Lantana

The lantana plant (Lantana) is a representative of the tropical flora and one of the most spectacular perennials from the Verbenov family. The flower is great for indoor growing. The genus includes approximately 150 species. Homeland - hot regions of America, from here it spread to almost all corners of the globe. The name of the genus Lantana was first given by the outstanding Swedish scientist Karl Linnaeus. It is under this name that the Lantana plant is still mentioned in modern botanical literature.

Undemanding care, bright and long flowering are the main advantages of lantana, for which florists appreciate it. It is grown as an ornamental plant, used in landscape design and for decorating a winter garden. The color of the petals in one inflorescence is often different, for example, the corolla can be white, red, yellow, pink or lilac. The buds can change color: they open yellow, and turn red by the end of flowering.

Providing lantana with proper attention and observing the rules of care, it is easy to grow a neat tree or lush bush that will diversify any interior. The slightest touch of the leaves fills the room with a spicy, ethereal scent with hints of lemon and mint.

Description of lantana

Lantana looks like a compact branching shrub. In the wild, it reaches about three meters, is distinguished by rapid growth and is able to displace weaker neighboring plants. Powerful actively growing underground shoots can take over the entire space over time. For this reason, in some countries, the culture is not in demand in the floriculture sector.

Flexible stems with a compacted base are light green in color. Shoots of old bushes are prone to lignification. Certain species of lantana are covered with thorns. The leaves are kept on short petioles and are opposite. The color of most varieties is presented mainly in green tones. The diameter of the leaves is from 4 to 5 cm. They look ovoid, the ends are serrated. Veins are clearly visible on both sides. In structure, the lantana leaf resembles a nettle leaf. The foliage is hard and rough to the touch, but there are species that grow smooth leaves.

Long and abundant flowering is characteristic of lantana. Small flowers form inflorescences, corolla length 4–5 cm. Wild species may have multi-colored panicles of white, yellow, orange and red petals. Pedicels are clustered in one place, as a result, a bush in the midst of flowering looks like a bright multi-colored ball.The brushes acquire a rich, colorful color as they ripen. The panicles, which have blossomed before the rest, are colored in darker shades.

The next stage after flowering is the formation of the fruit. Round berries are formed from withered flowers. Inside contains seeds that are used to multiply the crop. Unripe lanthanum fruits contain toxic substances, so they should not be eaten by either humans or animals. Ripening, the berries become black.

All the ground parts of lantana have a specific scent, similar to that of lemon or mint. The leaves are used to prepare a medicinal decoction that helps with colds. The broth has a powerful expectorant and antiviral effect, reduces fever and soothes coughs. Thanks to the essential substances that are in the tissues of lantana, essential oil is made from the inflorescences. It is used as a wound healing agent. Oil is applied to fresh wounds and abrasions, scars and scars. Lantana root infusions are also used for medicinal purposes as a prophylactic against cancer.

Brief rules for growing lantana

The table shows brief rules for caring for lantana at home.

Home care for lantana

An adult lantana shrub looks sprawling and has many branched erect shoots. In favorable conditions, it grows up to 3 m in height and is rapidly gaining green mass. Traditional lantana species require a spacious room, while crossbred hybrids are compact and slow to grow. The root system is stable, woody roots go deep underground, so the flower is planted in a sufficiently deep and voluminous pot, otherwise you will have to transplant every year.

In order for the plant to develop normally, it is important to familiarize yourself with the features of caring for lantana before buying it in a store or planting it yourself.

Lighting

Lantana prefers bright natural light all year round. On the windowsills on the south side, where there is more light, the plant blooms more abundantly. The total duration of daylight hours should be at least 5-6 hours. With a lack of light, the shoots will stretch out, and there will be few flowers. Newly planted plants are slightly shaded from direct sunlight, scorching at noon. The sun is not dangerous for adult bushes. The only thing that lantana is afraid of is drafts. When airing the room, move the pot away from the open window. When the weather is warm, the flowerpot can be moved to the veranda or garden.

Indoor species of lantana can be kept both indoors and outdoors in summer. If the weather is warm outside the window, the flower will feel comfortable on the balcony or in the garden. Lantana can be shaped like a small tree or shrub. Lantana blooms continuously from early summer to mid-autumn, so it can be grown as a tub culture.

Temperature

The optimum temperature for lantana in summer should be between 18-25 degrees. In winter, the plant is dormant, when all vegetative processes subside. The flower pot will be moved to a cooler room, where the temperature ranges from 8-15 degrees. Wintering in a cool room guarantees abundant flowering next year.

Watering

For the growth of green mass and bud set, it is important to maintain a moist environment in the pot. Lantana loves abundant and regular watering, namely, once every 3-4 days, on especially dry days it is possible more often. They take rainwater or settle in a bucket for several days; the plant does not react well to cold tap water. Watered carefully when the topsoil has time to dry out enough. Waterlogging of the substrate harms the root system and increases the risk of developing dangerous bacterial diseases.

In between waterings, the soil is slightly loosened and stray earth lumps are broken. This will retain moisture and allow it to fill the space evenly. Loosening prevents root decay, provides air intake, and prevents the soil from being compressed, no matter how loose and light it is.

With the arrival of autumn, watering is arranged only once every 10 days. The soil should always be loose and breathable, overdrying leads to the death of the lower deciduous layer or premature fall of buds.

In summer, lantana is watered in the evening so that moisture is absorbed during the night. In the morning, under the rays of the sun, root hairs no longer boil in hot, wet earth. In winter, it is better to water the flower in the morning so that the soil dries out and hypothermia does not occur.

Humidity level

For lanthanum, the content will be optimal at high air humidity. In apartments, dry air often prevails, therefore, before the formation of buds, the plant is periodically arranged with a warm shower. Wipe the dust off the leaves with a damp cloth. In the heat, they moisten the air from the spray bottle, trying not to get on the buds and not violate the integrity of the petals. It is recommended to sprinkle wet expanded clay or sphagnum moss on the pallet. Stagnant water in the pan increases the risk of root decay.

Capacity selection

The pot is selected taking into account the size of the lantana root system. The container should be deep and spacious, however, in a high pot, the bush is actively growing roots, instead of spending energy on flowering. The pot is filled with drainage, you can use expanded clay or pebbles, do not forget about the drainage holes so that excess water flows into the pan. For growing lantana in the garden, a light ceramic pot is better suited, in which the root system will not overheat in warm weather.

The soil

For planting lantana, you can purchase a ready-made mixture from a store or mix in an equal ratio leaf and sod soil, coarse sand and humus, the main thing is that the substrate is light and nutritious.

Top dressing

Lantana responds well to soil fertilization, however, to achieve maximum effect, follow three rules:

• from June, feed the flower with liquid mineral dressings for flowering indoor plants, and it is important to make the solution less concentrated than stated on the package;
• occasionally, before flowering, it is allowed to add oranges to the soil;
• excess nitrogen leads to a riot of green mass and a reduction in the number of inflorescences.

For a balanced nutrition, stimulating the root system and laying buds, lantana is fed twice a week during the summer, if the autumn is warm, repeat until the end of September.During the season, the roots will suck out all the nutrients from the substrate, so before winter you need to have time to balance the composition.

Transfer

Every year, starting in mid-April, lantana is transplanted into a larger pot with renewed soil. Without a transplant, flowering may not take place. Lantana is transplanted by the transshipment method, keeping an earthen lump on the roots. The pot is gently shaken, otherwise voids will remain inside.

During transplantation, old bushes are dug out of the ground and some of the roots are cut off. The thickness of the drainage layer should be at least 3 cm. The flower, transplanted into a new flowerpot, is watered moderately and pushed back for a couple of days in partial shade until it adapts, then returned back to a well-lit place.

Some gardeners who like to experiment sow seeds of different varieties of lantana in one pot in order to get a more colorful color and variegated flowering. Such multicolor looks original and elegant, and the overall composition against the background of the window looks more magnificent and more decorative, especially when the room lacks bright colors.

Pruning

To obtain abundant flowering, lantana must be cut off. Pruning causes an intensive growth of lateral shoots and the formation of a dense crown, and also makes the culture more decorative and attractive. It is advisable to carry out the last pruning at the end of summer, then young shoots will have time to grow and flower buds will form.

In the apartment, the bushes grow up to 1.5 m if the shoots are cut off in time. It is easy to give the plant any shape so that the flower shrubs beautifully. Remove faded shoots and inflorescences, this stimulates the growth of young stems and leaves.

In the spring, old or deformed shoots are disposed of, and the remaining branches are shortened by 1/3. To form a beautiful spherical crown, you should also trim and pinch the tops. Inflorescences are laid on the shoots of this year only.

If the lantana looks like a standard tree, it is better to remove the side shoots and excess growth on the trunk, and tie the tree to a support. In specimens planted in pots, the hanging ends of the lashes are periodically trimmed.

A shrub with faded buds looks unattractive, they are cut off to give way to new flowers.

Indoor varieties bear fruit with small berries, however, the berries are poisonous and have only a decorative function. In order not to waste energy on their ripening, the ovaries formed in place of the flowers are removed. Seeds from dried berries are used for sowing.

Dormant period

When the length of daylight hours decreases, lantana ceases to be active and goes into a state of rest. This is a kind of adaptation to the change of seasons. The pot is brought into a cool room, where the flower will rest and gain strength until spring. In the early days, the temperature should be slightly lower than usual, when the plant gets used to the new microclimate, it can be lowered by a few more degrees.

For lantana, the optimal temperature regime in winter is 10-15 degrees. Despite the lack of visible growth, they do not forget to water the flower, but they do it less often than in the warm season. Dry air that circulates in the room should be humidified. Without spraying, the vegetative mass will wither. They also wipe the leaves from dust, which clogs the pores, which disrupts gas exchange.

The pot is placed on a windowsill, where there are no drafts, periodically rotated to ensure uniform lighting. The total time of natural light per day should be at least 6-8 hours. A slight leaf fall during the dormant period does not pose a serious danger; in spring, young shoots will overgrow with new leaves.

Artificially created lantana hybrids delight with flowering all year round, so they do not have a dormant period. In winter, hybrid varieties are transferred closer to the window, which is located on the south side of the building. It is important that the foliage does not come into contact with the cold glass.Direct rays in winter are non-aggressive and emit soft light, so at noon the flower pot can not be shaded. In the northern regions, it is recommended to supplement the plant with fluorescent lamps for 6-8 hours a day.

Lantana breeding methods

The life expectancy of room lantana is on average 5 to 6 years and depends on the microclimate in the apartment and the conditions of detention. After 3-4 years from the moment of planting, the growth of lateral shoots gradually stops, lignification of the stem base occurs and flowering worsens. If lantana is already several years old, it is worth taking up its rejuvenation, which will prolong the life and improve the appearance of the flower, and protect the root system from decay.

Growing from seeds

Lantana seeds can be ordered online or searched in a specialty store. Sowing dates are from December to February. The seeds are poured into a container with a loose and slightly damp substrate, keeping a distance of 10 cm between the seeds. They are pressed to the ground, but not covered up. The container is covered with a lid and moved to a warm, bright place on the windowsill on the south side. Seedlings appear in a few weeks, sometimes in a month.

The crops are ventilated so that condensation does not accumulate under the lid. For germination of seedlings, a temperature of at least 20 degrees is required. After the sprouts appear, the airing time is increased, and then the cover is removed altogether. With a lack of natural light, the seedlings are supplemented with phytolamps, otherwise the stems will stretch.

Temperature extremes negatively affect the development of seedlings. When young shoots reach a height of 12 cm, they begin to pick. In May, when 3 leaves are formed on the seedlings, the plants are distributed in different pots.

The seed for propagation can be harvested on your own, after waiting for the berries to ripen. For this, the berries are poured with boiling water and steamed in a thermos for about 2 hours, then cooled and cleaned of pulp. To speed up the process of root formation, seeds are soaked for a day in a stimulant: zircon or root. Then they are sown in a greenhouse and sprinkled with sand.

Reproduction of lanthanum seeds does not guarantee that the new plant will retain the varietal characteristics of the mother flower; the offspring may not inherit some features of the external structure and color. Store-bought lantana seeds usually match the varietal characteristics and description on the package.

Cuttings

Growing lantana with cuttings is considered by growers to be a faster and easier way of propagation. The tops are cut in such a way that at least 4 leaves remain on the cuttings. The length of the cut shoot should be at least 10 cm. Cuttings are chosen young, without traces of lignification. Pruning begins at the end of February or March.

Cut down the cuttings are dipped into the root solution. Rooting is carried out in a jar of water or in any container filled with a loose and moist substrate. Cuttings also quickly take root in coarse-grained river sand mixed with peat.

The capacity should resemble a "mini greenhouse". Crops are covered with a lid or polyethylene, remembering to periodically ventilate. While the cuttings are rooting, the container should be in a bright and warm place. Root formation occurs at temperatures from 20 to 22 degrees and takes 3-4 weeks.

When a full-fledged plant with roots and leaves is formed, the containers are transferred to a cooler room with a temperature of 15 degrees. The hardened sprouts are transplanted into permanent pots.

In order for the flower to take the correct shape in the future, immediately pinch the tops, then the shoots will develop evenly, and the bush will grow in the shape of a ball. In case of successful rooting of lanthanum in speed, it will give the owner the long-awaited inflorescences. However, it is better to break the first ovaries, they will not have time to ripen properly, and the flower will only waste energy.

Diseases and pests of lantana

Diseases

Fungal infection - with improper care, lanthanum can get sick with a fungal infection. The leaves of a diseased plant begin to dry and wither, spots appear. To combat the disease, chemicals from the fungicide series are used. The entire bush is sprayed with a solution prepared according to the instructions, having previously removed the affected leaves and shoots.

Decay of roots - if you overdo it with watering, it is easy to cause rotting of the root system, especially when the flowerpot is in a cool room. The flower is removed from the pot and the roots are examined. The roots that have rotted are cut off, and the cuts are disinfected with crushed coal. After the procedure, the bush is transplanted into a new container filled with fresh and light substrate. For prophylaxis, the substrate is spilled with a fungicide.

Unattractive appearance - stretching of the stems and the formation of small leaf plates - a signal that the flower does not have enough daylight. Move the flowerpot closer to the window on a well-lit window sill, if this is not possible, add artificial lighting.

The tips of the leaves dry out and curl - dryness and deformation of the leaves indicates that dry air is circulating in the room. The humidity is raised using a sprayer, or pebbles or expanded clay are poured onto the pallet and the surface is moistened with water.

Lack of buds - If lanthanum does not bud, it is worth checking the level of lighting in the room. The problem also arises due to too large a flowerpot, chosen not for the size of the flower, or in case of violation of wintering conditions.

Pale coloration - a poorly nutritious substrate affects the color of the ground part. Due to the lack of macro- and microelements in the soil, the leaves look faded and slightly pigmented. Feed the lantana with special indoor flowering plant minerals to restore the fertility of the potted soil.

Reset buds - if the temperature and humidity parameters in the room are not suitable for lanthanum, it will massively lose flower ovaries. Also, the reason for the discharge of flowers is irregular watering and the use of cold running water instead of settled water.

Gray rot - ash bloom and black dots on the leaf blades indicate infection with gray rot. Diseased leaves, like blackened inflorescences, soon fall off. To stop the spread of the disease, the bush is treated with systemic fungicides, but first, the affected leaves and stems are cut off. The treatment continues for another month, washing the plant under a warm shower. Topaz or Skor are added to the water - drugs that have a healing effect.

Pests

Lantana leaves, which contain juicy sap in tissues, attract whiteflies, mealybugs, spider mites, and aphids. Flowers are most vulnerable when they are on the balcony or in the garden. To protect the plant from parasites, the bushes are sprayed with insecticides, for example, Aktellik, Aktara, Fitoverm.

Insect colonies multiply rapidly and in a short time can cause irreparable harm, namely: cause the leaves and inflorescences to fall off, disrupt the sap flow in the tissues. If you do not control pests, lantana is at risk of dying.

From folk remedies, a solution of laundry soap is considered effective. Consumption of components: 20 g of soap shavings per 1 liter of water. You can also remove insects with chemicals: Aktara, Fitoverm or other insecticides. Spraying is done several times until the parasites are completely eliminated.

Types and varieties of lantana with photos and names

There are about 150 species of natural lantana varieties, but none of them have found their application in indoor floriculture.

Lantana camara

Or lantana prickly, camara. This is a perennial shrub that can be about 1.5 m high, a popular representative in summer cottages. The stem is erect and herbaceous at a young age, and woody as the shrub grows. The plant is covered with thorny thorns. The leaves are oval, opposite each other, the edges are pointed, the color is dark green.There are white fluffy hairs on the bottom of the leaf. It blooms with small flowers in the form of umbellate inflorescences. Each inflorescence is not more than 5 cm in diameter. Shades from yellow and pink to purple and bright red. From flowers ripen fruits-berries, which are poisonous.

On the basis of vaulted lantana, hybrids with different colors of buds and leaves are often popped. All representatives are compact in size (from 50 to 80 cm) and slow growth.

The most popular varieties among flower growers:

• Ice Queen, White Dwarf with snow-white panicles;
• Tutti Frutti - changeable hybrid, yellow petals gradually turn into deep purple;
• Tukan - early variety, pale yellow or milky petals;
• Esperanta Pink blooms in pink flowers;
• Bandana Pink - tall shrub up to 80 cm;
• bright lemon Samanta;
• Cloud Of Gold and Aloha are distinguished by golden flowers;
• Sunkiss, Coctail and Po are the varieties that bloom in shades of red.

Lantana montevidensis (Lantana montevidensis)

A rare inhabitant of garden plots. Stems are elastic at the top and thickened near the base. The plant has an ampelous shape, suitable for growing in a hanging planter. Small, expressive inflorescences that bloom in the first weeks of summer, impress with a graceful lavender or purple color. They fascinate with a lush cascade of buds, which lasts from June until the very frost. The leaves pounded between the fingers, like flowers, exude a pleasant aroma, which is explained by the presence of essential substances in the tissues.

Lantana rugulosa (Lantana rugulosa)

An adult shrub reaches a meter in height and has erect shoots, covered with thorns closely spaced to each other. The color of the leaves is dark green leaves, the surface is rough and wrinkled. Inflorescences of various shades - from soft cream to deep purple.

Sage lantana (Lantana salviifolia)

Plant height is up to 2 m, graceful shoots are highly branched. On the emerald leaves, the tubercles of the veins are clearly visible. The buds are painted in pastel colors - from light pink to fuchsia.

Lantana blood red (Lantana sanguinea)

Bush up to 1.5 m long with smooth thin shoots. Oval leaves are wide, grow up to 7 cm in length, have pointed ends. Blooming inflorescences stand out with a rich fiery red color.

Lantana hybrid (Lantana hybrida)

Low heat-loving bush with wrinkled leaves. The length of adult specimens grown in the light does not exceed 80 cm. The leaves are wrinkled in appearance. The color palette of the buds is presented in yellow-orange tones.

Lantana variegata (Lantana variegata)

A plant with spotted leaves will delight its owners with long flowering, if carefully looked after.