Yellow Sage, Lantana Camara
Thursday, January 10th, 2008
YELLOW SAGE
The florets making up the flower heads of lantana change color when they are out: orange turns deep red, yellow turns pink. The plant originally grew as a shrub in South America, but became naturalized in many tropical and subtropical countries, and is sometimes a real nuisance there. In The Netherlands, however, the shrub is guaranteed to freeze to death in winter. Lovers of conservatory plants put the lantana in a light position at a minimum temperature of 50 °F in winter, so that it does not drop its leaves and soon starts to sprout again in spring. Once it has started, the plant grows rapidly, and nurserymen make good use of that. They propagate the shrub in winter, mainly by cuttings, but occasionally by seed, and are therefore in a position to market flowering plants in spring. These have a herbaceous appearance, and their spread is often greater than that of the woody conservatory plants.
All you need to do is put them in pots or in a border, where they soon grow into small shrubs with a height and spread of about 20 in. Their non-stop flowering has a magnetic effect on butterflies. The plants will remain in flower until the first frosts of autumn. You can, of course, take cuttings, provided you are in a position to shepherd them through the winter correctly. Most people, however, will buy new plants every year. Lantana camara ‘Aloha’ is rightly becoming popular. It has a spreading habit, which makes the plant particularly suitable for containers and hanging baskets. It is also useful in a border, where it might be combined with grey-leafed plants or, alternatively, with shades of blue. Its pale yellow flowers appear above variegated foliage with greyish-yellow edges. Lantana camara ‘Goldsonne’ also has a spreading and herbaceous growth, and bears lemon-yellow flowers.