Lantana ‘New Gold’ is a desert-adapted ground cover that bursts with yellow-gold flowers all summer long. Here’s everything you need to know about planting and taking care of this low-maintenance plant.
Lantana ‘New Gold’ (Lantana x ‘New Gold’) is an attractive, low-maintenance ground cover that forms a dense green mound brimming with masses of bright gold flowers spring through fall.
Unlike some lantanas which can grow quite tall, lantana ‘New Gold’ grows low but wide. Since it’s seedless, it can afford to put more energy into producing flowers than other varieties.
It’s not native to the desert southwest, but is unfazed by our harshest of conditions — full sun, poor soil, smog, and drought.
Butterflies visit all lantanas, but research found that they visited ‘New Gold’ more frequently than other lantana varieties. So expect to attract a lot of butterflies with these plants.
Why I Like This Plant
- Cheerful gold flowers spring through fall
- Grows fast
- Low water use, low maintenance
- Sterile hybrid — more flowers, no toxic berries
- Unlike some lantanas, it is not invasive
Things to Watch Out For
All lantanas feel like sandpaper, due to their being covered with irritating hairs. Some people find lantana mildly irritating, while others develop a full-blown allergic reaction.
Since it dies back from cold, it’s not very attractive in the winter when it resembles a pile of dead sticks.
All parts are considered toxic to people, dogs, cats, and horses. But since lantana ‘New Gold’ is sterile, it does not produce berries — the most toxic part of the plant. This makes it a safer choice, especially if you have pets or kids that might be tempted by the berries.
Optimal Growing Conditions
If you’re thinking of adding a lantana ‘New Gold’ to your garden, you need to find a suitable place that will keep your plant healthy and looking good… while minimizing maintenance for you.
Here are the key factors to keep in mind.
Temperature
Lantana ‘New Gold’ should be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 – 11. It easily tolerates desert heat and is cold-hardy down to 10℉, meaning that the plant will survive at this low temperature. However, it’s very prone to frost damage. Once the temperature drops below freezing, it will lose all its leaves and flowers until spring.
Sun Exposure
Lantana ‘New Gold’ thrives in full sun, even the reflected sun off of sidewalks, driveways, or walls. While it can be grown in part shade, it will produce fewer flowers and become more susceptible to powdery mildew.
Size and Growth Rate
Lantana ‘New Gold’ is a fast-growing ground cover that will grow to be 1 to 2 feet tall and eventually cover an area 3 to 6 feet across.
Soil
Lantana ‘New Gold’ is definitely not picky about soil, as long as it’s well-drained. It will grow in everything from sand to clay, and unlike native plants, which prefer alkaline soil, it will happily grow in either acidic or alkaline soil.
Other Location Considerations
Since it can be irritating to touch and toxic for pets, keep it where kids and dogs can’t get at it. It does great in hanging baskets and people in northern climates often buy them for containers and treat them as annuals.
Since it loses its leaves, it’s not a good choice to plant near a pool.
There is no desert plant that is completely “critter-proof.” If animals get hungry enough they’ll eat almost anything! But rabbits, deer, and javelinas usually leave lantana alone, so you can feel reasonably confident planting it in your front yard or other open area.
Lantana ‘New Gold’:
The Essentials
| Common Names | ‘New Gold’ lantana, lantana ‘New Gold’ |
| Scientific Name | Lantana x ‘New Gold’ |
| Origin | South America (hybrid) |
| Plant Type | Semi-evergreen ground cover |
| USDA Zones | Zones 8 – 11 |
| Cold Hardy | To 10℉ |
| Flower Color | Yellow-gold |
| Flower Season | Spring, summer, fall |
| Mature Size | 1-2’ high x 3- 4’ wide |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Sun Tolerance | Full, part, reflected sun |
| Water Needs | Low |
| Pests/Diseases | Root rot, white flies |
| Toxicity | All parts toxic, contact irritation, allergic reaction |
| Wildlife | Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, bees Deer, rabbit, javelina resistant |
How to Plant
The rule of thumb when planting any ground cover in the desert is to dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball but no deeper. Amending the soil is not recommended. Counterintuitively, backfilling with the same native soil you just dug up helps your plant develop a stronger root system.
When to Plant
Since lantana is frost-sensitive, it’s generally recommended that you plant it in the spring after the danger of frost has passed. However, I’ve planted lantana in both the spring and the fall with equal success.
How to Care for Lantana ‘New Gold’
Whether you’ve recently planted a lantana or have an existing one in your yard, here’s how to take care of it to keep it healthy and looking its best.
How to Water
Once you’ve got your lantana in the ground, watering is your most immediate concern.
The University of Arizona recommends watering newly planted ground covers every 2 to 3 days for the first 2 to 4 weeks.
After that, water once a week for the next two weeks, and then every 10 – 14 days after that.
During the winter, while it is dormant, it may not need any water, provided you’ve had winter rains. If not, water every 3 to 6 weeks.
How much water you should give your plant with each watering depends on the diameter of your plant and will change as it grows. You can use this chart as a guide.
| 1 foot diameter | .5 gallons |
| 2 feet diameter | 2 gallons |
| 3 feet diameter | 3.5 gallons |
| 4 feet diameter | 5 gallons |
Should You Fertilize?
Most desert plants don’t need fertilizing, but since ground covers are often planted near other plants, they have to compete for nutrients.
To ensure maximum growth and blooms, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum recommends fertilizing lantana twice per year in the early spring and early fall.
How to Prune
Lantana ‘New Gold’ benefits from a rigorous pruning in the spring to remove frost damage. It will reward you with new growth and flowers faster than if you just let nature take its course.
It’s generally recommended that you not prune until the last frost date… but what if you can’t wait? I get tired of looking at a clump of deadwood filled with dead leaves and other debris that the wind blows in over the winter.
So sometimes I cheat and cut it back by half early. If it gets zapped by an unexpected frost, I can still cut it down further later.
During the growing season, you can also prune lightly anytime to control its size or shape. You can also prune it back by half in late summer if it’s getting leggy or out of bounds.
Pests
Lantana ‘New Gold’ is tough but is still susceptible to a few garden pests including:
- Whiteflies
- Powdery mildew (if grown in shade)
- Root rot (if getting too much water)
- Lace bugs
If your plants are healthy, these pests will rarely do serious harm or kill a lantana.
Caution!
Do not treat pests with insecticidal soap.
Spraying with insecticidal soap or dish detergent can kill lantanas.
Is Lantana New Gold Invasive?
New gold lantana’s parent plant, Lantana camara, is considered an invasive species in some states including California, Texas, and Florida.
I was shocked to learn that lantana is on the list of the world’s 100 worst invasive species! 😮
An important attribute of ‘New Gold’ is that it’s sterile so it can’t escape your yard into the wild.
Don’t Confuse Lantana ‘New Gold’ With…
There’s another yellow lantana hybrid that looks much like Lantana ‘New Gold’ called ‘Gold Mound’. However, Lantana ‘New Gold’ is superior in several ways — it has more blooms, a longer bloom season, is more cold tolerant, and is seedless.
Plant Lover Facts
Lantana ‘New Gold’ is a hybrid cross between Lantana camara and Lantana montevidensis.
Virtually all lantanas you see at the nursery are L. camara varieties. They come in dozens of festive-sounding varieties such as “Fiesta Picante”, “Carnival”, and “Confetti”.
L. montevidensis, also known as trailing lantana, only comes in purple or occasionally, white. I have several of these in my yard. I like that they are more cold-hardy than the camara lantanas. In a mild winter, they keep their leaves and bloom all winter long, even after several light freezes.
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Author Bio
Deane Alban is the creator of Southwest Gardener. She is a science writer with a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of South Florida. Gardening is her lifelong passion. She’s been gardening in Tucson for 15 years.
I’m in an 8a high desert area and have this variety of Lantana. It is so beautifully fragrant and attracts lots of butterflies. It smells very similar to passionfruit (the fruit, not the the flower itself). It grows back well from hard freezes.
I didn’t realize they smell so nice! My next door neighbor has one, I’ll have to take a whiff next time I walk by. 😉