For May flower growing, choose this one: the hotter the weather, the more brilliantly it blooms, colorful, easy to grow and beautiful

Introduction

Green plants and potted flowers are essential decorative touches for home life, beautifying the room while also uplifting the spirit and nurturing the character. Keeping some flowers and plants at home has many benefits. "Flower Sound Potted Plant Diary · Issue 998" introduces you to a flower suitable for growing in May.

Today's star

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and southern China is already in the grip of summer heat. For plants, this is the hardest time, and many flowers cannot make it through summer, such as Anisodontea, Rieger begonia, fuchsia, and many succulents, which are known as "certain death in summer." There are not many flowers to choose from for summer growing. The flower introduced today is an exception: the hotter the weather, the more suitable it is for cultivation.

Lantana

This flower is very common in southern China; here it is a landscaping tree, called "wucaihua," with the scientific name Lantana camara, a perennial evergreen shrub plant native to the tropical regions of South America. Its flowers are very similar to hydrangea, with many small flowers densely clustered into hemispherical capitula. The flower color changes a great deal, starting as yellow or pink when it first opens, then gradually turning orange-yellow, orange-red, red, and so on. Because each flower blooms at a different time, a single tree can display multiple colors in a splendid, colorful scene, truly beautiful.

Extremely long flowering period

Lantana has an extremely long flowering period. Like hibiscus, it is one of the plants with the longest flowering periods on Earth. Under natural conditions, the flowering period can begin in April and continue until February of the following year, blooming almost continuously all year round. Grown as an indoor potted plant at home, it also blooms in March. Whenever you look at it, it is covered in flowers, which is astonishing.

Easy care

Lantana comes from tropical regions and likes a warm, humid climate. It has strong adaptability, tolerates drought and poor soil, and is very easy to care for. For potting, loose, fertile, well-draining sandy loam is best, and it can be managed with minimal fuss, as easy to grow as lazy-person plants like pothos and spider plant. Its drawback is that it is not cold-tolerant; in northern China, it must be kept indoors to survive the winter.

Worth having

Lantana is not only beautiful, it also has a mosquito-repelling function. Its leaves give off a special scent that keeps mosquitoes and insects away, yet it is harmless to people. Because it is a woody plant with soft young branches, lantana is also an excellent emerging bonsai tree material, suitable for making many forms of bonsai. Beautiful and easy to grow, it is very worth getting.