Press Releases

Patriot™ Lantanas are Winners for Summer Color!

Like a series of fireworks exploding from brilliant centers, lantanas pack quite a punch of color in a relatively compact space! Their fruit-juicy colors will always fill that "niche" of summer color when temperatures are at their peak and most other color is past. They are an old time favorite that is gaining even stronger favor with contemporary gardeners, due to the new varieties on the scene.

For the first time in fifteen years, lantanas are "news"! Until the appearance of the Patriot™ lantanas, virtually no new varieties had been offered to the market for this period of time. For the grower, this means a boost to his sales—the nursery industry is no exception to the rule that "new" sells. Other pluses for growers are the increased demand for color and the quick return on investment, as lantanas require less greenhouse time than many crops.

The ever-growing demand for more color is an invitation to hybridizers like Dr. Jack Roberson of American Daylily & Perennials in Grain Valley, Mo. who introduced the Patriot™ lantana series in 1994 with his Patriot™ Rainbow (ppaf)(1). This ultra compact, multi-colored beauty won the FloraStar award that year, and has continued to grow in popularity as it is the only compact lantana available anywhere. Self-branching is spontaneous, so it requires almost no pinching. Though its growth is about 25% slower than other lantanas, more and more growers are discovering that it is well worth the wait, as it is so dense, compact, and profusely blooming. The first florets open as an electric yellow, then transition through tones of sienna and orange to its finale of fuchsia pink.
The entire Patriot™ lantana series for 1997 is worthy of your review, as it offers a full palette of colors and both weeping and mounding forms. Of particular note among the 1997 introductions is Roberson's Patriot™ Cherry (ppaf)(2), which is unique because of its nearly continuous true red color. Its buds start as red, shift briefly to yellow, then return promptly to a brilliant cherry red. Roberson states, "This color transition takes place faster and is a more 'true red' than any other lantana we know of."

The Patriot™ Cherry is an International Plant Selection (IPS) for 1997, having recently received the recommendation from IPS, an organization committed to bringing new and qualified plant material to the gardening public from hybridizers worldwide. Growers have applauded IPS for its ability to distinguish top performers from other new introductions. According to D.E. (Skeetter) McCorkle, McCorkle Nurseries, Dearing, GA., the IPS is a "win-win situation" because its model trialing approach makes it easy to choose the selections he wants to offer his market.

For growers who want to offer their buyers a semi-weeping lantana, Roberson offers Patriot™ Honeylove, a new color breakthrough. It transitions from honey-gold to cantaloupe peach in clear, homogeneous colors. The semi-weeping semi-mounding growth habit works well in a bedding mass and can spread three inches in one growing season and mounds to about 24 inches. Another in the series, the Patriot™ Sunburst(3) is unsurpassed in continuous blooming and is a very strong grower. This is a weeping lantana that produces a mass of bright yellow that contrasts beautifully against the rich green foliage. Another of the series, Patriot™ Dove Wings, presents a striking contrast, with its pure white florets against its rich green foliage. This weeping variety has delicate, graceful, short stems and a refined growth habit—an excellent choice for smaller areas.
The varied uses for lantanas make marketing them a "natural" for the supplier. They are excellent for both garden and container use. Weeping forms are most ideal used as a ground cover, cascading over a wall, or in hanging baskets. The mounding forms are excellent for rapidly establishing a summer blooming hedge, as a mass planting, or a focal specimen standard for patios and decks. Patriot™ Desert Sunset exhibits the ultra-strong growth characteristics and mounding habit that makes it optimum for training as a standard," says Roberson. This lantana has multi-colored florets of brilliant yellow, cantaloupe, peach and pink, and has extremely lush, disease resistant foliage.

This old-time favorite perennial is gaining new momentum. The Patriot™ series has brought fresh, new options to the lantana market, and the entire palette of colors is available for 1997 from growers nationwide.

1 Subsequent to this press release, U.S. Patent #9837 has been awarded.
2 Subsequent to this press release, U.S. Patent #10854 has been awarded.
3 Now Patriot™ Sunbeam, U.S. Patent #10885.