Even as most flowers of summer are finishing, the bright yellow, orange, red, pink and white blooms of Lantana camara continue to brighten gardens until the weather eventually gets too cool and damp for them to perform. This is quite impressive for a species that is endemic to the tropics of Central America, and has a taste for warmth. Blooms are actually one to two inch wide umbels of many small flowers. Individual flowers within each umbel may be different colors at different phases, so that each umbel may have blooms in as many as three different colors.

In the wild, Lantana camara can get almost six feet high and more than six feet broad. Garden varieties are of course much smaller and compact. Since Lantana camara does well in containers, a few cultivars that stay very compact and proportionate to container gardening have been developed, but unfortunately remain somewhat uncommon in nurseries. The potentially objectionably aromatic leaves are about two or three inches long and one or two inches wide, with minor serration and slightly sandy texture. Some dislike the foliar aroma, but many enjoy it.

Lantana camara is not too demanding, wanting only good warm exposure with no more than a bit of shade. Once established, it does not need much water, and can actually rot if watered too frequently, or if soil does not drain adequately. Excessive fertilizer will inhibit bloom. There are not many insects that bother Lantana camara, perhaps because it has an unpleasant flavor. It is actually toxic to animals that may try to eat it. However, butterflies really dig it.