How to Propagate Lantana from Cuttings, and Why Not to Sow the Seed

Cuttings, not seed

Lantana roots so readily from cuttings that no other method is worth the effort. A softwood cutting taken in early summer will have roots in two to three weeks in warmth and can be flowering in the same season. Seed, by contrast, germinates erratically over weeks or months, needs scarifying and soaking to do even that, and produces plants that vary in color and vigor.

There is a stronger reason to leave seed alone. Lantana is a declared or noxious weed in many warm regions precisely because its seed spreads so effectively, carried by birds that eat the ripe black fruit. Deliberately collecting, storing and sowing that seed works directly against the deadheading regime you should be running, and in places where the plant is restricted it may not be legal. Take cuttings and remove the fruit.

Cuttings also keep the plant true. Because each flower head changes color as it opens and ages, giving a two-toned effect, the exact color combination of a particular plant is one of its main attractions, and a cutting reproduces it exactly where a seedling will not.

Handle cuttings with gloves. The sap and rough foliage irritate skin on contact for many people, and you will be cutting and stripping a lot of material in one session.

Taking softwood cuttings

Take cuttings in early summer, when the plant is growing strongly and the current season's shoots are firm enough to snap rather than crush when you bend them but have not yet gone woody. Material that bends without breaking is too old and roots slowly; material that collapses limply is too young and rots. Work in the morning, when the shoots are turgid, and get the cuttings into the propagation mix within the hour.

Choose non-flowering shoots. A shoot carrying flower heads is spending its energy on those instead of on producing roots, and if you cannot find non-flowering material, remove the heads first and use the shoot anyway. Cut a length of four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) using a clean sharp blade.

Expect a strike rate of eighty per cent or better in warmth. Take twice as many cuttings as you need anyway, because a full tray costs nothing extra and gives you spares to give away or to replace a plant lost over winter.

1. Cut a shoot four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) long Take non-flowering current-season growth and cut just below a pair of leaves, since roots form most readily at that node. Drop the cuttings straight into a plastic bag with a little moisture in it to stop them wilting while you collect the rest.
2. Strip the lower leaves and pinch the tip Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting so no foliage will sit below the mix and rot. Leave two or three pairs at the top, halve any that are very large to reduce water loss, and pinch out the soft growing tip so the cutting puts its effort into roots rather than extension.
3. Insert into a gritty, free-draining mix Use equal parts of a peat-free potting mix and perlite or coarse sand. Dip the base in rooting hormone if you have it, though lantana usually does not need it, and push the cutting in so the lowest remaining leaves sit just above the surface. Space them so no leaves touch, and firm gently.
4. Keep warm, humid and bright but out of direct sun Aim for 70 to 75F (21 to 24C) at the base. Cover the tray with a clear lid or a propagator top and open it for a few minutes each day to change the air. Direct sun through a closed cover cooks the cuttings within an hour, so use bright shade instead.
5. Check for roots after two weeks Tug a cutting very gently. Resistance means roots have formed, usually within two to three weeks. Once several are rooted, start leaving the cover off for longer each day for about a week so the young plants adjust to ordinary air before you pot them up.
6. Pot up individually and pinch again Move each rooted cutting into its own three-inch (8 cm) pot of free-draining mix with no added feed. When it has four or five pairs of leaves, pinch the tip once more to force branching from the base, which is what produces a dense plant rather than a leggy one.

Semi-ripe cuttings as winter insurance

In climates where lantana is killed by frost, the useful move is to take a second batch of cuttings in late summer or early autumn from wood that has begun to firm and darken at the base. These root more slowly, over four to six weeks, but they overwinter as small young plants on a windowsill far more reliably than a large parent plant does, and they take up a fraction of the space.

Keep the young plants cool, bright and on the dry side through the winter, at around 50 to 55F (10 to 13C) if you can manage it, watering only enough to stop the mix drying out completely. Do not feed them. Soft, well-watered growth on a windowsill in winter is exactly what whitefly want, and a small infestation on a tray of cuttings spreads to everything else you have brought indoors.

Check the undersides of the leaves every couple of weeks through the winter and hang a yellow sticky trap above the tray. Finding whitefly early on a handful of small plants is a five-minute job; finding it in spring on a benchful is not.

Layering, and what to record

If you only want one or two extra plants and have no propagator, layering works with no equipment at all. Choose a low flexible stem, scrape a shallow wound on the underside where it will meet the ground, pin it down with a stone or a wire staple and cover that point with an inch (2.5 cm) of gritty soil. Keep the spot slightly damp and check after six to eight weeks; once roots have formed, sever the layer from the parent and lift it a fortnight later.

Whichever method you use, record the date you took the cuttings, the type of wood, and the date roots appeared. Lantana roots quickly enough that a week's difference in timing is visible in the strike rate, and after two seasons of notes you will know precisely which fortnight of early summer works best in your garden.

Note the parent plant too, by position rather than by name. Since each flower head shifts color as it ages, plants differ noticeably in how the two-toned effect reads, and a note of which parent gave the cuttings you liked saves you guessing when you want more of the same.