LANTANA

When I first saw LANTANA 6 years ago, I fell in love with this colorful plant.  It looked like a perennial, but in zones  below 7, it is an annual.  There are many different cultivars, all very colorful, and bright.  I especially like the Bandana series--they have the largest flowers in the lantana family.  Cherry Sunrise and Bandana Pink are my favorites.   I plant them where early blooming perennials, such as poppies, have died back in summer and there are bare spots. They open yellow, then mature to bright colors of apricot, pink, cherry and rose.  They love sun and will flower over many months, into the fall.  They grow to about 2-3 feet high and wide.  Pinch the plants to encourage branching.  In our northern climates, take root cuttings in late summer to overwinter indoors, or you can even dig individual plants to take in and then replant outdoors in the spring, when all danger of frost has passed.  With their spreading stems and bright blooms, they look best in the front of your beds, and they also do great in your potted planter boxes and containers.