Some years ago I saw a plant at the Van Dusen botanical gardens in Vancouver that was trained as a standard and that was very attractive. Last year I identified it as a Lantana, so this year I grew three Lantana Camara from seeds that I bought from Thompson and Morgan (germination rate was execrable). I see however that the seed package only says that they grow 18" high. Does anyone know if this type of Lantana grows higher, so as to be suitable for growing as standards? And if it is true that they will not overwinter outdoors in Vancouver - I have an unheated greenhouse but it will still freeze or come close to it - how do people here overwinter them?
Lantana camara in the worldwide tropics is a fast-growing pest plant that can easily get 8-10 feet tall. I'm helping my neighbor kill off one that's more easily accessible from my side of the fence. It helps that a thriving Callicarpa americana bush is helping out by shading the area. There's quite a lot of more tractable horticultural varieties and some neat wild species, such as Florida's cute (but endangered-by-hybridization) Lantana depressa. These plants have some ability to grow as perennials (L. depressa is native to pinelands where the ground vegetation burns fairly frequently). So a Lantana kept in a greenhouse might come back very well in the spring, but of course wouldn't make a good standard.
An illustration of the fact that one climate's weed is another climate's specimen plant. I found one plant store this year selling Lantana plants (including some standards), but I have never seen another in this province. And except for Thompson and Morgan - who describe it as "Good summer bedding" - I have not found any seed company selling to Canada that sells Lantana seeds. So to me, 'tis a delightful rarity. Not that I would turn up my nose at another variety of Lantana, but Camara is all that seems to be available here.
The T&M offering looks to be tractable, as are most of the "L. camara" cultivars available here. The things are thriving in our current hot spell. If you have a warm, dry spot, T&M sell Helianthus debilis "Key Lime Pie". From their description, it's probably something like the bushy H. debilis var. vestitus from the Florida Gulf Coast rather than the trailing H. d. var. debilis from the Atlantic coast. I've gotten their seed to germinate readily, but something ate the seedlings.
Here they are run away successes. Total ferrals and on the the most wanted list. (at least the purple one is) I had one that was bush like and had yellow flowers. It was really cheerful. Unfortunatly have no idea what it was named but lasted for about 15 years with out any care.
soccerdad--the lantana you have will probably work fine. They will train into standards much the same as fuchsias, (which also could be said to grow about 18in. high). The trick is just to maybe stake a central trunk and gradually remove the lower side branches. Height comes with a year or two of growth, assuming you can avoid winter kill of the top growth.Overwintering is crucial, again similar to fuchsias in my mind. Queen Elizabeth park used to have the standard lantanas, and tibouchinas, probably still do, along with some standard fuchsias. All will grow plenty tall enough, but have to be kept fairly frost free to continue on next year and get nice thick trunks. Either lift and store in cool greenhouse, or another trick is to dig a trench and lay the standards in it, covering with peat or bark for insulation until spring.
Thanks everbody. Now that I think of it, it was probably in Queen Elizabeth park rather than Van Dusen that I saw it. I am going to be setting up my bent-irrigation-pipe-and-plastic quonset-hut greenhouse this fall (in the past I have just used it for seed starting in the late winter) and I will see how the Lantanas (Lantanae?) fare in it. In the last week they have roughly tripled in size. I tied the main, woody-looking, stem of the biggest to a stake and it is already about 2.5' tall.