Gardening : <i> Lantana sellowiana</i> : Trailing lantana Drought-resistant flowering ground cover

The flowers of the different types of shrub lantanas come in almost all the colors of the rainbow. Clusters can be concentric rings of rose pink, baby pink and pale yellow. Or they can be the color of Trix--lemon yellow, orange orange and raspberry red. Lantana species have been crossed every which way, and so the list of hues is endless. However, the ground cover trailing lantana, Lantana sellowiana , is available in only lavender-purple--that is, it was until now.

According to Audrey Teasdale, botanist at Monrovia Nursery Co., Lantana sellowiana White Lightnin’ (a trademark) has flowers of pure white. The buds are pinkish, and in cooler weather the flowers will show signs of their heritage by turning a little more purple. Flowering begins in April and continues until fall.

For banks and berms, trailing lantana makes a very good, brambly looking ground cover (for each plant expect a spread of 5 feet and a maximum height of under a foot). The rumply gray-green leaves, under an inch and a half long with serrated edges, have an odor specific to lantanas that some people find astringent and others don’t mind.

The ground cover takes the heat well, will grow in any soil, is drought resistant and needs full sun to flower--cold weather can stop bloom and cause leaves to fall off. Teasdale recommends drought-resistant companion plantings of a relatively new compact Leucophyllum frutescens , with purplish-pink flowers and silvery foliage. Or of verbena, to which lantana is related. Or of Hesperaloe parviflora (“like a skinny yucca,” Teasdale says).

Plant one-gallon containers 3 feet apart; they will fill in quickly. Give them good deep waterings until the plants get established, letting them get almost dry between irrigations. They may get mildew if they are in the shade, and they don’t like to be over-watered or fertilized.

Available starting in mid-August, one-gallon cans of White Lightnin’ can be ordered by local nurseries from Monrovia Nursery Co. in Azusa.