You’re unlikely to see the scale insects as they arrive at the plant. Instead, look for a series of bumps or lumps on your plants’ stems or the undersides of their leaves. These bumps can be black, green, brown, yellow, or white, often appearing in rows or clusters. Scale insects can range in size, depending on the species, with some scale insects staying quite small. Scale insects are soft when young, and some species stay soft for their entire lives. However, many species develop a waxy cover that hardens as they age.

Read more
These cool-season annuals would be a great addition to your garden
Brighten up your garden with these cool-season flowers
Lobelia erinus blooming in a container

There’s no better way to liven up a landscape than with a colorful display of flowers. They brighten the mood, draw attention toward (or away from) critical parts of the yard, and attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. During fall and winter, though, most plants go dormant, leaving patches of brown or gray where there should be lovely colors. Cool-season annuals are a great way to fix this, adding color back to your garden even during winter! Want to add cool-season annuals to your garden? Here's what you need to know!
What are annual flowers?

Garden flowers fall into one of three categories: annuals, biennials, or perennials. Perennials come back year after year. Biennials grow to maturity in their first year and then produce flowers and seed in the second season before they die. Annual flowers complete their entire life cycle in a single growing season. Though they're short lived plants, annuals offer the brightest, most diverse, and longest-lasting color.

Read more
Stargazer lilies – how to grow them for stunning blooms
Indoor and outdoor care for stargazer lilies
A cluster of stargazer lily flowers

Of the many popular flowers found in summer flower gardens, lilies are perhaps one of the most versatile. There are many colors, patterns, and even shapes available, so you're sure to find a lily that fits your garden. One popular lily variety is the stargazer lily, which has large, striking flowers. In outdoor gardens, they make for a stunning centerpiece, but did you know you can also grow them indoors? They even make fantastic cut flowers! This guide will explain everything you need to know about caring for your stargazer lilies, whether indoors or out.
Indoor care

Stargazer lilies, like other lily varieties, can grow indoors with proper care. Indoor care for stargazer lilies begins with choosing the correct container. It needs to be deep and have sufficient drainage holes. Avoid shallow pots or those without drainage holes, such as ceramic pots. Likewise, you must use well-draining soil to avoid overwatering. Stargazer lilies enjoy moist soil, but they don’t tolerate standing water. Soil that is rich in organic matter is ideal.

Read more