I'm no expert on this, since I haven't overwintered Miss Huff outside at all. But once the weather gets consistently cold, I'd opt for the big mound of pine straw over the plants, making sure it's fluffy and not packed down. All that air trapped in the needles is good insulation, and it won't get soggy and rot the plants out.

As for overwintering lantana inside, they'd want as much sun as they could get and warm temps. Watch for whitefly, which can magically show up anytime, anywhere. Not sure about wintering over in a cool dark spot, but you could try one and see. Make sure not to overwater it -- they get root rot quite quickly in cold wet soil.

Marty

Thanks, Marty. I was hoping you would answer as well as others. Maybe I sould have titled the posting "need advice". It seems the word "expert" in the title had some people hesitant to answer. I have overwintered 'Miss Huff' for 4 years now and the size of these plants is HUGE--probably 6' x 6' x 4' tall. As you can imagine there are tons of blooms which the butterflies love. After the freeze tonight, all will be mush!

I am an expert in my mind . We cut them back to about a foot soon as we can get to them after the frost . In addition to the pine straw , we place a few small sticks around the base . I hope that 'Carlos' Lantana will survive , it is a cool red or should I say hot red . You may want to try rooting with Hormodin 2 or 3 earlier in the year to get them up and running . Earlier seems to be better , they take a while to get going , but then they sure come in strong . Musa's , Musella's , Agave's , if they aren't in by July , good luck . Marty is enough of an expert, she is cool .