i cant believe... how confusing these straight down pix are ... you arent the first ... its hard to get a scale... and often they are taken w/o bending over so they lack clarity ... and any sense of scale ...

anyway ... thats for next time..

compare with verbena ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: i think i got lucky

I think it might be Sweet William....Dianthus barbatus

Try that in a google search

Vera

Lantana camara.

I agree with Ken--verbena.

Lantana camera would not be grown in London Ontario--It's too cool for them and not a common plant in Canada. I don't think I have ever seen the plant in Canada.

Sweet William has blossoms ringed in a different color --usually white not 2 toned like some of the flower heads in your photo.

Still going with Lantana. It's not a very good image to work with but I'm pretty sure that I see the unique clusters left after blooming, as well as a few seed heads.

That pink and yellow variety is very common....Lantana camara 'Confetti '.

It's Lantana camara imo - it is grown under galss and put out as a seasonal bedding plant in cooler climates. It is in the same family as Verbena, hence the similarity.

Here is a link that might be useful: Someone in Ontario is selling it.

I agree Floral_uk..... I was on some floral pages... it does have similarities to Verbena but is different for sure.. Thank you

Lantana grows everywhere. Most people treat it as an annual; it's purchased as small plants every year and planted into a sunny location. It makes a great bedding plant.....it's inexpensive, fast growing, blooms its head off.

Even in warmer climates, it is treated as a disposable annual.

often Lantana sold at the nursery are dwarfed by hormones or something, so you start with a tiny compact plant which suddenly puts out long shoots at he end of summer.

I managed to overwinter 3 on my window sill and will use them as trailing plants (or flowering mini-blackberries) in window boxes

Looks like lantana to me.

I vote lantana as well. Very easy to root from cuttings. Grows quickly as well.

AND will grow anywhere.....even in Canada! :-) As long as there's plenty of sunlight over the growing season (no matter how short the season might be), lantana cultivars will be seen flourishing in beds, baskets, and front porch plantings.

Ken, I totally agree that some of these cell phone pictures are terrible for identification purposes! There's no way to tell the size; I get really frustrated with some of the insect images as well as leaves, etc.

If I can get and grow Lantana in NW Wisconsin, I can't imagine it not being fine in Ontario. I grow it in pots, and overwinter it inside. It gets woodier/ more shrub like as it gets older. In Cairo, Egypt it was growing as 4ft hedges - beautiful. Mine in large pots have never gotten over about 2.5 feet.

Thank you for all your helpful information! I have realized that it is Lantana - and it does grow very nicely in Southern Ontario. In warmer climates it can be a perennial but here as annuals and that's fine, because they bloom practically all summer and into the fall. I do appreciate all your helpful advice! Thanks!

and are one of the best fragrances in the world. kinda like honeyed grapefruit!!! here in southeast michigan my garden doesn't miss a summer without them. purple lantana 'lucious grape' in your containers is beautiful. i put them in pots and place them on tables close to where i like to sit on the patio. i get great pleasure in the fragrance while sipping something nice!

Coming in late here-it's Lantana.

Linda

metasequoiafree, the first lantana I ever bought was from a kmart store because my stepdaughter said it smelled like candy. She and you must have similar noses :)