Lantana and buddleia winding down too early, is it the heat?

Lantana is new to me, I never grew it in CT but a neighbor gave us some when we moved to SC last September. It grew into two nice big bushes and the flowers were so popular with the butterflies! I thought it was supposed to last all summer into the fall, but it has stopped flowering, and the leaves are looking tired and a little bleached out. My buddleia too seems to be coming to a halt, putting out much smaller flower spikes now. I deadhead constantly. Are the plants maybe stressed out from this constant heat (they're in full sun)? Would they bloom again come fall and cooler weather? I was so looking forward to a long growing season (as opposed to our usual 2 month New England summer) for a change, but I guess that's unrealistic when you factor in this incredible heat! Poor plants must be so tired of it....

that and possibly the dryness. my cordyline in a microclimate is badly burned. the poinsettia and plumeria are also turning bleached out like you said. none of my ornamental natives seem to be minding it though. both the buddleias, pink delight and a purple hand-me-down, are doing the same thing with the flowers... i expect it every year. spring is the time of year that they are truly beautiful. winter here they dont die back or lose leaves. up there, they might keep their leaves too, or just lose them and nothing else

My recently planted lantana is now blooming. I tried to water it 2x-3x's a week.

thea-are your lantanas getting enough water? Also, if they get too much water, they will stop blooming. Tricky-huh? lol I think though if you are seeing bleached out leaves, that they are not getting enough water. Start watering more and they will start blooming again.

I have both lantana and buddleia and they're still blooming happily- but, they've been in the ground a couple years.

I've noticed that plants I planted even last year are really struggling from lack of water and I'm having to make sure to water them.

Jenny

its weird... i never have heard of lantana struggling like that

I have been watering them but I'm careful not to water too much. Maybe I've been TOO cautious.

After a neighbor asked me about her non blooming lantana I noticed there are very few lantanas blooming in my neighborhood - including my own. I got on my bike and rode for several miles looking for a happy one and didn't see any. They all seem to be alive and healthy but are simply not flowering. Perhaps it was that dreadful drought earlier in the year in addition to the heat.

Thanks ardesia, I feel a little better now, maybe it's not something I'm doing wrong! I really miss those blooms, it was delightful seeing the butterflies on it all the time.

would bloom plus work?

Thea: My buddleia are also putting out smaller flowers the past few weeks. This didn't happen last year. I really think it's due to the drought. On the other hand, my lantana are blooming fine - after a brief 'rest" in July. I water them almost daily. This summer, even the zinnias seem to be struggling. I can usually count on them to go like crazy til fall, but they are also "shrinking".
Like I said tho, I think it's the lack of water and really excessive heat we've had.
Deb

hi Moretz! I'm hesitant to use any kind of booster because everything is so stressed out from the heat and drought.
Thanks Deb, I think you're right. This heat has been relentless, coupled with hardly any rain for weeks. This has been our first southern summer, and all our neighbors are telling us this long hot dry spell has been really unusual. I'm hoping next summer will be a little more typical!!!

My Lantana always look a little raggedy in late July/early August. Between bugs, drought, and heat, those suckers are flat wore out from growing/blooming. So I whack them back to about 1', fertilize the bejeeses out of them, and they grow like the dickens and give a fresh flush of flowers from the end of September through the first frost. Been doing this routine for years, and the plants seem to like it. They keep coming back for more... Think of Lantana as a weed, rather than a "garden treasure" and treat it as such... you'll be astounded by the plant's response!

Stono has a good point. The lantana is almost invasive, so I cut it back all the time 'cause it tries to run over things. It puts out fresh growth almost instantly. Ditto for the buddleia, although I don't prune it quite as hard, I do dead head it when I think about it.

I've also noticed that the lantana seems to have early and late varieties. I start worrying about mine every year that it won't come back because I'll see some in bloom on the side of the road and mine won't even have started to put on leaves.

So chop them both back a bit. However, once we have a frost just leave them and don't cut off the dead stuff until about Valentine's day. At that time I cut them way back to about a 1'. You won't have to worry about a frost for a few more months...

Jenny

on hilton head they are invasive. i have seen them growing on the banks of the marsh and edges of woods especially on the north end of the island

one that grew in our yard as a volunteer. i moved it, and it really struggled through the drought. this was the first bloom... its a trooper. PS ignore my foot!

close up of flower

Hey, that's a thought, I'll give them a good whacking and see what happens!!! I did a wimpy whacking a month or so ago, but maybe that just wasn't enough, so I'll be a little rougher this time. I should like to see them bloom again before they close up shop for the winter. Thanks everyone!!!!

thea-you will see blooms much faster if you just water them more. I grow them for a living for landscapers, and they are one of the most reliable of bloomers during the summer-even this summer, if they are getting enough water. I think the problem for some is that usually you can get by with a lot less water for lantana, but this summer has been so dry-that they need more water than they have been getting . The fact that they have stopped blooming is not the heat-its the lack of water. Landscapers would not use them if the heat would make them stop blooming-they have to have color all summer until October on commercial sites.

Just read the following in latest issue of Southern Living.

"Established Lantanas like for their owner to be mean and the soil to be lean. They want nothing more than full sun and good drainage. If you frequently water them you will get lots of long, leafy stems and very few blooms. So put on a scowl, turn off the water, and pack away the plant food."

That said, the ones in my neighborhood look good, not leggy at all and they are still not blooming. Although it has been dryer than we like, we have had more than enough rain recently for a Lantana. Maybe these newer hybrids are just not as flowery as those old ones we used to see growing on the sand dunes at the beach with no pruning, fertilizer or water - at all.

Ardesia-it will take a week or so, at least, depending on the stress that the lantana was in, before it will start to form blooms again, after it starts to get more water. I agree that lantana wants it on the dryer side to bloom more, but we have just gone through ( and up here, I still haven't had rain and the temps are going to be near 100 again) the dryest/hottest season on record. Keep in mind too, that I believe, for the most part, we are talking about plants that were just planted this April/May and their root systems are not as extensive as a plant that comes back year to year.

A good example of what I am saying: I have about 60 one gallon containers of lantana and there was one section that did not get watered well (the New Gold Yellow-which bloom better than any series or color lantana) for about a week (I had a new person watering). Before the New Gold was allowed to dry out-they were in full bloom. Then they stopped because of the "drought" they went thru. I corrected the problem-showed her how she was missing them and now that they have started to recieve water everyday, they are starting to form new buds, and if the water continues-they will be back in full bloom in the next week or so.
Another example-there is a flower bed that I plant for my vets business. I put all yellow lantana there. They are horrible about watering it (hence the choice of lantana lol). The lantana wasn't blooming-they were having an open house and someone called me about how to "spruce up the bed" so it looked nice ( read blooming) for the open house-and I said " yeah- start watering the bed". They did-and a few wks later it was in full bloom.

Hope this clearifies what I am saying about the watering. Also-watering-and how much to water-is one of the hardest parts of gardening.

Gosh yes, all newly planted plants all need plenty of water and even older plants ahould not dry out completely but the ones I am talking about are well established plants; my own are at least 7 years old. The neighbor that brought the dearth of flowers to my attention is an accomplished gardener whose garden has been featured on many tours and in many publications. She knows her stuff!

Unlike central NC, here in eastern SC, we had a serious drought back in late spring but have been getting rain sparingly but regularly lately.

This year I bought one of those new deep gold ones, probably the same ones you mentioned, to plant in a mixed container on my deck. I had a drip system set up but somehow the little hose fell out of the pot and everything was dried up when I discovered the problem. The other plants, a Porterweed and a fancy Portulaca came right back but the Lantana croaked. In the past I couldn't kill a Lantana with Round Up now they are dying with little effort on my part. LOL