The Lantanas are Growing

12 years ago

We had such a mild winter and warm month of March that the Ham & Egg Lantana plants are already growing here in SC Kansas (zone 6b). A friend of mine here in town gave me some from her garden. The perennial lantanas have been coming back each year for her for the past six years. Well, they thrived on the south side of my house last summer until frost and now, because of our mild winter and unusually warm early spring, they have broken dormancy and are thriving again. I wasn't sure if they would come back, since they are only supposed to be an annual plant this far north, but it appears, based on my experience and the experience of my friend, that they are an annual if they are sheltered from the north wind. I love lantanas. They have beautiful flowers and attract an array of butterflies.

Does anyone else have experience growing lantanas as a perennial north of zone 7?

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Comments (2)

christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
I'm jealous. I wish I had a good spot on the south side of my house to try it but there's a concrete patio there.
I'm curious whether you and your friend mulch your lantanas over winter.

I suspect, being in the midwest, even though your temps occasionally drop down below zero in the winter, it probably doesn't stay there very long. So if you have a protected spot, you may have good luck with zone 7 or even zone 8 perennials. It's fun to try. Just don't spend big bucks on them.

Lantana 'Miss Huff' is supposed to be a hardier variety and I've read of some people getting it to winter over in zone 7, not sure about zone 6 though.
Tim
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, my friend and I both mulch our lantanas during the winter. I think that could be another reason why they do so well, but I really think that a combination of the south facing structure that protects from the north wind, the mulch, being so close to zone 7 (the reason for the mild winters), and the fact that our sandy loam soil drains extremely fast is what does it.
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