Lantana is in the verbena family - I love it, bees love it, too!
Look Who's Bee-Friended This Potted Lantana
This is one great perennial to attract the bees to your garden! The tiny flowers of this particular variety of Lantana really is a hit with the pollinators. Because of this variety's vivid colors (a vast spectrum of color) it attracts many bees to the garden. If you grow vegetables or fruits, then you want these bees to visit and frequently. Lantana is a wonderful way to reward the pollinators that come to visit.
Since Bees Aren't On My Payroll, I Try to Reward Them With Plants They Love
I'm a tomato grower on a small scale operation and I can vouch for the bees and the need for them. For instance, they provide a great service for the flowering of my tomato plants. It is something called sonication or also known as 'Buzz Pollination', basically shaking the pollen from the anthers of the plant. This creates more tomatoes and more tomatoes are great for business. Bees are not on my payroll, but that is not to say they don't work as hard or even harder than I do in my garden!
The Bees Work These tiny Flowers For Hours
Sometimes I sit and observe them in the garden and admire their tremendous work ethic. They have to have some real patience to collect from such tiny flowers. I get tired just watched them. If you are looking for some great garden help - plant flowers and attract the pollinators! They really help me grow some great produce and my kids and I enjoy watching them work, so we highly recommend the Lantana if you are in an area where it grows best.
What zone does lantana grow in?
The common variety thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and 11, while some cultivars are hardy to zone 8. Lantana dies back if the temperature drops to 28 degrees Fahrenheit but is likely to regrow from the roots when warm days return. source
All photos taken on Nikon D7000, shot in .NEF format / raw and no post processing other than reducing size - images are 50% or less of the full-sized originals / 20+ MB each. All photographs are original works taken by Brandon Holsey / and all rights are reserved. Use of the photos is not permitted without written permission from the creator.
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