Lantana: the changing rose for balconies and patios

Many amateur gardeners are looking for precisely this combination: months of flowers, minimal effort and a real showpiece for a balcony or patio. Lantana, also known as the changing rose, offers exactly that – yet surprisingly few people know it. Anyone who has watched its flower colours shift almost daily soon wonders why this multi-talented plant is not already growing in every container.

Why Lantana is considered an “immortal” shrub

In its native Central and South America, Lantana grows as a perennial shrub that is often wide-spreading. It barely takes a break there: warm conditions, abundant sunshine and short winters provide ideal circumstances for almost year-round flowering.

A near-continuous display of flowers

Lantana can flower almost without interruption from spring through to autumn when cared for properly – a continuous firework display of colour.

In Germany, the plant can replace any short-lived summer planting from May well into October. It appears to flower almost continuously, as it keeps producing fresh buds while older blooms change colour and do not drop until much later.

Lantana in pots from May to October

A shrub that changes colour

The changing rose did not get its German name by chance. Its flowers often open in one colour before changing noticeably over the following days:

• Yellow turning to orange or red