Lantana camara Shamrock Rose - West Indian Lantana

Lantana Shamrock™ 'Rose' is the pinkest among this line of 'Shamrock' hybrids that gather naturally compact plants, forming a very flowery mound in summer. This one produces many small bouquets of pink flowers, punctuated with a few yellow florets in the centre. These qualities make it an excellent plant for border ornamentation, pots, and even hanging baskets. The bush blooms tirelessly until late in the season, on beautiful dark green fragrant foliage, much to the delight of butterflies. A tender plant, Lantana camara is most often grown as an annual outside of regions spared from heavy frosts. In the ground, it withstands summer drought well.

Lantana Shamrock 'Rose' is a small shrub of the Verbenaceae family. The origins of its wild parent, Lantana camara, also known as Lantana or common Lantana, are located in a vast area including Mexico, Central America, the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, Colombia, and Venezuela. It has naturalized in many subtropical regions where it is considered invasive. It has given rise to numerous cultivars, including sterile hybrids that do not produce seeds. These plants therefore devote all their energy to tirelessly flowering, without the possibility of escaping into nature. Not demanding in terms of soil, water-efficient, extremely floriferous, Lantana has only one flaw: its lack of hardiness, down to about -6°/-7°C for short periods.

Lantana Shamrock™ 'Rose' is a fast-growing shrub, well-branched, reaching approximately 35cm in all directions in one season. Its quadrangular section branches bear a few hooked spines and tough leaves 4 to 6cm long, rough and aromatic when crushed, with finely toothed margins. They are strongly veined, dark green in colour, and theoretically persist in winter if there is no frost. Its abundant flowering extends from July to October. Bouquets of rounded flowers, 4 to 5cm in diameter, bloom in the axils of the leaves. The small tubular-based flowers change color over time, creating an interesting gradient on the scale of the bouquet.

Lantana Shamrock 'Rose' likes sheltered, warm, and very sunny locations, it can survive the winter outside in mild climates. Elsewhere, it is an excellent terrace plant that should be stored in a cold or temperate greenhouse, protected from heavy frosts during winter. While it can put on a show all by itself, this Lantana will also pair well with the blue or white flowers of 'Blue Note' or 'Gletsjer or Glacier' salvias, with lavenders, vervain, and catnip. It is also a very good plant for a low-water garden, when winters are mild.

Note: Attention, our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under cover (veranda, greenhouse, frame...) at a temperature above 14°C for a few weeks before being installed outdoors once the risk of frost is definitively eliminated.