I was about to prepare a bed for some lantana and was wondering if
someone could comment on what type soil is best. I have one friend
who says they will grow if you throw them on concrete ;-) and one who
says they just want garden soil and another who said she took a lot of
care in preparing her lantana bed with rotted manure etc. and that
they didn't bloom in that particular bed nearly as well as they did
in another place where she just spaded and planted. So...what do I
do? Do they like fertile ground or not? If you feed them do they
just put out excessive foliage and no blooms or do they need to be fed
regularly to bloom?
I like these plants as they can take this southern heat with no
trouble at all!
Also...what to plant in front and behind them?

On 16 Apr 2003 16:47:07 -0700, (mypet)
wrote:

I was about to prepare a bed for some lantana and was wondering if
someone could comment on what type soil is best. I have one friend
who says they will grow if you throw them on concrete ;-) and one who
says they just want garden soil and another who said she took a lot of
care in preparing her lantana bed with rotted manure etc. and that
they didn't bloom in that particular bed nearly as well as they did
in another place where she just spaded and planted. So...what do I
do? Do they like fertile ground or not? If you feed them do they
just put out excessive foliage and no blooms or do they need to be fed
regularly to bloom?
I like these plants as they can take this southern heat with no
trouble at all!
Also...what to plant in front and behind them?


I'm in the south so I'm with the guy who said they'd grow if you threw
them on concrete..

zhan

In article ,
(mypet) wrote:

I was about to prepare a bed for some lantana and was wondering if
someone could comment on what type soil is best. I have one friend
who says they will grow if you throw them on concrete ;-) and one who
says they just want garden soil and another who said she took a lot of
care in preparing her lantana bed with rotted manure etc. and that
they didn't bloom in that particular bed nearly as well as they did
in another place where she just spaded and planted. So...what do I
do? Do they like fertile ground or not? If you feed them do they
just put out excessive foliage and no blooms or do they need to be fed
regularly to bloom?
I like these plants as they can take this southern heat with no
trouble at all!
Also...what to plant in front and behind them?

Slightly acidic soil enriched with organic content is good for lantana.
But they also like it when people forget to water them. So part of the
contradiction you're hearing is because the person who takes really great
care of a well-composted garden probably waters it regularly & so annoys
the lantana, but someone who doesn't care what crappy bit of ground they
stick it in also fails to water it so the lantana is happy. But it'd be
happier still with a low-pH rich soil, in full sun somewhere where it'll
never be very wet.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

On Wed, 16 Apr 2003 17:30:01 -0700,
(paghat) wrote:

Slightly acidic soil enriched with organic content is good for lantana.


Lantana species thrive in soil pH of 7.6-8, in the desert. They are
not invasive as in Hawaii.




"As crude a weapon as a cave man's club the chemical barrage has been hurled at the fabric of life."
Rachel Carson

(mypet) wrote:

I was about to prepare a bed for some lantana and was wondering if
someone could comment on what type soil is best.

Good drainage, full sun. No excessive water after they get
going. After they are established, just soak them thoroughly
every week or so.

I have one friend
who says they will grow if you throw them on concrete ;-) and one who
says they just want garden soil and another who said she took a lot of
care in preparing her lantana bed with rotted manure etc. and that
they didn't bloom in that particular bed nearly as well as they did
in another place where she just spaded and planted. So...what do I
do?

Do they like fertile ground or not?
No ... sandly and alkaline and not a lot of fertilizer suits them
just fine.

If you feed them do they just put out excessive foliage

yes ... they can be pampered into not blooming at all.

I like these plants as they can take this southern heat with no
trouble at all!

Also...what to plant in front and behind them?
Whatevre it is, they will cover it up in a few months.


Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

(paghat) wrote:

Slightly acidic soil enriched with organic content is good for lantana.

Shhhhhhhhh! I have some thriving in alkaline sandy desert dirt-
they don't know they are not supposed to like it.


Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

"Tsu Dho Nimh" wrote in message
...
(mypet) wrote:

I was about to prepare a bed for some lantana and was wondering if
someone could comment on what type soil is best.

Good drainage, full sun. No excessive water after they get
going. After they are established, just soak them thoroughly
every week or so.

I have one friend
who says they will grow if you throw them on concrete ;-) and one who
says they just want garden soil and another who said she took a lot of
care in preparing her lantana bed with rotted manure etc. and that
they didn't bloom in that particular bed nearly as well as they did
in another place where she just spaded and planted. So...what do I
do?

Do they like fertile ground or not?
No ... sandly and alkaline and not a lot of fertilizer suits them
just fine.

If you feed them do they just put out excessive foliage

yes ... they can be pampered into not blooming at all.

I like these plants as they can take this southern heat with no
trouble at all!

Also...what to plant in front and behind them?
Whatevre it is, they will cover it up in a few months.

What everyone has said in this discussion is that lantanas are an extremely
easy plants to grow and will survive under all types of warm conditions. I
have a collection of variously colored lantanas (zone 6) that I enjoy and
keep from year to year. If you treat them well and give them water,
fertilizer, and good soil, they'll become huge and bloom their heads off. If
you throw them on cement, they'll survive and still bloom as long as they
have some moisture. They're a great plant! The one negative is that white
flies love them.

John

What everyone has said in this discussion is that lantanas are an extremely
easy plants to grow and will survive under all types of warm conditions. I
have a collection of variously colored lantanas (zone 6) that I enjoy and
keep from year to year. If you treat them well and give them water,
fertilizer, and good soil, they'll become huge and bloom their heads off. If
you throw them on cement, they'll survive and still bloom as long as they
have some moisture. They're a great plant! The one negative is that white
flies love them.

Recently in the Southeast US, we have had problems with
lantana lacebugs. They disfigure the plants so badly in
summer that I've given up on the few I had planted a couple of
years ago. Perhaps lantana is not ideally suited to our humid
climate and low-pH soils, anyway. I have pleasant memories of
seeing them prosper with very little care in southern
California.

Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
(Remove symbols from email address to reply.)

"B & J" wrote in message
...

What everyone has said in this discussion is that lantanas are an
extremely
easy plants to grow and will survive under all types of warm conditions. I
have a collection of variously colored lantanas (zone 6) that I enjoy and
keep from year to year.

Zone 6? I was just going to post and ask when my lantana "Miss Huff" might
show some new-season growth, demonstrating that it survived this past
winter. This is supposed to be the hardiest lantana, but only hardy to Zone
7. We're right on the border of 7a/6b on a West Virginia mountainside, so we
put it in the sunniest spot and chanced it. Now I don't know if it's dead,
or just waiting for warmer weather to sprout new growth.

Or, do you propagate from cuttings each season?

In article , "Rachel"
wrote:

"B & J" wrote in message
...

What everyone has said in this discussion is that lantanas are an
extremely
easy plants to grow and will survive under all types of warm conditions. I
have a collection of variously colored lantanas (zone 6) that I enjoy and
keep from year to year.

Zone 6? I was just going to post and ask when my lantana "Miss Huff" might
show some new-season growth, demonstrating that it survived this past
winter. This is supposed to be the hardiest lantana, but only hardy to Zone
7. We're right on the border of 7a/6b on a West Virginia mountainside, so we
put it in the sunniest spot and chanced it. Now I don't know if it's dead,
or just waiting for warmer weather to sprout new growth.

Or, do you propagate from cuttings each season?

Zone 6 did sound awfully cold for them, but even deserts get could, & I
guess it could well be that the only thing they cannot adapt to is
wetness.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

"Rachel" wrote in message
...
"B & J" wrote in message
...

Zone 6? I was just going to post and ask when my lantana "Miss Huff" might
show some new-season growth, demonstrating that it survived this past
winter. This is supposed to be the hardiest lantana, but only hardy to
Zone
7. We're right on the border of 7a/6b on a West Virginia mountainside, so
we
put it in the sunniest spot and chanced it. Now I don't know if it's dead,
or just waiting for warmer weather to sprout new growth.

Or, do you propagate from cuttings each season?

I propagate the larger ones from cuttings each fall and keep these cuttings
in the garage during the winter, but some of the smaller ones such as New
Gold, which I use as a pot plant, are kept in the pot in the crawl space
under the house. I water them a couple of times during the winter. They lose
all their leaves and look like dead sticks but quickly come back to life
when hauled into the light and watered regularly. I treat them exactly the
same as I do my geraniums.

John

"paghat" wrote in message
news
Zone 6 did sound awfully cold for them, but even deserts get could, & I
guess it could well be that the only thing they cannot adapt to is
wetness.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
I've tried leaving them outside in the winter by mulching and covering in
zone 6, but I've never had one survive that way. It's interesting that you
mention wetness. My neighbor had one that he mulched, fertilized and watered
regularly. The plant grew to 4' x 4' and was spectacular with masses of
blooms. I got some cuttings last fall and plan to try my luck with it this
year. Yes, I gave him a plant back this spring! ;-)

John