Lantana is often enjoyed for its vibrant, continuous blooms throughout the warmer months. This plant is botanically a tropical perennial, meaning its natural life cycle allows it to live for multiple years in climates free from frost. However, in many temperate regions, it is typically cultivated as an annual. Lantana’s greatest challenge is exposure to freezing temperatures, which can quickly damage its tissues and root structure. Successfully overwintering the plant requires understanding its tolerance limits and implementing specific care strategies based on location.
Assessing Climate and Initial Preparation
Winter care begins by identifying the local USDA Hardiness Zone. Lantana typically thrives as a true perennial only in zones 9 and warmer, where temperatures generally remain above freezing. Gardeners in zones 8 and below must choose between providing significant outdoor protection or bringing the plant indoors to ensure survival.
Before any move or extended dormancy, the plant must be prepared. Cut the plant back heavily, reducing its size by up to one-third or more. This pruning helps redirect energy away from excess foliage and prepares the plant for reduced growth.
Remove all spent flowers and debris from the soil surface to minimize potential overwintering spots for pathogens and pests. A thorough inspection for insects must be conducted, especially if the plant is destined for an indoor environment. Examining the undersides of leaves and stem joints for pests like aphids or spider mites prevents an infestation from developing inside the home during winter.
Overwintering Lantana Indoors
Bringing Lantana indoors allows it to survive the winter as a houseplant, entering a state of semi-dormancy where it requires less energy and maintenance. Ideal placement involves a location that provides bright, indirect light, such as a south-facing window, to sustain minimal photosynthesis.
The ambient temperature of the overwintering location should be cool, ideally remaining between 50°F and 60°F. Warmer temperatures can signal the plant to continue active growth, leading to weak, “leggy” growth due to insufficient winter light. Cooler temperatures encourage the necessary reduction in metabolic rate.
Watering must be drastically reduced, only providing moisture when the top inch or two of soil feels completely dry. Overwatering is a common cause of failure, as the roots are prone to rot when growth slows down significantly. Fertilizer application should be completely suspended throughout the winter season, as the plant cannot effectively utilize the nutrients during its resting period.
Dry indoor environments encourage pests like whiteflies and spider mites. Regularly misting the foliage or wiping down leaves helps disrupt the reproductive cycles of spider mites. If a pest population is established, treatment with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap is necessary. In spring, before the last frost, gradually reintroduce the plant outside through hardening off to acclimate it to direct sunlight and wind.
Protecting Lantana Outdoors
For gardeners in warmer zones, like the transitional climate of zone 8, an outdoor protection strategy is often employed to preserve the established root crown. This method relies on inducing deep dormancy and insulating the plant from brief, intermittent freezes. The plant must be cut back severely, often leaving only short stems of four to six inches above the soil line.
Excellent soil drainage is absolutely necessary for this method, as wet, cold soil causes more damage to the roots than the cold air alone. After the heavy cutback, a thick layer of organic mulch must be applied directly over the root zone. Materials like straw, shredded leaves, or pine needles should be piled at least six inches deep to create a thermal blanket.
This mulch traps residual ground heat and prevents the soil temperature around the crown from dropping below freezing. While the above-ground stems will likely die back completely, this strategy allows the plant to naturally resume growth from the protected crown when warmer weather returns in the spring.