Is Lantana Considered a Perennial in Tennessee?

Lantana Identification

• Lantanas have wood stems and rough, hairy ovate 1 1/2-inch leaves. Plants bear auxiliary clusters of funnel-shaped, small flowers. As an annual, lantana grows 12 to 24 inches tall in contrast to the perennial lantana, which can grow up to 6 feet tall. Lantana's crushed leaves emit a pungent odor and produce blackberrylike fruits.

Lantana Propagation

• When grown as an annual, lantana is propagated by seeds started indoors six to eight weeks before planting outdoors; seeds should only be sown directly outdoors in the plant's hardiness zones. Soak seeds for 24 hours in water, and plant in pots one-eighth of an inch deep in the soil. Seeds require a constant temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit for germination. You can transplant lantana seedlings outdoors in the spring when temperatures remain above 50 degrees. They require light shade to partial sun and a spacing of 12 to 18 inches between plants.

Lantana Care

• With proper care, annual lantana blooms from early summer through autumn. Although a light frost does not harm plants, a heavy freeze can kill plants. Pinching back a plant when it is young helps create a bushy plant. Plants require deep, but infrequent watering, as too much moisture causes plants to produce more foliage and fewer blooms. Although plants require well-drained moist soil, they can tolerate dry conditions, making them suitable xeriscaping plants.

Other Considerations

• The fruits plants produced by the plants are highly toxic to both animals and humans, especially when not fully ripe. You can remove spent blooms before berries form to prevent their growth.

  You can pot the lantana plants in the autumn and take them indoors to overwinter. They also make excellent container plants for year-round growth out of their hardiness zone. Plants require a minimum temperature of 50 degrees and moist soil. If you have lantana plants growing in containers, you can touch the soil and water when the first inch or so feels dry. Indoor plants require a feeding once a week with a balanced fertilizer while plants are in bloom.