Ornamental · Verbenaceae
Lantana
Lantana camara
Give it full sun and lean soil and lantana blooms hot 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 is a tough, fast-growing shrub from the verbena family, prized for dense clusters of small flowers that often shift color as they age. It draws butterflies and hummingbirds all season and laughs off heat, drought, and poor soil once it settles in. Across zones 7 to 11 it can act as a woody perennial, while gardeners in colder spots grow it as a summer annual.
The plant is as easy as it is showy, which is part of the problem. Every part of it is toxic, the unripe green berries most of all, and in warm frost-free regions it spreads aggressively enough to be classed as invasive. Grow it where pets, livestock, and children can't reach the berries.
Bloom comes from midsummer until the first frost, in oranges, yellows, pinks, reds, and bicolors depending on the variety. Plants range from low spreaders to upright shrubs, so there's a form for a border, a container, or a hot, dry slope nothing else will cover.
Care
The short version: plant lantana in full sun and well-drained soil, water moderately and let it dry between drinks, feed lightly, and shear it to keep it bushy and blooming.
Light
Lantana needs full sun, 6 or more hours a day, to flower well. Give it less and you get a leafy plant with few blooms, so site it in the brightest, hottest spot you have.
Water
Water moderately and let the top half of the soil dry out between drinks, roughly every 5 to 10 days. Once established, lantana shrugs off drought, and soggy ground does it far more harm than a dry spell.
Soil
It isn't fussy about soil and grows in clay, loam, or sand, even poor ground, as long as it drains well. A pH anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0 suits it fine.
Temperature
Lantana is a warm-climate plant with little cold tolerance, hardy only in zones 7 to 11. It survives brief dips to about 39°F to 48°F (4°C to 9°C), but frost kills the top growth, which is why it's grown as an annual where winters bite.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity is all it asks, so there's no target to hit. Good airflow matters more than any moisture level, especially on plants crowded together over winter where pests build up.
Feeding
Feed monthly through the growing season with a balanced fertilizer. Go easy on the nitrogen, since too much pushes leafy growth at the expense of the flowers you're after.
Pruning
Pinch or shear the plant through the season to keep it bushy and full of bloom. On plants carried over as perennials, cut them back hard in late winter or early spring to spur fresh growth.
Size & spacing
Lantana ranges from 1 to 6 feet (30 to 183 cm) tall depending on the variety, spreading 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm) wide. Give each plant room to fill out and let air move through it.
When to plant
Lantana wants warmth and dies back at the first frost. Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, set plants out once the cold has passed and the soil has warmed, and enjoy flowers from midsummer until frost ends the show.
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 stays trouble-free outdoors most of the time, and what problems do appear tend to show up on plants kept over winter indoors. Match what you see below and act before a minor pest or a bloom slump takes hold.
Sticky leaves and a cloud of tiny white flies
A whitefly infestation is the usual cause, and it shows up most on plants held over winter indoors. Rinse the foliage with a strong jet of water, then treat the leaf undersides with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Better airflow around overwintering plants keeps the numbers down.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage with a strong stream of water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to leaf undersides
- Improve air circulation around overwintering plants
Speckled, bronzed leaves with fine webbing
This points to spider mites, which thrive in hot, dry air and on plants overwintered indoors. Tap a leaf over white paper and look for tiny moving specks to confirm. Spray the foliage with water to knock them loose, treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and raise the humidity around the plant.
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
When a lantana grows lush and green but won't bloom, the cause is almost always too little sun or too much nitrogen. Give it 6 or more hours of direct sun and switch to a balanced feed. Pinch off the spent flower heads and it pushes out a fresh round of bloom.
Fix:
- Move or site plant in full sun
- Reduce nitrogen and use a balanced fertilizer
- Deadhead spent blooms to encourage reflowering
Toxicity
This is a genuinely dangerous plant. Lantana holds liver-damaging compounds called lantadenes throughout, and the unripe green berries carry 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 start vomiting and develop diarrhea, turn weak and dull, and struggle to breathe. The lantadenes attack the liver, so even a small nibble warrants a vet call.
Dogs Severe
Dogs often swallow the colorful green berries, which are the most dangerous part. Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and labored breathing, all of which can give way to liver failure.
Horses Severe
In horses the toxin brings on depression, weakness, and stomach upset, then liver damage and jaundice. Sun-exposed skin can blister as the failing liver triggers photosensitization, and bad cases turn fatal.
Rabbits Severe
Rabbits are no safer than other mammals here. The same hepatotoxic lantadenes apply, so a grazing rabbit can suffer gut upset and liver injury. Keep the plant well out of reach.
Livestock Severe
Lantana is one of the worst poisoning risks for grazing stock. Cattle, sheep, and goats first go constipated, then jaundiced, with liver damage and a swollen, photosensitized muzzle and eyelids. It frequently kills.
Birds Caution
The bright berries tempt birds, and the green unripe ones carry the heaviest dose of toxin. Some birds spread ripe seed without harm, but the plant is best treated as unsafe around pet and backyard birds.
People Caution
The unripe green berries are the real hazard, and children have been poisoned by eating them, with vomiting, diarrhea, and liver effects. Handling the foliage can also irritate skin, so wear gloves and keep 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 comes in dozens of named selections, mostly chosen for flower color, cold tolerance, or reduced spread. These few turn up most often.
Miss Huff
An unusually cold-hardy selection with orange-and-yellow flowers that survives down to USDA zone 7b and shrugs off phytophthora better than most.
Ham and Eggs
A pink-and-yellow bloomer that holds up to frost in the Piedmont, hardy to about zone 7b.
New Gold
A low, spreading variety covered in golden-yellow flowers that can stretch to roughly 6 feet wide.
Bloomify Red
A nearly sterile cultivar bred by UF/IFAS to set little seed and curb the plant's tendency to spread.
How to propagate
Lantana is simple to increase, and taking cuttings is the surest way to keep 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 is easy to multiply from cuttings. Take softwood cuttings in late spring or summer while the plant is growing fast, and they root in about 2 to 4 weeks. The species also grows from seed or division, but named cultivars come true only when you propagate them from cuttings.
Myths
Only the flowers are toxic, so every color of lantana is equally safe to grow.
Every part of the plant is poisonous, and the unripe green berries hold the most toxin of all. Flower color has nothing to do with how dangerous it is, so treat the whole plant with care.
Lantana is just a harmless tropical bedding annual.
It is a tender perennial that has escaped gardens across the world. In warm regions it ranks as a Category 1 invasive in Florida and a noxious weed elsewhere, forming dense thickets that crowd out native plants.