Our Lantana Tree

This is a photo of our puny little Lantana  Tree back in March 2013. It had been without much water before we moved into this house. Around it was a large patch of purple ice plant that was beautiful in 

full color for a month or so but was old and 'ratty' looking for the rest of the year.  We were so embarrassed by our ugly tree that we seriously considered cutting it down.  But then we decided to water it and feed it for a while and see if we could rescue  it.

It totally surprised us by bursting into bloom and with a little help from careful trimming and giving it a little more attention, it really began to thrive.  It was a bit unwieldy but we didn't know anything about pruning -- or anything else about gardening. So we let it bloom.

 In a year or two it got so heavy with blooms that we decided we had to cut it back because when the rains came the branches or even the spindly trunk might break.  So we waited for the blooms to die off  before we trimmed it. By this time we had come to think about this tree as a miracle tree because it NEVER stopped blooming.  Finally we had to take the bull by the horns and cut it back -- blooms an'all.   Within a month of cutting it back, the tree was in full bloom again. 

About that time, we decided to take out the ice plant and redesign the front garden (It's not very large)  I have related about this in previous blogs so I'll get back to the tree.  It has never stopped blooming now for almost four years except when we trimmed it back and then only for enough time for new buds to form.

We have already cut this back twice this year, once in May and then in July and sure enough it came back blooming even better, if in a rather unruly condition.


So about 3 weeks ago we trimmed it back in a more orderly fashion.
And yes, it is covered in buds again and we are waiting to see if and when it will burst into bloom.  A nice bonus is that the butterflies and
humming birds love this tree -- not to mention bees!