Shrub Verbena (Lantana trifolia) is a tropical shrub native to Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America that gardeners grow as much for its jewel-like fruit as for its delicate flowers. Hardy only in zones 10-11, it thrives as a summer annual or container plant in cooler climates, reaching 2-6 feet tall with dark green, rough-textured leaves that typically grow in distinctive whorls of three. The tiny five-lobed flowers give way to showy berries that ripen throughout the season, attracting butterflies and other pollinators while tolerating poor soils and drought.
Full Sun
Moderate
10-11
60in H x 36in W
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High
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Lantana trifolia earns its common name 'three-leaved lantana' from the distinctive way its oblong, lance-shaped leaves cluster in whorls of three, creating an architectural presence that sets it apart from its more familiar cousin Lantana camara. Unlike many shrubs that sacrifice either flowers or fruit for visual impact, this variety delivers both in abundance: tiny showy blossoms followed by equally ornamental berries that persist on the plant. It adapts remarkably well to challenging conditions, thriving in poor soils and enduring drought once established, while remaining vigorous enough to be shaped as a rounded shrub or trained as a standard in containers.
Lantana trifolia serves primarily as an ornamental shrub for tropical and subtropical gardens, container cultivation, and summer annual plantings in cooler climates. Gardeners value it equally as a flowering plant and as a specimen grown for its decorative fruit, often training it as a rounded shrub or formal standard in pots. In mild-winter regions, it anchors mixed borders and pollinator gardens, while in colder areas, container-grown plants can be moved indoors to bright, cool spaces during winter and returned outdoors when frost danger passes.
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Transplant container-grown plants outdoors after the last frost date when soil has warmed. Space plants 12-36 inches apart depending on your intended mature width and whether you're growing them as individual specimens or in a mass planting. Harden off plants grown indoors or from cuttings by gradually exposing them to outdoor light and air movement over 7-10 days before planting.
Shrub Verbena responds well to pruning and can be shaped as a rounded shrub or trained as a formal standard. Prune in early spring to encourage bushier growth and more abundant flowering. Container plants can be pruned more heavily to maintain a compact form or to train a single stem as a standard.
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“Native to the tropical Americas, Lantana trifolia has grown in gardens and landscapes across Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America for generations, though it remains far less common in cultivation than its widely distributed relative Lantana camara. The species retains its wild character while adapting readily to cultivation, particularly in zones 10-11 where it thrives as a permanent landscape shrub, and in cooler regions where gardeners have discovered its value as an annual or container plant that can be overwintered indoors.”