I sure would like to know myself. At Stratford, in the Theatre garden they have a Lantana tree which is gorgeous. Of course, they have green houses, which I don't have but I'd sure like to know if I can save the one I have which was given to me by Peatpod from Burlington, ON>

If you have a growlight, perhaps that could work. I hesitate to recommend storing it in a garage because these are very tropical type plants and I've no knowledge if these can go into a form of dormancy.

You could take cuttings from your favourite annuals and try to root them in soilless mixes. This would guarantee a continuity of your favourite plant, and for it not to take up too much space. This can be done with coleus and fushias. In my present case, I took cuttings a while ago - and I have a great couple of plants growing now. Small enough for my table top growlight. By next spring these would be large enough to cover a large space. Just an idea.

Hello, I have kept my lantana for the last 5 years. In the fall I cut all of the branches back to the stem (standard form) and put it in my basement. In the basement the plants are within 4-5 ft. or grow lights, but not under them. The plants remain almost dormant... any basement window will probably do. In the spring I cut any new and stringy growth off, so it is back to the stem. The plants have proven very forgiving and I save my upstairs sunny windows for less stinky, and fussier plants. Robb

Thanks Robb. Have you ever considered wintering it in darkness like a brugmansia? I could do either.

Truly , thanks for your input.

I just read in a magazine about these,it said to bring them in and treat them as a houseplant.

Thanks Molly. I had mine outdoors, and was not aware just how stinky it actually is when touched. Robb tipped us off on that so this morning I went and rubbed it. Phew ! Pretty though.

That's good news Robb...and exactly what I was hoping I would hear.
Do you water it throught the winter ?

Why not harvest the seeds. They are quick growing plants .. however use caution when dealing with them as they can cause skin irritation. I learned that the hard way when I harvested some seeds several weeks ago .. my hands were sooooo itchy for almost a week!! I must admit I am toying with the idea of overwintering also .. but I just dont have the room ..

Laura

I think I will try to harvest some seeds as well.
Do you suggest winter sowing or wait until spring and plant them out ?

I started them using the paper towel method .. it took a little while but most of them germinated with little problem. I grew them under lights but found that I started them way too early and ended up having to pinch them all back .. which lead to planting cuttings. I would spring sow them as they are tropical and need the warmth. If you grow under lights then I would start them off in Feb.

Laura

We overwintered lantana a couple of times indoors but they seemed to be a white fly production factory. One is always fighting the bugs when growing indoors, but these plants were particularly bad, not sure why.

Someone told me they would survive in our zone and info on the net supports this. However, all the ones I planted outdoors (in differing locations to see if one was better) did not make it. I may try again in the future as they have interesting flowers.

Is anyone else leaving them outdoors over the winter? Any tips?

Cheers,
MG

Ms Jean .. If you are going to start them from seed make sure you soak them over night ... or longer.

I was going to try to winter sow them. Would I still soak them overnight ??

In Asia, many lantanas are found in the foothills of mountains - although they do thrive in the coastal areas as well. I was certainly surprised to see them used here as ornamental flowers, because they do have a strong stink. However the varieties that I found being offered here does not seem to stink as much so perhaps it's odor is being bred out. Still I love the varieties of colours being offered here. My cuttings have thrived and now have flowered. It took only a couple of months for it to establish blooms. I plan to keep these indoors under growlights.

Ms Jean .. If you are going to winter sow them it would be best to do so in the spring once things warm up. So yes I think to be on the safe side I would soak them. They are tropicals so they woundnt normally go through a cold cycle.