Butterfly Plants: Lantana

Lantana is a perfect choice for your butterfly garden. It is a hearty, prolific plant that comes in a huge assortment of colors. Once established, Lantana requires very little maintenance and upkeep. In fact, Lantana grows so easily and with such little care that many people believe it to be a weed. It is not a weed, but instead a highly desirable plant that is perfect for attracting butterflies to your garden.

One of the truly extraordinary things about Lantana is the color variety of the different cultivars. It ranges from bright to pastel shades of pink, orange, yellow, and purple, as well as white. What makes Lantana most unique is the fact that multiple colors of flowers will bloom on the same plant, in the trademark clusters. They even change colors as they age; the small flowers are pushed aside as new ones bloom from the middle of the cluster, giving each cluster multiple colors.

If you're looking for a low-maintenance plant, Lantana is going to be the one for you. All it needs is a nice, sunny spot and room to grow! New Lantana requires watering when it is first added, but as it grows it requires less and less maintenance. If you choose, you can prune Lantana in the spring to promote even more growth, but it isn't necessary.

With so little attention required and so much beauty to offer, Lantana is an excellent component of the perfect butterfly garden. For very little effort you get the benefits of the delicate little clusters of flowers, the lovely fragrance, and the butterfly visitors that you will draw with it.