Q: I planted a‘Sunny Side Up’ dwarf lantana. It is supposedly perennial. I would like to shape it and cut it back from lopping over the sidewalk. When is the latest I can prune it?

A: I haven’t had experience with ‘Sunny Side Up’ but I know of a spreading clump of ‘Chapel Hill Yellow’ perennial lantana that has persisted in the Toco Hill shopping center without care for three years. Severe pruning in fall usually makes plants like lantana less tolerant of winter cold. I think you could do minor pruning on your lantana now but not an overall shearing. Do the major work in early March next year.