Rainbow flower lantana camara - what is special about it and how to grow

Please tell us what lantana camara is and how to care for it. I bought a rooted cutting, so I don't even know how it will grow, large or not. Does this plant blossom or is it only grown as an ornamental?

In just two months, she is able to grow branches and tie buds on them, from the flowering of which it simply dazzles. One of the most beautiful plants, lantana camara, is primarily famous for its original inflorescences. And not at all by their large size, but by the ability to change color, and radically. It would seem that only yesterday you saw white flowers, but today they suddenly turned yellow or purple. And although lantana cannot be called completely unpretentious, but in the beauty of flowering, as well as in its duration, few can compare with it.

Lantana camara - characteristic features of the plant

Lantana belongs to the vervain family. It comes from the subtropics, where it grows almost like a weed. In natural conditions, there are up to 150 varieties of culture. But only two species are grown as a houseplant. And the most popular of them is lantana camara. Almost all varieties that are sold in flower shops are of the "camara" species.

Lantana camara is also notable for the fact that it can have a very different shape. Thanks to pruning, branching shoots can be formed both in the form of a lush bush and as a tree on a trunk. They grow very quickly, while lignification is extremely slow. A well-developed root system provides adequate nutrition to any aerial part, both small and large.

Camara branches are covered with small thorns and decorated with many leaves on long stalks. The leaf plates look decorative: wrinkled, with embossed veins, with jagged edges and pubescence. They look a bit like nettle foliage. And when rubbed, they emit a unique aroma, sharp, refreshing and at the same time slightly repulsive.

But the main decoration of the plant is abundant and long flowering. Tubular fragrant flowers with a flat corolla are collected in inflorescences-shields. They open first along the edge of the scutes, the last to bloom are the central buds. Moreover, as they age, the flowers become darker, changing color three times. Thanks to this, it turns out that in one inflorescence there are buds of different colors.

The subtleties of growing lantana camara at home

By their nature, all types of lantana are - perennials... But, given their extremely high thermophilicity, in our climate this plant is grown mainly as a pot plant. In the open field, it can also grow, but only for one season.

In order for the camara to bloom, certain rules must be followed:

1. Provide the bushes with good lighting, even in winter.
2. Ventilate the room regularly.
3. Organize a cool wintering (10-12 ° C heat).
4. Haircut regularly, because lantanas bloom only on young growth.

Propagation of lantana by cuttings