With the hot, dry weather, I didn't have to mow but I roamed around exploring a bit and found this. Loved, LOVED discovering this...it's wild lantana growing along an old fence line at the front of our property!
So pretty!
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| Wild Lantana |
I know many people don't like lantana for its invasive nature but hey, in our soil conditions, we'll take whatever grows AND gives us flowers at the same time! This is growing wild without watering, no one planted it in a freshly dug hole, and it's thriving.
So now my question is: Do you know if there are any easy ways to propagate this type of plant? Cuttings for example? Or divisions? Maybe a few stems and just a glass of water until roots pop out? I'd love to replicate it and plant it elsewhere on the property. I did cut some and put in in a jar of water but not sure if that will work.
Any suggestions?
I love lantana for its beauty and hardiness in the extreme Texas climate and have a pot of it here in the midwest because I'm not the best at taking care of plants. It looks good in spite of me. I Googled how to propagate lantana and got lots of returns, including this one: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/lantana/how-to-propagate-lantana.htm
ReplyDeleteThere are videos on youtube about it, too. From what I read about it, you should use rooting compound and loamy soil mixture.
can you get seeds and just scatter them?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you had to propagate it. Here I just let it so its thing,split it at the roots, dig some of it up and move it to a new place. It does the work for me.
ReplyDeleteI just read Peg's link so mine must reproduce from seed voluntarily here and I must be removing baby plant that voluntarily reproduce where I move them. Our winters must be mild enough for that to happen. The only lantana I have ever had to replant were a couple in pots.
DeleteVideo on the how-to's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25QzOEbut84
ReplyDeleteLantana is really pretty easy to start new plants.
for me, the easiest way is to bend a piece over and put some dirt over it. Leave the growing tip exposed. They root very, very easily. After the piece is well rooted, cut it from the parent plant.
Or you can try this; From between the main stem and the leaves you will find suckers (2 inches) sprouting. Use a very sharp know and carefully remove the sucker WITH a part of the main stem bark. You don't need to cut through, just sort of scrape off a little bark when you remove the sucker. Remove any large leaves from the sucker.
Plant immediately in a small pot of sand, Keep moist, Not wet. Use rooting powder if you wish.
Place in the shade and in about 3 weeks you will have enough roots to9 transplant.
Green House effect; take cuttings with 2 nodes, cutting just below a node. Cut off the blooms and all leaves except 2 sets at the top. Dip the cutting in rooting powder and place in damp potting soil. Place a 2 liter drink bottle, with the bottom cut off and the cap off, over the cuttings. This creates a mini greenhouse that helps keep them moist.
It may take about 2 - 3 weeks for them to root. You can very gently tug on them to tell if they have rooted.
You can try a variety of ways and see which works best for you. Thing to do is keep a ledger book and make notes on your gardening projects. Would be something that you can look back at from time to time and taking pictures of the progress on your planting, etc.
Congratulations on your new found treasure.
ReplyDeleteLantana is considered a noxious weed in some states over here, and eradicated whenever it is spotted. With that in mind, I suspect it is very easy to propogate.
ReplyDeleteMany different butterflies love/need lantana. I've even seen hummers visit it. My plants have all spread the way that Colleen described. The runners grow like crazy! I'm told that there is naturally wild lantana, and commercial (like the plants sold in the big box stores) and as expected, the natural is better.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love finding volunteer plants on your property, I know we do! I think I found a persimmon tree in addition to our passion fruit. Very tiny persimmons & I have no idea how to process & eat but a persimmon tree none the less.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to propagate lantana is the way the plant does it naturally. Let it grow to maturity, and it will fall over. Where the fallen top touches the ground it roots. Therein lies a lesson as well. Don't plant it in a narrow space as I did between the side of the house and the neighbors fence lest you have to walk all the way around the house to the other gate.
ReplyDeleteI love Lantana. I can plant it in a container far from the reaches of my watering route and be assured at the end of a long hot summer it will still be thriving.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a suggestion but it's so beautiful, and I'm glad you are saving it!
ReplyDeleteYour orange and yellow lantana is so pretty. At my house, I have volunteers of pink and yellow lantana. It just spreads naturally by seeds. I find it in different places every year.
ReplyDeleteYou just need to be careful if anyone has cattle near you, as it can be dangerous for them!
ReplyDelete