Lantana camara Evita White - West Indian Lantana

Lantana camara 'Evita White', with its clusters of small white flowers with yellow centres, is one of the prettiest varieties in the 'Evita' series. Flowering throughout the summer, and with a small growth like all its siblings in this 'Evita' series, this little round bush is particularly suitable for ornamenting terraces and balconies. Its beautiful dark green foliage with prominent veins forms an elegant backdrop for the flowering. A tender plant, Lantana camara is most often grown as an annual outside of regions spared from heavy frosts.

Lantana camara, also known as lantana or common lantana, is a small shrub in the Verbenaceae family, related to verbenas. It originates from a wide area including Mexico, Central America, the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, Colombia, and Venezuela. It has naturalized in many subtropical regions where it is considered invasive. Not demanding in terms of soil and water, extremely floriferous, this Lantana only has one flaw: its lack of hardiness, down to about -6°C/-7°C (19.4°F) for short periods.

The 'Evita White' cultivar is a horticultural selection chosen for its small growth and brightly coloured flowering. Rapidly growing, this well-branched shrub reaches about 40cm (16in) in all directions in one season. Its quadrangular section branches bear some hooked spines and leaves that are 4 to 6cm (2in) long, tough, rough, and aromatic when crushed, with finely toothed margins. They are dark green, strongly veined, and theoretically persist in winter if there is no frost. Its flowering, particularly long, extends from June-July to October. In the leaf axils, rounded bouquets or panicles of flowers, 4 to 5cm (2in) in diameter, bloom. The small tubular-based flowers gradually change from yellow-golden hearted white to pure white, creating an interesting two-tone effect on the bouquet scale.

Lantana camara 'Evita White' prefers sheltered, warm, and sunny locations, it can survive outdoors in mild climates. Elsewhere, it is an excellent patio plant that should be stored in a cold or temperate greenhouse, protected from heavy frosts during winter. While it can stand out on its own, this Lantana pairs well with the red, blue, or white flowers of salvias, lavenders, garden verbenas, and catmints. It is also a very good plant for a dry garden with no watering, when winters are mild.

Note: Attention, our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under cover (conservatory, greenhouse, cold frame...) at a temperature above 14°C (57.2°F) for a few weeks before being placed outdoors once the risk of frost is definitively eliminated.