Lantana Mistake

17 years ago

I can't believe this plant was in the perennial section at Kmart! And I really should have done my research before purchasing it. Darn my impulse-buys!!!

All it said on side of pot was "Lantana", but I couldn't resist the mix of yellow, pink, and orange blooms all on same plant. I bring it home and hop on the web to discover it's only hardy to zones 8 and higher. *cry* (and I DO like the smell of it)

NOW... What do I do?

1) Plant it in container and "try" to overwinter it indoors.

2) Plant it in a sunny spot outside, dig up in fall, and overwinter it indoors.

3) Plant it as annual, take cuttings in fall, and hope the cutting survive indoor-living until June of next year?

Gah! I think it's of the L. 'confetti' types but the pics on the web don't exactly look like mine. Still not sure how big this plant will grow this year.

Suggestions, anyone?

(there is a closer pic of flower in same album)

Here is a link that might be useful: Lantana x?

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Comments (5)

Donna
17 years ago
The upright forms of lantana can get 3 to 4 feet high and wide in OUR heat and long growing season. I would think that 2 to 3 might be closer to what you'll see. Lantanas are supposed to be easy to start from cuttings, though I have not personally done it. I would think the bigger challenge for you might be in providing adequate heat and humidity through your winters. You have the plant now, so you have nothing to lose to try.
north53 Z2b MB
17 years ago
I have successfully wintered my lantana indoors several seasons now. I haven't tried cuttings.
This past winter I just brought the pot in, cut the plant back drastically and put in into my cold storage room. It's not a proper cold room, but cool and dark. I only watered the pot enough to keep it from totally drying out. The plant never went completely dormant. I brought it out of storage around the end of Feb. It immediately started growing. It now is forming buds. I currently have it in my sunroom, as the weather still hasn't cooperated with moving the plant outside.
This was a pretty easy, no-fuss method and seems to have worked. The plant now has a woody stem and looks more shrub like.
Good luck with yours. BTW, mine was sold as an annual.
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shadara
Original Author
17 years ago
Wow north53, congratulations, and that's great to hear.

I live in a basement with zoned heat, so a couple cool, dark rooms are available during the winter. I guess I should container-plant it (saving me the hassle and stress on the plant with digging up in fall). And if you can do it "way up there", hehe, I feel more positive now.

I guess it'll sit next to my mom's mandevilla plant this winter (if the mandevilla didn't die from recent frost - she left it outside overnight... eek!).

And thanks, donnabasket, for the info. Now I just don't know what size of pot to put it in. I should probably start with ummm... 6" pot since it's only in a 3 1/2" now? Or you think I can go bigger to eliminate frequent transplanting as it grows?
jean001
17 years ago
Start it in an 8-inch. Likely to have to later go to a 12.
garden_for_life
17 years ago
I'm pretty sure that lantana is poisonious to animals, so be careful if you have pets.