How long is the flowering period of Lantana camara?
This site introduces the flowering period of Lantana camara and its cultivation methods and precautions for growing flowers. Next, the editor of this site will introduce to everyone.
Lantana camara is an evergreen shrub of the Verbenaceae family, also known as Lantana, Five-color梅花, Stinking Weed, or Ruyi Grass. The flowers are beautiful and are commonly cultivated in gardens across the country for ornamental purposes. The flowers initially open in yellow or pink, then gradually change to orange-yellow, and finally to red. The flowers bloom in succession, with various colors, and are also known as "Seven-color Flowers," with a flowering period that is almost continuous throughout the year, making it suitable for both courtyard and indoor potted flowers.
Lantana camara is an upright or climbing shrub, 1-2 meters high, sometimes vine-like, up to 4 meters long; the stems and branches are square-shaped, with short pubescence, usually with short, downward-pointing spines. The leaves are opposite, emit a strong odor when crushed, ovate to ovate-oblong, 3-8.5 cm long and 1.5-5 cm wide, with acuminate or gradually acuminate apexes, cordate or cuneate bases, and blunt-toothed margins. The surface has rough wrinkles and short pubescence, while the back has small bristles, with about 5 pairs of lateral veins; the petiole is about 1 cm long.
Native to the tropical regions of the Americas, it often grows in coastal beaches and open areas at altitudes of 80-1500 meters. It prefers warm, humid, and sunny environments, is photophilic, drought-resistant, and not cold-tolerant, with a suitable growth temperature of 20-25°C. The winter overwintering temperature should not be lower than 5°C, and it grows better in loose, fertile, and well-drained sandy loam soil. It is耐修剪 and can be planted in gardens in Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces. In the north of the Yangtze River, it is often grown as a potted plant, moved indoors for winter, and taken out in late April of the following spring.
I. Propagation methods of Lantana camara: The propagation methods of Lantana camara include seed propagation, cutting propagation, and layering propagation, with cutting propagation being the main method.
1. Cutting propagation:
Lantana camara can be propagated by cuttings throughout the year, but it is often done in April to May. For the cutting method, one-year-old or current-year branches are used as cuttings, 8-15 cm long, with 2-3 internodes each, retaining the top internode's two leaves, which are cut in half, with the base with a heel, inserted into plain sand or a mixture of plain sand and well-rotted humus soil in a 1:1 ratio, about one-third to half the depth of the cutting. After insertion, it is important to provide shade, cover with plastic to keep moisture and warmth, maintain the moisture of the cutting bed and air humidity at 80%-90%, and it will take about one month to root and produce new shoots. After the seedlings survive, if they are to be planted in outdoor flower beds, they should first be transplanted into small pots, and when the roots are about 5 cm long and some are brown, they can be transplanted into larger pots and placed in a shady environment for a period of time. When new roots are fully developed and white roots appear at the bottom, they can be transplanted.
2. Seed propagation: Seeds can be sown in spring and autumn. After the Lantana camara fruits are ripe, they should be harvested promptly, then pile-fermented, and the flesh removed to obtain the seeds. Since the seeds are afraid of losing water, it is best to sow immediately after harvesting. If sowing in spring, the seeds can be mixed with sand and stored until the following spring. The germination stage temperature should be maintained above 20°C. The germination rate is about 60%, and seedlings in the south can bloom in the autumn of the same year.
3. Layering propagation: Lantana camara's layering propagation is mainly done through low layering in May-June or mid-to-late October. The method of low layering involves selecting branches close to the ground, choosing 2-3-year-old sturdy branches 25-30 cm long, and using low layering. A 1 cm incision is made with a knife (the position of the incision should be such that when the branch is pressed into the soil, the incision is buried in the soil), the incised part is buried in the soil and fixed with a stone, and the branch tip is kept upward, preventing the branch from swaying. When it is time to plant, the soil is loosened and the rooted branches are cut off from the parent plant and separated to become planting seedlings. With proper care, they can root in about 20 days and be separated from the parent plant after 2 months for separate planting.
II. Potting soil preparation: Lantana camara is usually grown in pots. For potting, it is important to prepare the growing soil. Preparing the growing soil is quite important. A pot is a special small environment, and no single type of soil can meet Lantana camara's various soil requirements. Therefore, for potting Lantana camara, artificial soil preparation is necessary to replace the soil and keep the plant fixed in the pot. The soil should have good water retention, drainage, be loose, fertile, and well-ventilated. Potting soil should be rich in humus, loose, and fertile. After preparing the soil, it is best to disinfect it at high temperatures (by frying it in an iron pot) before use, or it can also be sun-dried to kill germs.
III. Potting: First, place broken tiles at the bottom of the pot, then add some decomposed cake fertilizer, crushed bones, fish bones, chicken feathers, etc., as base fertilizer, then fill in the growing soil, trim the long lateral roots, injured roots, and excess fibrous roots, and prune the upper branches. When planting, make sure the roots are spread out, fill the soil to half the pot, then gently lift and shake the plant to compact the soil. The planting should not be too deep, keeping the rootstock level with the pot opening. If it's too shallow, it will affect survival, and if it's too deep, it will affect the growth of Lantana camara after transplantation. After planting, water thoroughly. After planting, care for the plant in a shaded environment for about a week, then move it to a sunny place for care.
IV. Daily management:
1. Water and fertilizer management: In summer, water can be watered appropriately. Before the Cold Dew festival in October, move the plant indoors for winter and control watering, watering once every 15-20 days with a dilute liquid fertilizer to promote vigorous growth of Lantana camara, especially after flowering, to maintain continuous blooming. Pot-grown Lantana camara should be repotted before moving out in spring and apply ample base fertilizer.
2. Cultivation: It is important to frequently loosen the surface soil in the pot to enhance soil aeration.
3. Pruning: Before moving pot-grown Lantana camara out in spring, repot and prune the branches. For young plants, the top should be pinched to promote lateral branching. For mature plants, weak and diseased branches should be removed, and shortening should be done appropriately to maintain a good tree shape and promote more new shoots. After flowering, if seeds are not left, the残花 should be removed, and in autumn, when the branches are too long, a second pruning should be done. Pinching is often done. When the seedlings grow to about 10 cm tall, they should be pinched to promote branching from the base, retaining 3-5 main branches, and when the main branches reach a certain length, they should be pinched again to balance the growth of the main branches.
4. Other management: During the growing season, there should be plenty of sunlight and moist soil. Before the Cold Dew festival in October, move the plant indoors and place it in a sunny spot. The indoor temperature in winter should not be lower than 5°C.
The above is the content related to the flowering period of Lantana camara and its cultivation methods and precautions, for reference by green plant enthusiasts, and it is hoped that it can solve your problems in green plant and flower management.