Two perennials for hot sunny places

With the onset of oppressive heat many of our landscape plants show signs of stress. Others thrive in it. Lantana is one woody perennial that can’t seem to get enough heat. I’ve seen it flourish when crabgrass and wiregrass wither.

Lantana does more than tolerate heat. This profuse bloomer is a great butterfly attractant. Ruby throated hummingbirds love them too. Most types are winter hardy in eastern North Carolina. They also provide us with healthy color when thermometers register around triple digits.

Flowers and foliage vary in their fragrance. Some have a sweet citrusy smell and others are not as pleasant. I have a large vigorous specimen that reaches over seven feet with gorgeous pink and yellow flowers. However, its crushed leaves smell like cat urine.

Lantanas come in many sizes, colors, and growth habits. There are low spreading types, like the bright yellow ‘New Gold’ cultivar. More upright and less spreading ones like the multicolored ‘Sonset’ and taller bolder specimens with a rainbow of colors, such as ‘Miss Huff’, which can grow six feet tall and spread even more adorn our landscapes.

All lantanas love full sun. They can grow in a somewhat shaded environment but won’t bloom as much. There is also significant variation in winter hardiness, especially in areas that may be wet for long periods when plants are dormant.

Lantanas are one of the last perennials to break dormancy in spring. Often buds don’t begin to shoot out of the crowns until almost mid May. Once warm weather comes, growth is fast. By July 1, most are in full bloom.

When flowers die, little berry-like fruits form. Many birds consume them and spread them all over the landscape. That doesn’t mean you can. Don’t eat them. Furthermore, keep them away from pets. Leaves and stems contain toxins too. Many sources list lantana as a medicinal species, but it’s not one I recommend.

Ice plant is a low growing plant with thick elongated finger-like leaves that somewhat resemble those of aloe. Some people call it the sour fig plant. Flowers have many petals that radiate around a disc-like center, making them look like some kind of daisy.

This creeping perennial is easy to propagate from stem or leaf cuttings. The biggest problem most people have is keeping the cuttings too wet. Soil media needs to be coarse and airy. Cuttings should not be misted or watered heavily. The soil surface should be allowed to dry out between waterings.

Some areas around the Mediterranean and Australia are covered with it. It was brought to this country from South Africa in the 19th century and was still planted to stabilize hillsides in California until the 1970s.

We’ve grown it at our greenhouses for years, but when I was in San Diego ten years ago, I gained a new appreciation for it. If it weren’t for ice plant many of the hills around that city would be eroded away. Ice plant was about all that was holding the soil.

That area gets little rainfall, and the topography is not exactly similar to our coastal plain. Despite this, ice plant thrives and the pink to purple color is spectacular. Its only problem there is that it’s somewhat invasive.

Many ecologists in California curse this plant because it is far more competitive than most of the native flora. Other places with similar climates also consider ice plant to be a menace and eradication programs continue with zest. Invasiveness is not a problem in more humid climates.

Humidity seems to be the major obstacle people have with ice plant around here. It often struggles in an environment with poor airflow. Wet soils and high humidity can melt it out in a hurry, particularly some of the tighter lower growing cultivars. Don’t even attempt to grow in in poorly drained soils.

The purple flowering types are coarser, more vigorous and spread rapidly on sandy soils. However, even on sandy soils winterkill can be a problem in a wet fall. Plants are hardier if they are a bit dry and shriveled going into winter.

If it gets out of hand you can always eat ice plant too. Since one of its common names is sour fig plant it stands to reason it might have edible uses. The leaves don’t have much flavor, but they can add bulk to soup broth. Some even eat them in salads. I can’t get past the texture.

Fruits are edible but they’re slimy, salty and disgusting when eaten fresh. They must be dried and consumed like raisins. They’re good in a salad that way.