Lantana camara ‘Li’l Miss’, Carolina Series lantana

“Lantana is the saving grace of the fall borders. The dark leaves keep their color until frost, and the flowers bloom on and on. I noticed butterflies return to them again and again, after short trips to other flowers.”

Elizabeth Lawrence
Charlotte Observer
October 6, 1968

Back in 2016, I planted six four-inch pots of tiny mounds of this “annual” lantana to fill the space around a newly installed sign and light post at the entrance to the parking court of the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. I thought it would be a very nice textural mass for summer and fall that year, and hoped it would provide a long season of bloom. It was pretty decent that first year, so I left the plants in the ground, wondering if they might return… it wasn’t unheard of for lantana to overwinter in Charlotte, so why not give it a go?

Here we are, six years later. About year three I had to remove half of the plants—they were all too happy with their home… to the tune of crowding one another out! I’m glad I culled the herd because the remaining plants have been happy as larks ever since. In flower, this is a butterfly and bee magnet that blooms non-stop from June to hard frost, and I mean hard frost. I have a photo of it in flower on December 15!

‘Li’l Miss’ is a lower growing cultivar (to three feet) with flowers that start out deep pink and yellow, and age to pale pink and ivory. It’s a brilliant display that’s always abuzz with bees and butterflies… a favorite of American Skippers, I’ve noticed. It has required practically no care, except for the occasional soaking with a hose during prolonged heat and drought. (Who doesn’t require that?!) I don’t actively deadhead it, although I do nip it from time to time when it grows a bit too enthusiastically in one direction or another. I don’t fertilize it, except for a top-dressing of mushroom compost in summer and shredded leaves in winter. I cut it down to the ground only after it’s been so badly blitzed by freezing temperatures that it has shriveled into a grey desiccated mass.

I’d venture to say those six little “annuals” have been money quite well spent, and a trial that has turned into an eye-catching delight at the sidewalk to greet visitors and passers-by alike.