The Fiery Red Lantana Variety That Makes A Perfect Driveway Border Flower

Are you looking at the front of your house and thinking that it needs a little more curb appeal? While you might have a nice, trim lawn and garden beds filled with well-maintained foliage plants, there appears to be something lacking: color. If you really want to make an impact, there's a fiery red lantana cultivar for your driveway border — and it is truly a feast for the eyes. It's known as Lantana camara 'Hot Blooded,' and the minute you see it, you'll know why.

When in bloom, the entire shrub is covered with red-hot flowers that start out golden-yellow and are set against deep green foliage. From spring to fall, the plants boast splashes of yellow, orange, and red all at the same time. This is definitely a show-stopping flowering perennial; you're pretty much guaranteed to stop passersby in their tracks who will lean in to take a closer look. One of the other remarkable benefits of this cultivar is that it's sterile and won't set seeds. You can enjoy this colorful lantana in your yard without it taking over.

Other reasons why this plant is perfect for planting alongside your driveway include its heat-hardiness and drought-tolerance. It will easily handle the radiant heat coming off your driveway material and doesn't need a garden faucet handy. You might even find that these lantana flowers will repel mosquitoes — something that can come in handy when, for example, you're washing your car in your driveway.

If you want to grow Lantana camara 'Hot Blooded' as a perennial border plant along your driveway, you'll need to live in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 through 11. In colder areas, it will only grow as an annual, dying once temperatures drop too low. It's a small shrub, reaching a height and spread of up to 2 feet, making it ideal for driveway edges that need to stay relatively clear and tidy. Just make sure the site sees full sun for much of the day (at least six hours). Space new plants around 2 to 3 feet apart to produce a nice border. Once you've planted this cultivar, it will quickly fill in, forming a nice, rounded mound. As a bonus, the flowers attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, as well as hummingbirds.

Another advantage of 'Hot Blooded' is that it's salt-tolerant, making it perfect for driveways treated with salt for ice and snow in the winter. Plus, deer, which can be a front-yard pest in some areas, usually leave it alone. If you are worried about your vibrant flowering shrub border surviving winter, cut the plants back close to the ground and cover them with a thick layer of mulch. Remove the mulch once spring arrives, and with some luck, your lantana should start to produce new growth fairly quickly. In warmer areas, you can just prune the bushes back hard in early spring so that they don't get too woody and produce lots of new growth. This is also the best time to prune lantana for blooms that will last. Just be warned, though, that this plant is somewhat toxic to humans and animals, so wear gloves when you're working with it.