Plant Guide

Other Names:  syn. L. montevidensis; Trailing Lantana

Description:

A popular groundcover, prized for its masses of purple blooms; perfect for cascading over garden walls or use in containers and hanging baskets

Ornamental Features

Purple Trailing Lantana features showy cymes of lightly-scented purple flowers at the ends of the branches from late spring to mid fall. Its tomentose pointy leaves remain green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Purple Trailing Lantana is a multi-stemmed annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Purple Trailing Lantana is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Purple Trailing Lantana will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by cuttings.

Purple Trailing Lantana is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.