How to grow lantana

Lantana is a beautiful shrub: it produces flowers of very bright and cheerful colors during spring and summer, brightening up the garden, patio, terrace ... It can be anywhere, as long as the sunlight gives it. direct.

Its maintenance is relatively simple, since it only needs regular waterings and contributions of fertilizer from time to time to be beautiful. But, Do you know how to grow lantana? If you have just purchased one and would like to know how to have it as beautiful as the first day, in this article we will explain everything you need to know.

What is the care of lantana?

Lantana is a very popular shrub known as the Spanish Flag, Flower of Duende, Flower of Blood, Trescolores, Yerba de Cristo, Cariaquito or Sietecolores. In addition to having a high ornamental value, it is an easy plant to care for, so much so that it is suitable for beginners.

Its care is very simple. We just have to take into account the following:

• Irrigation: it has to be frequent, but avoiding waterlogging. It is best to check the humidity of the soil before watering, for example by inserting a thin wooden stick: if it comes out practically clean when you extract it, we will water since the soil will be dry. In the event that we have a plate underneath, we will remove the excess water ten minutes after watering.
  Another trick to know when to water is to observe the leaves: if they are sad, fallen, surely you will need water.
• Subscriber: in spring and summer it must be paid with a universal fertilizer for plants or with guano (liquid), following the indications specified on the package.
• Pruning: late winter. We have to remove dry, diseased or weak branches, and those that have grown excessively.
• Planting or transplanting time: in spring.
• Rusticity: withstands cold down to -3ºC.

How does it multiply?

To obtain new specimens we can do two things: sow their seeds or make cuttings. Let us know how to proceed in each case:

Siembra

If we want to sow the seeds, we can follow this step by step:

1. The first thing is, of course, to acquire the seeds in spring.
2. Once at home, we will introduce them in a glass of water for 24 hours. The next day, we will discard those that have remained floating, since it is most likely that they are unviable (although we can always sow them in a separate pot. Sometimes surprises arise 🙂).
3. Then, we fill a pot or seed tray with universal cultivation substrate mixed with perlite in equal parts, and we water it.
4. Now, we spread the seeds on the surface leaving a distance of about 3 centimeters between them. It is important not to put many in the same container, otherwise it will be difficult for all of them to pass the transplant later on. Taking this into account, if the pot is, for example, 10'5cm in diameter, we will not put more than 4 seeds.
5. Then, we cover them with a little substrate, enough so that they cannot be blown away by the wind.
6. Finally, we add a little copper or sulfur to prevent fungus, and we water again.

If we keep the soil always moist but not flooded, in full sun, they will germinate in about 1 month.

Cuttings

If we are in a hurry to have new lantana, we can plant cuttings in late summer or after flowering. The step by step to follow is the following:

1. The first thing to do is cut a branch that looks healthy with a length of about 12cm.
2. Now, we will remove the lower leaves.
3. Afterwards, we will moisten the base of the cutting with water and impregnate it with powdered rooting hormones.
4. Next, we plant it in a pot with previously watered growing medium. You have to insert it about 5cm.
5. Then, we spray the cutting and the substrate with fungicide to prevent fungi.
6. Finally, we cover the pot with a transparent plastic or an inverted transparent plastic bottle, taking care that it does not touch the cutting.

Once this is done, all that remains is to keep the substrate moist and wait for about a month 🙂.

And so, we can have not one, but several well-cared lantanas 🙂.