Ornamental · Verbenaceae
Lantana
Lantana camara
Hand it full sun and lean soil and lantana fires off hot color all summer, but every part of it is poisonous.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
39–48°F · 4–9°C
USDA 7–11
Overview
Lantana charges through the season as a tough, fast-growing shrub in the verbena family, loaded with dense clusters of small flowers that keep shifting color as they age. It pulls in butterflies and hummingbirds for months on end and powers past heat, drought, and poor soil the moment it takes hold. Across zones 7 to 11 it carries on as a woody perennial, while colder gardens run it hard as a summer annual.
It grows with almost no fuss, and that very toughness comes with a real catch. Every part of it is toxic, the unripe green berries most of all, and where winters stay frost-free it spreads fast enough to count as invasive. Plant it where pets, livestock, and children cannot get at the berries.
Color pours out from midsummer until the first frost in oranges, yellows, pinks, reds, and bicolors, depending on the variety. Forms run from low spreaders to upright shrubs, so there is one ready to fill a border, spill from a container, or blanket a hot, dry slope where nothing else takes off.
Care
The short version: plant lantana in full sun and well-drained soil, water it moderately and let it dry between drinks, feed it lightly, and shear it to keep it bushy and blooming.
Light
Lantana craves full sun, 6 or more hours a day, to bloom hard. Skimp on light and it runs to leaf with few flowers, so plant it in the brightest, hottest spot you can find.
Water
Water moderately and let the top half of the soil dry out between drinks, roughly every 5 to 10 days. Once established it powers through drought, and soggy ground hurts it far more than a dry stretch ever will.
Soil
It thrives in clay, loam, or sand, even poor ground, and asks only that the site drains well. Any pH from 6.0 to 8.0 keeps it happy.
Temperature
Lantana is a heat-lover with little tolerance for cold, hardy only in zones 7 to 11. It rides out brief dips to about 39°F to 48°F (4°C to 9°C), but frost drops the top growth, which is why cold-winter gardeners run it as an annual.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity is plenty, so there is no number to chase. Good airflow counts for far more, especially on plants packed together over winter where pests take hold.
Feeding
Feed monthly through the growing season with a balanced fertilizer. Ease off the nitrogen, since too much drives leaf at the cost of the flowers you are after.
Pruning
Pinch or shear through the season to keep it bushy and bursting with bloom. On plants carried over as perennials, cut them back hard in late winter or early spring to launch fresh growth.
Size & spacing
Lantana climbs 1 to 6 feet (30 to 183 cm) tall by variety and spreads 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm) wide. Give each plant room to fill out and let air rip through it.
When to plant
Lantana runs on warmth and folds at the first frost, so timing plays to its strengths. Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, drive the plants outside once the cold clears and the soil warms, and ride a wave of flowers from midsummer until frost calls time.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before last spring frost
- Plant: After all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed in spring
- Harvest: Midsummer until first frost
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–11
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Lantana breezes through the outdoor season with barely a hiccup, and the few problems that crop up mostly land on plants held over winter indoors. Match what you spot below and pounce early, before a small pest or a bloom lull digs in.
Sticky foliage and a burst of little white flies
That sticky sheen and the little burst of pale insects spell whitefly, which piles onto plants brought inside for winter. Jump on it fast: blast the leaves with a strong jet of water, then coat the undersides with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Open up the air around overwintering plants and the flies lose their grip in a hurry.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage with a strong stream of water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to leaf undersides
- Improve air circulation around overwintering plants
Bronzed, speckled leaves strung with fine webbing
Speckled, bronzed leaves and a whisper of webbing shout spider mites, which surge in hot, dry air and pile onto plants wintered indoors. Nail the diagnosis by tapping a leaf over white paper and spotting the tiny moving specks. Blast the foliage with water to fling them off, follow with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and push the humidity up to shut them down.
Fix:
- Spray foliage with water to dislodge mites
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Raise humidity around overwintered plants
Plenty of leaves but hardly any flowers
A lantana that pumps out leaves but skimps on bloom is almost always chasing more sun or less nitrogen. Push it into 6 or more hours of direct sun and switch to a balanced feed to steer it back on track. Snap off the spent flower heads and watch it fire out a fresh round of color.
Fix:
- Move or site plant in full sun
- Reduce nitrogen and use a balanced fertilizer
- Deadhead spent blooms to encourage reflowering
Toxicity
This one comes with a hard warning. Lantana carries liver-damaging compounds called lantadenes through every part, and the unripe green berries pack the heaviest dose. It poisons cats, dogs, horses, livestock, and people alike, so keep every part well away from animals and children.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
A cat that chews any part of this plant can quickly start vomiting, break into diarrhea, turn weak and dull, and labor to breathe. The lantadenes strike the liver, so even a small nibble should send you straight to the vet.
Dogs Severe
Dogs make a beeline for the green berries, and those pack the worst punch of any part. Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and labored breathing, which can barrel straight into liver failure.
Horses Severe
In a horse the toxin drives depression, weakness, and stomach upset, then presses on into liver damage and jaundice. Sun-struck skin can blister as the failing liver kicks off photosensitization, and the worst cases turn fatal.
Rabbits Severe
Rabbits get no free pass from this plant. The same hepatotoxic lantadenes hit them just as hard, so a grazing rabbit can end up with gut upset and liver injury. Keep the plant well out of reach.
Livestock Severe
Lantana ranks among the fiercest poisoning threats to grazing stock. Cattle, sheep, and goats go constipated first, then jaundiced, with liver damage and a swollen, photosensitized muzzle and eyelids. It kills often, so keep herds fenced clear.
Birds Caution
The bright berries pull birds right in, and the unripe green ones carry the heaviest toxin load. Some birds scatter ripe seed without harm, but play it safe and treat the plant as off-limits around pet and backyard birds.
People Caution
The unripe green berries are the real threat, and children have been poisoned after eating them, with vomiting, diarrhea, and liver effects. Handling the foliage can sting the skin too, so pull on gloves and keep the berries away from curious kids.
All parts are toxic; the immature green berries are the most toxic part. Keep plants away from pets, children, and grazing animals, and wear gloves as foliage can irritate skin.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Lantana rolls out in dozens of named selections, sorted mostly by flower color, cold tolerance, or how far they spread. These few show up most often.
Miss Huff
This orange-and-yellow standout powers through cold down to USDA zone 7b and shrugs off phytophthora better than most.
Ham and Eggs
A pink-and-yellow bloomer that pushes through Piedmont frost and bounces back hardy to about zone 7b.
New Gold
A low, spreading dynamo blanketed in golden-yellow flowers that can sprawl to roughly 6 feet wide.
Bloomify Red
A nearly sterile UF/IFAS cultivar that sets barely any seed and reins in the plant's urge to spread.
How to propagate
Lantana multiplies with ease, and cuttings are the surest way to carry a named variety true to type.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Take softwood cuttings in late spring or summer during active growth · Roots typically form in about 2 to 4 weeks
Lantana practically begs to be multiplied from cuttings. Snip softwood cuttings in late spring or summer while it is charging along in growth, and they strike roots in about 2 to 4 weeks. Seed and division work too, but cuttings are the one route that keeps a named cultivar dead true to the parent, so grab them for a guaranteed match.
Myths
The flowers alone hold the toxin, so lantana of any color is safe to plant.
The whole plant packs poison, and the unripe green berries hold the biggest load of all. Flower color makes zero difference to the danger, so give every last one of them the same careful handling.
Lantana is simply a carefree tropical annual for the summer border.
It is really a tender perennial that has bolted out of gardens across the globe. In warm regions it ranks as a Category 1 invasive in Florida and a noxious weed elsewhere, throwing up dense thickets that shove native plants out.