Lantana plants for flower gardens, try to grow your own easily. Because these tropical low maintenance plants need only minimum caring. Definitely different varieties of the plant with colourful blooms can add beauty to your garden. Surprisingly, Lantana plants are the best option for you to make your garden lively, by attracting lots of butterflies.
Usually the perennial Lantana plants grow in the wild, as bush or small trees. But, many beautiful hybrid varieties of the plant are available with sellers.
We can grow the Lantana plants directly in soil as well as in pots. The creeping Lantana plants, commonly with white or purple flowers, are the best ones for making arches in landscaping. Besides we can use it as ornamental plants for compound walls or fences.
For making hedges or fencing, we can use the bushy plants such as Lantana camara that is more common.
With proper caring such as timely pruning, wiring, repotting etc. we can also make beautiful bonsai with Lantana plants.
Let us see the simple tips for growing Lantana plants for flower gardens, preferably in tropical regions.
Propagation of Lantana plants
Through stem cuttings collected from mother plants, we can propagate the Lantana plants. For this, it is essential to select mature healthy mother plants.
Though we can use ripe seeds of the plant for cultivation, the former method is better for faster growth.
Preparation of soil medium to grow Lantana plants for flower gardens
The first step is to prepare a well drained medium for rooting the stem cuttings. Certainly we can make it by mixing equal parts of river sand, coco peat and perlite.
Plant your Lantana cuttings of about eight inches, in pots or grow bags filled up to ¾ with the above medium.
Keep it in shade for a few days and water regularly. When new leaves begin to sprout, move it towards partial sunlight. Certainly you can replant your Lantana plants after a few weeks.
Meanwhile, prepare your garden beds to replant the rooted Lantana plants.
Replanting the Lantana plants
For making landscapes or hedges, we can grow the plants directly in the soil.
Always remember to choose sunny locations for your Lantana plants, for better blooming.
Make garden beds by digging the soil with the dimension of 1 x 1 x 1 ft, and fill it with growing medium in the following ratio.
| River sand | 30% |
| Vermicompost | 30% |
| Garden soil | 20% |
| Coco peat | 10% |
| Bone meal and coco peat mixture | 10% |
Then take out the rooted saplings carefully along with the soil medium and plant it in the bed.
Provide shade for a few days to protect the plants from direct sunlight, and water regularly.
Surely you can use soil medium in the same ratio as stated above, to grow your Lantana plants in pots. After filling ¾ of the pot with the medium, carefully transfer the sapling along with the soil. Water regularly keeping the pot in shade for a few days.
Once the roots are fixed and new leaves begin to sprout, move the pot to bright sunlight.
Never forget to add vermicompost or any other organic manure at intervals of one or two months. If you care it properly, your Lantana plants start blooming within two or three months.
Pruning Lantana plants
With proper pruning, you can maintain the health and beauty of your Lantana plants. In tropical regions, any time during the year is better for pruning. Using a sharp knife or pruning scissors, you can remove the leggy stems, unnecessary branches and leaves.
Diseases that affect the Lantana plants
Generally the Lantana plants are resistant to diseases. But overwatering can cause rotting of the plants, marked by brown spots on the leaves.
Following the above tips, try to grow different varieties of Lantana plants in your garden. Let your garden be colourful as well as vibrant with lots of beautiful butterflies.
