July 8, 2009 · Garden Review / Lantana

Lantana propagation

How to propagate lantana

From cuttings
Lantana should be propagated in mid-summer and fall from greenwood or semi- ripe stem cuttings. Make 3 inch cuttings off non-flowering shoots. Strip off any leaves that come in contact with rooting medium and the soil. Dip the ends in a hormone rooting medium and insert in a moist, well drained, soil made of peat moss and sand or perlite. Cuttings also root well in rockwood plugs. Cover the container with a clear plastic bag and keep in a spot with bright filtered light. It should root in 2-3 weeks with a bottom heat of 65F.

When you see new growth emerging, uncover your container and place it in brighter light.  Start  fertilizing lightly every 2 weeks to promote healthy new growth. When the plants have about 2-3 inches of new growth, pinch the tips to encourage bushy growth. The following spring repot plants in individual 4″ pots. Young rooted plants usually bloom more profusely than older plants.  Lantana flowers

From seed
Lantana can also be started from seeds sown early in spring or late winter. Germination time  is 42-60 days(6-7 weeks) @ 65-75F.  Seeds should be planted 1/8³ deep in peaty soil and covered during germination.  Another trick is to soak the seeds in hot water for 24 hrs. before planting.

Seed grown plants may vary in color and quality from the original plant. Newer varieties of hybrids produce less seeds which may also be sterile.
The above method of propagation may be used on many other plants.

7 Comments

  1. Cindy Diamond - September 28, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    Sorry to hear people have so many problems with Lantana. I live in Las Vegas & it is just about the only flower I have planted that will do anything.We planted some in front of the house & it has spread out about 6 feet across our “lovely” yard of rocks..lol. We don’t fertilize just let the water do it’s thing & we have horrible dirt. I cut it back end of winter & I get gorgeous flowers about 10 months of the year,full sun all day. We replaced most of our worth “desert plants” with Lantana this spring. My question is, hubby loves the white ones & we were only able to find ONE white plant this year. So he cloned one, took 2 clips one made it the other didn’t. It came from a WHITE flowering plant & the baby flowers just popped a couple days ago & they are ORANGE !! Why would they be orange? Thanks Cindy

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  2. garden tools uk - January 21, 2012 at 9:16 am

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  3. Bob DeJean - August 7, 2012 at 5:09 pm

    remove spent flowers
    Good info. Lantana is a great summer flowerer in summer around here in Dallas. Just planted lots of “New Gold”. Should the spent flower blooms be removed? Thanks, Bob

    Hi Bob
    Remove the spent flowers if they are forming a seed ball(black berry) as that will slow down new flower production. Otherwise, there’s no need to remove the spent flowers.

    Reply
  4. Ricky - February 21, 2015 at 4:29 am

    Our temp in florida got down to 27 degrees my lantana is now brown looks dead will it regrow or do I need to discard and buy new . Will the brown fall off and new growth appear in spring. It is established plants ! Help

    Hi Ricky
    Don’t give up on it just yet. Your lantana will drop its leaves and as warmer weather returns will start to regrow. You might prune it back up to 1/3 of the plant to get full compact growth and be sure to fertilize it in the spring for new vigorous growth.

    Reply
  5. Debbie - May 16, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    We just purchased our first Bandana Cherry Sunrise Lantana plants. We live in zone 5b (northern Illinois), I had never seen these before. We are planting them in a flower bed inground. Is there a way to overwinter them outside? Would I cut them down and cover them with mulch or straw and take a chance? Was really hoping I could get them to come back.

    Hi Debbie
    Zone 5b is just a bit too cold but you can try wintering them over with mulch or straw. It’s worth a try.

    Reply
  6. Dora - October 8, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    I have Lantana plants in my yard and I live in zone 5. I’ve been told it I take the BlackBerry off of them I can bring them indoors in a cool place and replant them next spring after soaking them in water for 24 hours. Is this true?

    Reply
  7. Robin - July 19, 2018 at 3:11 am

    My favorite plant for this newbie gardener. I have 2 large containers with Lantana planted can I bring them inside container and all to keep for winter? I also have a couple planted in ground how do I winterize these? Zone 6 Thanks for any info?

    Reply

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