Groundcover
Lantana 'New Gold'
Lantana camara 'New Gold' (often sold as Lantana x hybrida 'New Gold') · Verbenaceae
Also called: New Gold Lantana, Shrub Verbena
Lantana 'New Gold' (Lantana camara 'New Gold' (often sold as Lantana x hybrida 'New Gold')) is a low-water groundcover well suited to Tucson and the low desert. It's a fast-growing groundcover. Expect bright golden yellow blooms spring through fall, nearly continuous in warm years.
Lantana 'New Gold' at a glance
- Water use
- Low (established)
- Sun
- Full sun and reflected heat. Blooms sparsely and grows leggy in shade.
- Mature size
- About 1-2 ft tall and 3-6 ft wide (mounding/spreading)
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Bloom
- Bright golden yellow, Spring through fall, nearly continuous in warm years (March-November).
- Cold hardiness
- Frost-tender; top growth dies back in hard freezes but recovers from roots in Tucson (9a-9b).
- Soil
- Adaptable to poor, alkaline, rocky desert soils; requires good drainage.
- Native range
- Cultivar of hybrid origin; Lantana camara is native to tropical Americas
- Best used as
- Groundcover, Mass planting, Color beds, Containers, Pollinator/butterfly gardens, Slope coverage
- Wildlife
- Outstanding butterfly and bee magnet; deer-resistant.
- Toxicity
- Toxic to pets, livestock, and people if ingested (triterpenoids in foliage and berries). 'New Gold' is largely sterile and sets little to no fruit, but still flag as toxic for pets and children.
How to grow Lantana 'New Gold' in Tucson & the low desert
Watering
Deep, infrequent irrigation once established (every 7-14 days in summer heat, monthly in winter). Drip preferred; overwatering invites root rot and cuts flowering.
Fertilizer & nutrients
Light feeder. One spring application of balanced or slow-release fertilizer suffices; too much nitrogen favors leaves over flowers.
Pruning & care
Cut back hard in late winter/early spring after frost to renew; shear lightly during the season to maintain shape and prolong bloom.
Notes
One of the most heat- and drought-tolerant color plants for the low desert; sterile habit means little reseeding and prolonged, prolific bloom. A staple UA/AMWUA-recommended plant for Tucson.
Sources: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension; AMWUA Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert; Pima County Master Gardeners