Shrub
Lantana
Lantana camara · Verbenaceae
Also called: Common lantana, Shrub verbena, Bush lantana
Lantana (Lantana camara) is a low-water shrub well suited to Tucson and the low desert. It's a fast-growing shrub.
Lantana at a glance
- Water use
- Low (established)
- Sun
- Full sun for maximum flowering; tolerates reflected heat well. Too much shade reduces bloom and causes legginess.
- Mature size
- Mounding types 2-4 ft tall and wide; trailing types ~1-2 ft tall spreading 3-6 ft (varies widely by cultivar)
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Bloom
- Multicolor clusters - yellow, orange, red, pink, white, lavender (varies by cultivar), Spring through fall, nearly year-round in mild winters
- Cold hardiness
- Frost-sensitive; foliage burns below ~32 F and plants often die back in hard freezes, recovering from the base in spring in USDA 9a-9b. Roots are root-hardy in most Tucson winters.
- Soil
- Very adaptable; tolerates poor, rocky, alkaline desert soils as long as drainage is good.
- Native range
- Tropical Americas (Central and South America); widely naturalized. Not native to the Sonoran Desert.
- Best used as
- Heat- and drought-tolerant color, Groundcover (trailing types), Pollinator/butterfly gardens, Median and parking-lot plantings, Containers
- Wildlife
- One of the top butterfly nectar plants for the low desert; also attracts bees and hummingbirds. Birds eat the berries (which helps spread it).
- Toxicity
- TOXIC: green/unripe berries and foliage are poisonous to humans, dogs, cats, and livestock if ingested; can cause GI distress and, in livestock, liver damage. Foliage may also cause skin irritation. Flag for households with pets and young children.
How to grow Lantana in Tucson & the low desert
Watering
Once established, water deeply every 7-14 days in summer and monthly or less in winter. Drought- and heat-tolerant; overwatering reduces flowering and can cause root rot.
Fertilizer & nutrients
Light feeder. A single application of balanced or slow-release fertilizer in spring is usually enough; excess nitrogen produces foliage at the expense of flowers.
Pruning & care
Shear back hard (by one-half to two-thirds, or to ~6-12 in) in late winter/early spring (Feb-Mar) after frost danger to remove freeze damage and rejuvenate. Light shearing through summer keeps it tidy and blooming.
Notes
Excellent, tough low-desert performer. Note Lantana camara is considered invasive in some frost-free regions; in Tucson winter cold limits spread. Sterile cultivars (e.g., 'New Gold') set few/no berries and are preferred to reduce reseeding and toxicity risk. Distinct from native desert lantana (Lantana horrida/urticoides).
Sources: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension / Pima County Master Gardeners; AMWUA Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum