i would go with a solid dark green ...

budelia ... is too airy .. ferny.. not a great backdrop ...

ken

ps: i usually choose a prime shrub.. and then worry about things to put in front if it.. never quite contemplated the reverse way ... your lantanas will be gone in a few years.. or you will change your mind.. but that shrub could be there for 100 years ... what happens when you get tired of the lantana????

I guess I should have supplied more details as to what I am trying to do. The lantanas are not a backdrop, nor am I looking for a backdrop for the lantanas. The lantanas are a foundation shrub on the south side of my house. I am looking for another shrub to go into an exterior corner where the south-facing foundation joins an east-facing foundation. I want a shrub to go in that corner. It will be at the end of a row of lantanas. I may also place another shrub of the same kind at the other end of the lantanas to balance the scene out. I have also included a URL to a couple of photos of the lantanas.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27657351@N07/6073302158/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27657351@N07/6072759995/in/photostream
BTW, I have removed the pompus grass.

plantingman, ninebark is extremely prone to powdery mildew in some locations...just thought you should know. We've had many people, just here in the gardenweb, rip them out in frustation.

I believe that I would try to find something that will contrast with your lantana....darker, larger foliage perhaps. Flowers wouldn't be of the utmost interest to me since your lantana will be covered up with blooms for several months of the year.

What about something like Weigela? I have no idea of your location (other than USDA zone), but in my baked clay perennial beds (not irrigated), they perform well in full sun/very little extra water conditions. A very nice 'companion' for my assorted perennials and annuals in the same beds.

You might also consider one of the junipers for a big contrast. We've chosen Juniperus davurica "Parsonii" as something of an anchor for our landscaping. Talk about sun, heat, and drought tolerant! We have many planted in our front beds, and they make a crisp, flowing foundation for all kinds of contrasting shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals. Parsoni juniper grows rather quickly and our rather diminutive three gallon shrubs now spread over 6 feet from tip to tip! They look best if left unpruned, so space them with that in mind.

Dear plantingman 6a,
If you live in USDA Zone 6a, it's doubtful that lantana will survive the winter outdoors. I don't think _Lantana camera_ is hardy into Zone 6.

Jay, you are exactly right. They are hardy to zone 7 and even there they are iffy. However, a co-worker of mine, who lives a couple of blocks from me, has had them growing on the south side of her house, (as a foundation shrub), for five+ years, and they keep coming back each year in a prolific way. She dug up some of the sprouts and gave them to me, so I thought, "What the heck, why not try 'em?" I'll see what happens. The frost got them a week after I planted them, but they came back and are the same ones you see in the pictures, so I guess I'll see what happens.
Thank you, rhizo, for the info about the powdery mildew problem with Ninebark. I am also considering a dark red barberry as a companion plant. I will check out weigela.

i am confused... they are not a woody shrub ??? .... are they????

i think he is just using the term shrub under the guise that this particular bunch come back every year..

but in reality they are a perennial .. yes????

up here in z5 MI .. they are usually associated with disposable hanging baskets ...

there are a number of variegated daphne .. that tend toward dark green.. with some other interest thrown in ... which might work if you have good high drainage ...

Good Luck.. i thin you will need it...

ken

ps: i dont care where you post.. regardless of whether it is a shrub or perennial ....

Ken, it depends on where they grow... I think. Down in Texas they are a woody shrub. I have heard that in TX they can grow up to eight feet tall and are considered invasive. According to my friend here in Kansas, they are a perennial, because they keep coming back, which apparently is an enigma based on their lack of hardiness. According to everyone I have talked to, lantanas should be an annual around here. I talked to a man in Oklahoma (zone 7), who said that his lantanas came back for three years in a row, but then didn't this last spring after an usually cold winter.
Like I said before, I will soon find out if my lanatas are annuals or perennials.

i understand your thoughts on the matter ...

but it can not be both things ... depending on where it is ...

without looking.. i suggest a long lived woody perennial..

but just because it gets woody.. does not make it a shrub ..

i want to learn peeps.. correct me if i am wrong ...

ken

I was also considering a Korean Boxwood in that corner. Does anyone have any thoughts about this shrub? Is it prone to any types of diseases or fungi? Thanks for all the great advice and help. I really appreciate it.

Lantana could best be described as a subshrub...a woody perennial that may die back to the ground in the winter, depending upon the climate.

Ken is correct....Lantana is not an annual, though it is often used AS an annual in colder climates. See the difference? Heck, as ubiquitous as it is, it is often used the same way we use annuals everywhere. It's disposable, replaceable.

In locations where even the hybrids are weather-safe, the old growth is cut all the way back and the plants grow back like crazy from ever increasing root systems....allowing the plants to become bigger and bigger each year (wider, not necessarily taller).

There are many, many flowering plants that are labeled as annuals but, in fact, are true perennials. The climate does determine how these plants are used, but cannot change what they are.

Re: Cutting Back Lantana.

In the late fall when lantana is killed by frost, you should not cut the dead stems back until the following spring--late spring. If lantana is pruned in the fall, it is likely to rot and die during the winter because rainwater will seep into the open wounds created by the pruning and, thus, cause the root system to rot and die.

I don't think anyone in USDA Zones lower than Zone 7b can reasonably expect even the hardiest clones of _Lantana camara_, e.g., 'Miss Huff,' to be a hardy landscape perennial.