How to Grow Lantana: Colorful Clusters That Keep Coming

Botanical Name: Lantana camara

Few plants deliver as much color for as little effort as lantana. Its tight flower clusters (umbels) open in succession from the outside in, often showing two or three colors at once — yellow, orange, red, pink, white, lavender, and purple. Butterflies adore them. And because lantana is frost-tender, growing it in a pot lets you enjoy it year-round: outdoors in summer, indoors when temperatures drop.

Year-Round Lantana Care

Pinch and Prune for Shape and Flowers

Pinch growing tips regularly to keep the plant compact and branched. In late winter, prune stems back to about 5 inches (13 cm) — this stimulates a flush of new growth and more blooms.

Deadhead for Continuous Color

Remove spent flower heads promptly. With enough sunlight, lantana can bloom nearly year-round.

Repot Sparingly

Lantana flowers best when slightly pot-bound. Repot in spring only when roots emerge from drainage holes, moving up just one pot size.

Watch for Whiteflies

These tiny white moth-like insects cluster under leaves and multiply fast. Treat at first sight with insecticidal soap or neem oil.

Quick Reference: Lantana Care

• Origin: Central and South America
• Height: Up to 6 ft (1.8 m) outdoors; easily kept to 1 ft (30 cm) indoors with pinching
• Light: Bright light to full sun
• Water: Evenly moist spring–fall; slightly drier in winter. Established plants tolerate brief dry spells.
• Humidity: Moderate to high. Set pot on a tray of wet pebbles.
• Temperature: 60–75°F (16–24°C); hardy to USDA Zone 9 outdoors
• Soil: Well-draining peat-based mix
• Fertilizer: Balanced liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks (diluted by half) during active growth
• Propagation: Stem tip cuttings in spring/early summer root easily in moist soil. Seeds also germinate readily — collect in fall, store cool and dry, sow indoors in early spring.

Caution: Lantana leaves are mildly toxic if ingested. The plant can be invasive in warm climates — another reason to keep it containerized.