Lantana Seed

I'm sure someone has asked this before but for the life of me I cannot find it. Can I pick lantana seed when it is plump do I have to wait until it turns black? They always fall off and I can't find them lol Also, when I plant these would it help to soak them before planting I have tried planting these in the past and only got one plant out of about 50 seeds any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance for any help I can get.

They're not ripe before they turn black so I doubt they'd germinate. I think birds eat them once they're ripe, that's probably why you can't find them.

Oh ok, I lose a lot of seed that way lol Guess I'll just have to bag them until they turn black lol I have a yard full of coleman lantern covers over seed heads lol Looks a little strange lol

Have you ever started any seed? They probably come back for you I wish they were a perennial for me here, I always end up buying plants. I have 5 different kinds I'm going to try and start for next year to save some $'s lol I could take cuttings but don't have much luck with those.

Thanks,
Lea

They're perennials here so I've never tried starting them from seed. The one thing to be aware of if you decide to do seed rather than cuttings is that most likely the plants you bought are hybrids, so the plants you grow from seed won't necessarily look like the parent plant. So if you really like the color of the flowers that you have, you may want to try cuttings again. I haven't had much luck doing cuttings of anything, but someone around here can give you some tips.

LOL I've read allllll of the tips I can grow most anything from seed but when it comes to cuttings it's just not my thing I have lost more cuttings than seeds I do believe lol Maybe I'll have more luck with the seeds this year and maybe someone else will come on here and give me some good tips how to start the lantana I don't really care if they come true I would like them to, don't get me wrong but I would just be happy to have some of 'my' lantana next spring to plant lol I do know that I need to start them a lot earlier than I have in the past they sure are slow growers when they are small.

Thanks ecrane3!

LeBug I will have some seed from the Fruit Loops Lantana ~ that's not really its' name but someone said the colors reminded them of the cereal. Will save you some if you wish. pod

Thanks pod I'll take you up on that! I'll have a whole shelf going with lantana seeds hoping one will sprout lol We'll get together later and trade :-)

Got any tips for growing them, of course you're in Tx. they're probably a perennial for you too. As much as I like lantana I need to move to a warmer climate lol

LeBug ~ I've never started these from seed. I got my starts by someone digging up the roots. Yes, here they do come back annually. I normally leave the seed on the plant for the birds. I suspect though that some dropped and sprout to make the Lantana shrub fuller.

I went out and picked a handfull before the birds beat me to them... Will let them dry for a few days before sending... When are you moving south did you say? LOL

Right now! Thanks pod! When I get most of my seeds collected I'll dmail you and see what you want, I still owe you some seeds from those great skullcap seeds.

Wish I could find someone on here with some tips on growing them!

tips on growing ? Lantana seed or skullcap ?

Not to worry on an exchange ~ we will hit on it one day.

LeBug, I wish you could someone, also & I'm in Texas! Lantana is one thing I can't seem to get rooted.
I have 4 - 3" pots right now, with rocks on the stems keeping them next to the soil. Need to ck them tonite. Don't know if that will work for me either but someone suggested I try it.
If you could do that, it would give you starts for next yr. My lantanas are so huge that we just wack them back & they come back with twice as many blooms. & wouldn't you know these are not the ones I want. They came with the house when I bought it. lol
:~)

Lantana from tiny cuttings is a bear to get rooted and can as long as two months and that is under a mist system. The easy way to do Lanata is take a good size cuttign and stick it in a bucket with just a coupel small darin holes with a potting soil mix that has a bunch of composte d cow manure in it and keep it well watered. Still takes along time to root , but a whole lot faster and alot more sucess . Ya can't let it dry out at all. Once the soil dries til root s form ya might as well start all over again they have to be constantly soggy.

Pod, I was talking about tips on growing lantana I still think I can get my other skullcaps growing in the spring, last spring was just a fluke I hope, I'm not worried about them yet anyway lol I owe you podster and I won't forget :o)

Smockette you are so funny I'm the same way with the birds here they only eat the seeds that I want to keep and sounds like they have been eating my lantana seeds from what ecrane3 says and I don't doubt it a bit lol You are soo lucky to have lantana as a perennial though even though it's not the one you want but that's the way we are aren't we, we always want what we don't have.

It wouldn't do me any good to layer it I couldn't keep it alive in the house until summer, no light. I don't want to turn my lights on downstairs until I really have to the electric bill is high enough lol Besides it would probably get way too tall for the lights or wide and I would have to pitch it and I just couldn't bare that! I know they grow slow when they are babies but when you start from a cutting or layering it is bound to grow faster.

I did find an old post from calalily on germinating lantana: plant in Jan/Feb. I put potting soil in the pot to within a half inch of the top. Sow the seeds, cover with fine milled vermiculite, keep moist and warm and they come up fast.

I thought they needed bottom heat but maybe not?

Bottom heat would be a probably ~ they only really start to grow well in the south when the temps rise.

If I can't get any seeds to germinate this winter I will be begging for lantana cuttings on here next year and try them again the nursuries around here are very boring nothing of any interest! I can't even find camera anymore and a red sure would be nice :o) Our summers are so short though and afraid the cuttings would take so long like starlight1153 says.

Thanks Starlight :0)

I'm off to do some planting for a while, hoping we get some rain this week and it is starting to cool down a bit YEE HAWWWWW! lol Sept. is here finally!

That's what I was thinking pod they don't really grow that fast until it heats up here too.

Lea, I grew them this year from seeds sent to me by somebody in the Carolinas. I treated them like slow growing petunias and it worked great -- her directions were to soak them for 24 hours in warm water, and just as you did, put them on a peat based potting soil and cover with vermilculite. I started them in February under lights and planted them out at the beginning of May. I have 5 or 6 different colors of seed saved for next year.

I don't know if you have to soak them if the fruit of the berry is removed before storage, but I think they might keep better if they have the fruit around them.

My LIMITED experience tells me that the seeds are ready a little before they turn bluish black. If I just barely touch the seeds and they come away in my hand, then they should ripen on a plate lined with newspaper and be viable for a spring sowing.

Suzy

Hi Suzy nice to hear from you :o)

I think they might be alright just before they turn black I've been noticing that they fall a lot about that time I really don't want to take any chances though lol All of my lantana have 'socks' on the seeds my yard is a weird one with all of these coleman lantern covers all over everything you should see it lol

You don't use bottom heat? I have been saving seeds like crazy and I know I will have one whole shelf of lantana seeds just hoping to get a couple of plants lol I really don't care if they come true I just want some lantana for next year lol So how many plants did you get from your sowing last year? Just curious.

I just found those instructions above on a thread from calalily a couple of years ago but that is the way I plant them and just don't have that much luck with them, I'm going to have to do something different. I always put them on a heat mat before guess I''ll just put them on the shelf this year.

Oh, yeah, I sort of forgot about having a heat mat, probably because it's just "there" and I didn't actually DO anything. I did use it for the Lantana, I'm sure.

I had 100% germination, but luckily I only sowed 10 seeds. I killed 2, and planted out 8 plants. They took a long time to germinate (compared to other things I was growing) and were slow to get going, but I was amazed I was actually growing Lantana from seed, so I just kept on going with them. The other good thing is that because they are so slow growing, they can stay in that little 4" pot for a long, long time. This means they take up less square foot real estate under the lights.

Suzy

LOL the one I had that germinated took forever to grow too lol I just hope I get more slow growers this year!

Well, I ck'd those little pots. Lifted the rocks & sure enough they had sprouted roots under them. I cut them fr the mother plant & now have 3 - 4"ers for Rentalyn. Guess my experiment was a success! :~)
I come up there to the Indy 500 every yr & have for over 20 yrs. I bet I could talk Smock into bringing a couple of flats for ya'll the end of May. He drives up every yr & has a Frontier truck. He always asks what plants I need him to carry since job & time require me to fly these days.
LeBug, don't know for sure but if he comes up by your way, bet he would meet you with a flat or two.

Who-eee! Texas plants! That would be very cool and I'll take you up on it. I'll show you my favorite bar(s) if you don't already meet a group of people at a certain spot.

Suzy

We stay in Fishers/Castleton area. Shadeland & 75, I think.
What side of town do you live in?

Smockette I would probably meet him with a flat or two of plants too lol Everyone that comes here always goes home with a trunk load just ask indiana_lily on here lol He would be more than welcomed! I love sharing my plants!!!

I'm so glad you got your lantana to root I have high hopes for under my lights this year I’m gonna keep my fingers crossed :o)

You know I have never been to the Indy 500 must be something I always think about all those fans that get hit when the cars hit the side rail and parts start flying everywhere lol I used to go to the stock car races here and I fell asleep during the races the more noise the better I sleep! That was when I worked 3rd shift and be up all day on Saturdays, I sure miss those days, now I know I'm old cause I'm talking about the 'Good Ole Days' lol

Sounds like Suzy would like someone else to party with too lol

This may be a dumb question Suzy but when you use the heat mat do you put it under the lights I've always wondered about that usually I just put mime off to the side but wondering if I should put it under the lights I think lantana needs light the only thing is that it's usually like 70 or alittle more under the lights so the mat wouldn't be on all of the time. It's a dumb question but I REALLY want my lantana this year lol

I'm in and out cutting the dead grass and planting the weather this week is beautiful now if we would just get a lottttt of rain! Don't think it's going to happen though.

I live off of 75th, about 4 miles west of where you'll be. :))

Nah ,Lea, they have chain link fencing up all around the track. I assume it would stop a car tire that flies off, but mebbe not. :))) The bad thing about sitting so close to the fence is the cars that go by are just a blue of color. You cannot even read the number. It's very annoying and everybody prefers to be higher up for that reason, at least.

I'm coming to Louisvilleon the 27th of September...let me take an inventory and see if I have any plants I can part with. LOL! I'm coming down for a peony meeting. I think the meeting is a (pitch-in) dinner meeting and auction, and starts around 6:00. I'd better read my newsletter to make sure.

Suzy

I always use the heat mat and put lights over the plants (at least for the seeds that need light to germinate--which most of mine do). If you don't want to do lights and heat, the lights are the more important of the two. But the heat mat helps too, there's no way the heat coming from your lights is going to penetrate much into the soil which is where you really need the heat, that's what the heat mats are for.

Thanks ecrane3! That's exactly what I wanted to know I did a tray of seeds like that last year and wondered if it was too much heat but like you said the lights alone couldn't warm the soil enough, that makes since I was just worried it would be too much heat but then the lantanas are heat lovers anyway and they grow faster when it's hotter outside. Think it should be on about 70 or higher?

Sorry, can't help you there--I have heat mats that only come with one setting (on or off!) and I don't know what temp they actually get to. I know there are tropical seeds that would like to be warmer than 70 to germinate, but with Lantana I honestly don't know.

ok, well thanks ecrane3!

LeBug,

My heat mat goes 10 degrees over the ambiant (air) temperature, so it just depends on how warm it it in the room as to how warm the mat gets.

Suzy

Thanks Suzy! My plant room gets pretty warm with all of those plant stands going downstairs, I have a section of the basement tarped off so it's a small room with 5 plant stands (32 lights). I have two small fans that go constantly. I need a greenhouse ;o)
Lea