New Gold Lantana, Gold lantana 'New Gold' (Lantana x hybrida)

Can this be grown in zone 7a?

(clarksville AR)

edit: as a perennial I mean

This message was edited Monday, May 24th 7:57 AM

I think that it probably could be. After the first freeze when the leaves curl, cut it back all of the way to the main stems (almost to the ground level), then pile mulch deeply over the plant base and root zone. Then, uncover it when the weather warms up. It will resprout from around the base of the plant. I prune my plants like this each winter and heavily mylch them if I think we are going to have some freezes where the temperature is going to fall into the teens. You might want test out one or two plants for a year and see how they do before buying morel of them. Maybe other members have grown them in your zone and will add some comments.

Osteole,
I'd wager it would not make it. the trailing forms are fairly tender.
Best to try with a hardier upright type like 'Ms Huff.

dp

These has survived after a lows of 15 degrees. I can't remember if I had them planted when we went down to 11 degrees and my crepe myrtles suffered severe freeze damage. I had thm mulched and through blankets on top of them. I really don't know if they would survive through 7a winters because when it becomes really cold here it does not last for any great period of time.

htop

what is the difference between this "new gold" & my old Gold ?

strever, your "old gold lantana" may be the same type as mine, but I don't know from the photo (thanks for including it). The blooms on mine appear to be a lighter, more yellow gold. The "New Gold" Lantana is a plant that is a hybrid. Here is some information taken from the Texas Superstars site that describes "New Gold" lantana. "Lantana has been improved in its usefulness as a bedding-plant largely through the efforts of French hybridizers. The older varieties are tall and lanky, later in coming into bloom, and drop their flowers after rains but are showy in hot, dry weather. The new varieties are dwarf, spreading and bushy in habit, early blooming and free- flowering with blooms which are much larger and do not drop from the plants as did the old varieties in bad weather.

The ABSOLUTELY BEST improvement which has been made is sterilization. A new variety named 'New Gold' blooms profusely but seldom forms berries which have to be removed before more bloom will be produced. This revolutionary new development in lantanas insures that this plant will be a continuous beauty rather than a virulent pest with its unwelcomed seedling offspring. But you MUST insist on the 'New Gold' variety; all other lantana varieties exhibit the characteristics which lead botanists to label them with the highly unfavorable specie name of horrida."

If your does not make berries and produces blooms none stop without having to prune it back, it probably is the same plant. I hope this has helped.