Because of their attractive flowers, which change color from opening to fading, lantana is one of the most beautiful and popular ornamental plants for balconies and terraces. The naturally herbaceous, bushy plant can be easily trained into a standard plant and is particularly attractive in this growth form. However, standard plants are not cheap, but with a little skill you can easily grow them yourself.
How do I train a lantana to become a standard tree?
To train a lantana to become a standard stem, choose a middle shoot that has just grown, remove the lowest side shoots and leave only the top 3-4 shoots standing. Guide and stabilize the trunk with a support rod. Prune the shoot tips of the crown regularly to promote dense branching.
Creating a tree trunk
If you let the lantana grow completely freely, it will thrive like a small bush with numerous branches around the strong main shoot. If you want to grow a standard stem, only this central shoot is left standing. It is therefore important to choose a lantana whose central shoot is well developed and has grown as straight as possible.
Stabilize trunk
Only the top three to four side shoots remain, they form the basis for the dense crown. Cut off the underlying shoots completely. Stabilize the main shoot with a bamboo stick (€11.00 on Amazon) to which you attach the plant. Use tubular tape or tree ties for this, as these materials do not cut into the still very sensitive trunk.
Direct shoots upwards
In the beginning, the remaining shoot tips must gain height and the future trunk must gain thickness. Therefore, cut off all side shoots consistently. The trunk with the small crown moves quickly towards the sunlight. So that it doesn't bend and become woody, the new growth is also tied down.
Crown caps
So that the crown of the lantana standard stem is richly branched, the shoot tips are regularly shortened to three to many pairs of leaves. New branches remain and are cut back to three to four leaves. Over time, this creates a dense, spherical crown with numerous flower buds.
Support of the Tribe
We recommend continuing to support the trunk even if it could actually bear the load of the crown on its own. If rain weighs down the leaves or there is wind, you don't have to worry that the effort of pulling up to the tree trunk will be ruined by the bad weather.
Tip
You can get already trained lantana standard stems from garden shops. To ensure that the growth habit is maintained, it is important to follow our care tips for these plants and to trim them regularly.