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| At my old house, I inherited numerous massive lantana shrubs in all colors. They easily survived our winters. I want some for my new house, so I was *sure* Petals From the Past would have them. No such luck; their hardiest was to Zone 8.
I can't tell you how many seeds and baby plants I gave away, but of course I didn't save any for myself and no one seems to have kept theirs. Does anyone know of any particular lantana varieties hardy in north Alabama? I wanted medium to large shrubs but I will order online and grow from seed if needed. Thanks,
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by browneyedsusan z7b AL (My Page) on Thu, Apr 14, 11 at 19:58
| How far north do you live? I live in North Shelby county, just south of Birmingham and have two lantanas that have survived for about 10 years in my garden. "Miss Huff" gets quite large but can be pruned, and "New Gold" which is about 1-2 feet tall. I can give you starts of these. Are you coming to the swap at Oak Mountain park on May 14? Susan. |
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- Posted by alabamanicole (My Page) on Thu, Apr 14, 11 at 21:05
| Susan, I'm quite a bit north of you in Madison (near Huntsville.) I need big ones, but everything I see says Miss Huff won't survive here. Thank you for the offer, but I won't be at the swap anyway. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen any other big lantana bushes here. A little more Googling and I have found a variety with seeds called "Mozelle." Also, several references to people inheriting unnamed excessively large seeded cultivars from unknown sources. I have to wonder if I had pass-a-longs the previous owner planted, and since they don't produce true from seed, that could explain the color variation. Why are we always one zone away from what we want to grow? :) I want them because the bees and butterflies went nuts over them all summer long. Plus the extra long bloom period is unusual for an perennial. |
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| I do know there is a annual and a hardy form. I bought mine at the Greenery in the Hampton Cove area. |
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| All lantana are perennials, some are just hardier than others. A quickie Google suggests that good old Miss Huff is one of the hardiest cultivars, Alabamanicole. With some protection in the form of mulch, it might be a worthy contender for you in our part of Alabama. I've seen good reports about it doing well in zone 7. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Jun 23, 11 at 15:56
| Nicole, Miss Huff looks like the kind growing along my fence, here when I moved in. I agree with rhizo, did a google of "lantana miss huff zone" and without even clicking any of the links I could see numerous references listing its' hardiness to zone 7. If you would like some seeds and pay the postage, I'd be happy to send them when they ripen. The balls are all still green now. As far as them coming true, they look the same wherever they pop up in the area, and I don't think the butterflies and bees care what color the flowers are, although you might. Mine are yellow/orange. |
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- Posted by alabamanicole (My Page) on Thu, Jun 23, 11 at 17:40
| The guy who bought my old house recently contacted me for a favor... I'm going to root some cuttings and see if they make it. Perhaps they were in just the right microclimate, or perhaps they are old fashioned varieties that inherited some hardier traits. |
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- Posted by alabamanicole (My Page) on Wed, Jun 29, 11 at 19:46
| I went out to the old place today and was crushed to learn he cut down all the hardy lantana except one which was never as robust as the others. I guess he didn't know what "lantana" was even though he said he did. I will give it a try, Never go back to a place that you poured your heart and soul into the gardens if the people who bought it from you weren't gardeners. *sigh* On the other hand, I got to see some specimens that did well gone "natural." The highbush cranberries I planted hoping they would become a tall sun and windbreak on the west side of the house were gorgeous. 3 years old and they are over 8' tall and weeping with bright red berries against lime green leaves -- much prettier than the pictures online. And the loropetalum had a lovely un-clipped form -- no longer 9" tall, but 4'x5' wide. |
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