Texas Lantana

Lantana urticoides

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Texas Lantana is a perennial native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–5 ft tall and 4–5 ft wide. It wants full sun and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms red, orange and yellow in Apr–Oct. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds and butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Texas Lantana against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Sprawling shrubby perennial with rough leaves and flower clusters that open yellow and age to orange and red.

Why it works here

Butterflies work it constantly, it blooms all summer, and deer leave it alone.

Watch out

Berries are toxic. Freezes back; cut it down. Do not confuse it with invasive Lantana camara cultivars.

The facts

8 sources

Type: Perennial
Sun: Full sun (6+ hrs)
Water: Low
Height: 3–5 ft
Spread: 4–5 ft
Bloom: Apr–Oct · red, orange, yellow
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, gravelly, loam, sand, well drained
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Aromatic; toxic berries
Wildlife: Supports birds and butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

2,199 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

2.5–4.5 inch pots1 gallon

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.