A few years ago I had the good fortune of learning how to root lantana from a local nursery. After that, every time I needed some plants for my vegetable garden, I tried to dig up lantana. This caused problems for me and I finally gave up trying. I wasn’t able to find the kind of quality seeds I was looking for and, even worse, all my attempts failed. I learned why my previous attempts had been a waste of time and trouble.
In order to begin my quest, I went to a local nursery and asked how to root lantana from cuttings. The assistant told me that the best way was to get some plant food, a pair of pliers, some cotton balls, and a plastic bag. I also needed a sharp pair of scissors. He showed me a plastic bag with some dried roots in it. I used this bag to transfer the cuttings into and it worked like a charm.
The plastic bag allowed me to collect the cuttings easily and then transfer them with ease into the small pot. I used three different types of cuttings. Three inch hardwood cuttings, two inch softwood cuttings, and a ten inch basal hardwood cuttings. I put the ten inch basal hardwood cuttings into the pot and put the cuttings on top of the soil in the potting mix. This worked well.
Now I needed to know how to root lantana from plastic bagseed. I started by removing the cuttings from the bags and putting them into my compost pile. Then I put them into a plastic bag which I would lay on top of the wet soil in the bottom of the pot. I did not over crowd the bag but put enough to hold the cuttings and let them drain nicely. I did this every day until the lantana roots were established.
Now I needed to know how to propagate lantana seeds. This is not as easy as it sounds. You can not just take the seeds out of the bag and put them in your compost pile. The process of how to root lantana from plastic bagseed involves taking the bagseed out of the bag and placing it in your compost pile with the other dry seeds. It may take a week or so for the bagseed to germinate but you will be rewarded with beautiful blooms.
You need to remove the seed from the bag and squeeze out the seed’s stem end. Placing the stem end of the seed on a plant or cut it off the tree you will see how to root lantana easily in a few weeks. Place the seed on top of the wet soil in the bottom of the pot. I had to do this about a week before the roots were established deep down in the soil.
Another step on how to root lantana is preparing the cuttings. Cut the lantana leaf nodes in half and remove the roots at this time. Placing the cuttings on a large flat pan in the refrigerator works well. When it has reached room temperature place it in an airtight container. Plastic bags do not work because the heat from the refrigerator will kill the roots.
Now it is time to repot. You will need to go through the steps above again but placing the cuttings in a small clear jar with the soil in it and the lid closed helps keep the roots inside the pot. Place the container in a sunny window and in three to four days the plant will be ready for planting. When the weather is warm you can move the container outside and it will grow and flower again this year as if it was a fresh cut lantana.
