Buttonsage
The lantana that actually belongs here, and how to tell it from the one that does not
Lantana involucrata
Why it works here
When somebody says lantana, they mean the big box plant with the orange and pink and yellow flowers, and that plant is a Category I invasive in Florida documented in 60 counties. This is not that plant. Buttonsage is the native lantana, and it grows wild on our own dunes and coastal hammocks. Small white flowers with yellow centers, sometimes blushing pink or lavender, in little button shaped clusters every month of the year, and they are truly fragrant. Crush a leaf and it smells like sage. Bees, butterflies, and the occasional hummingbird work it constantly, and the purple black fruit feeds the birds. FNPS documents all of that. What I cannot document is a named butterfly host, so I will not claim one. It is a genuine Martin County native, it is on UF's own recommended list for the Treasure Coast, it takes salt wind, and it wants nothing from you once it is in. It is one of the easiest plants on this whole site.
Care
Full sun, sharp drainage, and water only to establish. Do not fertilize it and do not amend the bed, because rich conditions make it soft and floppy. Prune it in late winter to keep it dense, or let it go and it will get to 5 or 6 ft and open up. That is the whole program.
Common problems
Buying the wrong lantana. This is the real problem. The tell is the flower: native has small white or pale flowers, the invasive has big multicolor ones. Look at the leaf base too. The native tapers into the stem, the invasive is squared off. Buy from a native nursery, because a tag that just says "lantana" is not enough.
Shade. It gets leggy and stops flowering.
No documented pests. Nothing in any source I checked, and nothing I have seen.
The berries. The invasive lantana's green berries are toxic. For this one the reports say ripe fruit is fine and green fruit is not, so with kids and dogs, treat the fruit as not for eating and be done with it.
Common questions
Is this the same lantana everybody has?
No, and that is the entire point of this page. That one is invasive and it is crowding out the natives. This one is the native. They are cousins, and in the yard they do the same pollinator job, but only one of them belongs here.
Will the invasive one cross with it?
The well documented problem is with pineland lantana, a different native, which is being genetically swamped by the invasive. I have not found a documented hybrid with buttonsage. It is the cleaner buy, but still buy it from a native grower.
Does it smell?
Yes, in a good way. The flowers are sweet and the leaves smell like sage when you brush them. Put it next to a walkway.
Interested in a buttonsage in your landscape?
We plan, install, and care for it. Start with a paid consultation.