What to Do With Lantana in July to Maximize Blooms During Summer Heat – and Attract More Butterflies to Your Yard
Lantana is prized for thriving in heat and drought while attracting butterflies and pollinators – these simple July jobs will keep it flowering until fall
Lantana is one of the hardest-working flowering plants in a summer garden, producing vibrant clusters of blooms that thrive in heat, humidity, and drought. But while it's famously low-maintenance, July is when a little attention goes a long way.
It's easy to see why so many gardeners choose to grow lantana. As a low-maintenance drought-tolerant plant, it's perfectly suited to hot, sunny yards, rewarding very little effort with months of vibrant blooms that also attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.
Whether you're growing lantana in pots, borders, or hanging baskets, midsummer is the time to encourage fresh flowers, prevent legginess, and help the plant cope with long spells of hot weather. The good news? None of the jobs takes long, and they'll help keep your plant looking full and colorful right through late summer.
Here are the five key things gardening experts recommend doing with lantana in July.
1. Deadhead Spent Flowers to Encourage More Blooms
Lantana is a prolific bloomer, but faded flower heads can slow down new flower production. Learning how to deadhead lantana is one of the easiest ways to encourage the plant to redirect its energy into producing fresh flowers rather than setting seed.
Using a pair of clean pruning snips, cut just above the next set of healthy leaves beneath the faded flower cluster. If you have a large shrub, you don't need to deadhead every single bloom – simply giving the plant a quick tidy every week or so is enough to keep it flowering heavily.
If you need a new pair of snips, the Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears from Amazon are a Homes & Gardens favorite. Their sharp steel blades make quick, clean cuts through soft stems, making repetitive deadheading far less tiring.
'Regular deadheading keeps lantana looking neat and significantly extends the flowering season,' says Drew Swainston, Garden Editor at Homes & Gardens. 'It's one of the simplest ways to keep color coming through until the first frost.'
2. Water Deeply – but Only When Needed
Although lantana is considered one of the best drought-tolerant flowering plants once established, prolonged heat can still stress the plant, especially if it's growing in containers. Knowing how to water plants in hot weather is key to keeping lantana healthy through the height of summer.
Rather than watering little and often, give the soil a thorough soak when the top couple of inches have dried out. Deep watering encourages stronger root growth and helps plants cope better during hot weather. Container-grown lantana will usually need watering more frequently than plants growing in the ground, particularly during heatwaves.
To make watering more efficient, try the Bloem Easy Pour Watering Can from Amazon. Its long spout helps deliver water directly to the base of the plant, encouraging deep root growth while keeping foliage dry.
3. Feed Container-Grown Plants
If your lantana is growing in a pot, July is a good time to fertilize lantana and keep up with feeding. Because nutrients wash out of containers more quickly than garden soil, flowering plants benefit from a liquid fertilizer every two to four weeks during peak blooming season.
Choose a fertilizer formulated for flowering plants that's slightly higher in potassium than nitrogen. Too much nitrogen encourages leafy growth at the expense of flowers, rather than the continuous flushes of blooms lantana is prized for.
A good option is Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Bloom Booster Flower Food, available from The Home Depot. The high-phosphorus formula is designed to encourage more flowers and is suitable for flowering annuals and perennials growing in containers or borders.
4. Give Leggy Plants a Light Trim
By July, some lantana plants can begin to look stretched or untidy, particularly if they've produced an early flush of growth. Knowing when to prune lantana is important – midsummer calls for a light trim rather than a hard cutback.
Lightly trim back the longest stems by a few inches to encourage branching and create a bushier, more compact shape with even more flowering stems. Avoid cutting into old woody growth during midsummer, as this can slow recovery and reduce flowering.
For precise shaping, the Corona ComfortGEL Micro Snips, available from Amazon, are ideal for snipping back soft, green stems without crushing them. Their compact blades make it easy to tidy up wayward growth while preserving the plant's natural shape.
A quick trim after deadheading often makes a noticeable difference within a couple of weeks, encouraging fresh growth and another flush of colorful blooms.
5. Keep an Eye Out for Pests
One of lantana's biggest advantages is that it's generally resistant to many common garden pests. However, summer pests such as spider mites, whiteflies, and aphids can occasionally appear during prolonged spells of hot, dry weather, particularly on container-grown plants.
Inspect the undersides of leaves every week or two. If you notice fine webbing, sticky residue, or clusters of insects, wash them off with a strong stream of water before infestations become established. Improving air circulation around the plant and avoiding overhead watering late in the day can also help keep foliage healthy.
If pests persist, Safer Brand Insect Killing Soap, available from Amazon, is a good first line of defense for soft-bodied insects such as aphids and whiteflies. For larger infestations, Bonide All Seasons Horticultural & Dormant Spray Oil, available from The Home Depot, helps control spider mites and other common summer pests by smothering insects and their eggs without leaving a harsh chemical residue.
Lantana may be one of the easiest flowering plants to grow, but a little care in July pays off for months to come. By deadheading regularly, watering wisely during hot weather, feeding container-grown plants, giving leggy stems a light trim, and keeping an eye out for summer pests, you'll enjoy a longer-lasting display of vibrant blooms.
As well as adding a burst of color to your garden, lantana can attract butterflies and other pollinators, creating a lively, wildlife-friendly space that keeps on giving well into fall.
