All About Lantana Camara: A Summer Favorite

Design and InstallationGarden Caregarden TriviaIndoor plantsPlant Health CareUncategorized
Written By Peter Morris

Common lantana is used as a summer annual in NYC. We LOVE them ! 

A dense cluster of Lantana camara plants showcasing vibrant orange and yellow flowers in full bloom.

they can spread really wide !

Close-up of a Lantana camara flower cluster displaying a gradient of colors from red to orange to yellow.

original golden yellow species

Description

It’s a tropical perennial with hairy leaves in the Verbenaceae (verbena) family with woody stems and a sprawling habit. Sometimes up to 5 feet wide.

Lantana prefers full sun in moist, well-drained soil - but will tolerate drought. This plant grows quickly and aggressively so plan its location accordingly. 

Environment

 It is native to the West Indies and Mexico to Tropical America - Columbia and Venezuela. 

A Lantana camara plant with green berries, indicating the early fruiting stage.

loved by pollinators of all kinds

A Lantana camara plant attracting a butterfly, highlighting its role in supporting pollinators.

Green berries are poisonous if ingested

Flowers

The showy flowers – attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators – appear from midsummer until the first frost and come in a wide range of colors. 

Plant Problems

Whiteflies and spider mites can affect plants but that is not very common. In certain areas of the country with more tropical climates common lantana is weedy or even invasive. Some cultivars have shown excellent resistance to phytophthora. 

Ethnobotany

The stalks were used as raw material for paper pulp.

Lantana bark is also astringent and used as a lotion in leprous ulcers and other skin eruptions.

L. camara leaves are boiled and applied for swellings.

Alkaloids from lantana have been found to stimulate intestinal movements, lower blood pressure and accelerate deep respiration.

It has been found to have antimicrobial, fungicidal and insecticidal properties. 

Poisonous

Leaves and unripe, green berries can cause minor skin irritation. They will also produce gastrointestinal issues if eaten. Berries are known to affect cattle, sheep, horses, and goats. 

Just to be sure - keep all berries away from children and pets !

How about filling your garden with Lantana !

Here in NYC we plant them in early summer -

for a spectacular color pop !

Call us - we know our Lantana ! 

PLANT SPECIALISTS

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 53 YEARS !

Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA

All photographs used with permission @SHUTTERSTOCK

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

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