Lantana is very popular perennial grown in southern Georgia. It comes back year after year and produces many tiny flowers that cover the plant. Lantana also comes in several colors.

Lantana loves heat and should be grown in an area with at least four hours of direct sunlight. The more sun you have the more blooms you will have. Lantana will grow as far south as zone 11.

Lantana can grow as high as six to eight feet but many common forms only grow to one- or two-foot mounds that hug the ground. Lantana can flourish on dry rocky sites to sandy sites to seaside conditions. This sounds almost like a weed. Some lantana has become weedy in Florida. Many forms produce numerous seeds which are poisonous and will proliferate the species quickly.

Perhaps the most popular form of lantana is called “New Gold.” This is a dark yellow variety that you see planted in many landscapes. If you have some you may have noticed that it has quit blooming.

Lantana was originally considered to be pest free, but as with many plants that become popular and widely planted, pests seem to find them. Lantana lace bugs, thrips, or both, will likely pay a visit to your lantana. In early June, many plants quit blooming.

The lace bugs and thrips use their piercing sucking mouth parts to remove the liquid from the leaves and new buds which form the blooms. The buds fall off and you are left with leaves with burnt-looking edges.

You will be able to see the lace bugs under the leaves of the plants. Thrips are more difficult to see, but if you tap a lantana branch over some white paper, you may see them.

Products that are available to kill these insects include Malathion 57EC, Pyrethroids, and Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub (with imidacloprid as the active ingredient). Plants should bloom again a couple of weeks after they are sprayed.

Lantana does not need excessive fertilizer. A small handful of 12-4-8 in the spring should be plenty. Lantana will usually perform well with little water and irrigation is usually not necessary once plants are established.

Mulching plants will help control weeds and help with their growth. Mulch also helps protect the roots from cold during the winter. Frosts and freezes will kill the upper portion of lantana. Many people leave the dead portion of the plant to help protect the roots to ensure the plants re-emerge each spring.

The reason for leaving the top is that the stems are hollow and will become an entry way for root pathogens. The dead plants are ugly, and in the past I have removed them and had no problem with new plants coming back in the spring.

There are many cultivars and colors available. Most nurseries have lantana so just pick out the colors you like and find out if they are low growing or shrub forming. Lantana is no longer a plant that is pest free and, it will require a couple of insecticide applications to maintain blooms.

Jake Price is the University of Georgia extension agent/coordinator, Lowndes County. More information: Call (229) 333-5185, or email jprice@uga.edu.