LANTANA SHRUB NOT A DANGER TO GISBORNE GARDENS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22889, 8 March 1949, Page 4

LANTANA SHRUB NOT A DANGER TO GISBORNE GARDENS

A recent interview in which two residents of Norfolk Island warned Gisborne people about the possibility of serious results from the cultivation of Lantana was referred to today by Mr. H. Conway, an experienced horticulturist, who stated that the Norfolk Island visitors apparently spoke from their knowledge of a particular variety of the shrub which was not cultivated in New Zealand. He suspected, said Mr. Conway, that the visitors were unaware that about 50 varieties of the shrub had been produced in various parts of the world, and that many of them had none of the infesting habits of the Norfolk Island variety. This latter probably found its way to the island from Jamaica. It was a vigorous grower, having a roundish berry, black when ripe. Its seed was readily spread by birds and other agencies. Most florists in New Zealand now sell Lantana varieties produced by careful and systematic hybridisation, propagated fro|n cuttings. These are of an excellent standard, producing beauty in areas where light frosts only are experienced. Varieties such as Chelsea Gem, Golden Drop and Rosea, though responding quickly to cultivation, are unlikely to change from a pretty ornamental shrul) into a noxious plant, stated Mr. Conway.