This is a beautiful plant that comes from areas with a tropical climate. The showy flower clusters with long stemmed petals and unique long sticking out stamens, it looks like they are going to bloom forever.
Flowers growing around the base of the cluster fade as buds open, so that this plant has flowers at all times.
Cleome Features
When about to grow, the Cleome develops arches of pink or white flowers from mid-summer to fall. Every flower has long, thin stamens which are very similar to the legs of a spider, that is why this plant is known by the name of the spider flower.
The Cleome can have standard and dwarf sizes. The standard size can grow up to a meter tall, the dwarf varieties on the other hand, grow about 61 inches tall and are considered excellent plants for containers.
These easy care flowers they act as long-lasting in the southern part of their range, but in most of the country, it is considered an annual plant. They look great when planted en masse or mixed at the back of the border with other tall bloomers.
The Cleome attracts butterflies, as well as other pollinators.
Among the latests Moravia's compositions cleome species found in the world, we can mention the most common:
- cleome gynandra
- Gynandropsis gynandra
- Cleome Hasslerana
While the upper racemes show a light pink color, the lateral ones are white. A strange thing about flowers is that they fade as fast as they open, giving the plant a beautiful combination of quite particular color.
How to grow Cleome?
Cleome can be planted in a sunny spot that gives it at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. This is a plant that does not have many demands on the floor, getting to withstand dry conditions.
Plants often reseed themselvesTherefore, wilted flowers will be removed once they appear, thus preventing them from spreading. It is important to wear gloves when working with Cleome, as mature plants develop short, sharp spines along the stems.
Cleome care
The species of Cleome, they are easy to grow in any type of soil when they are in a sunny place. So you have to place them in a place where they can receive direct sunlight.
However, it is best that they are in a garden strip, with a good amount of nutrients as well as good drainage. If properly drained soil is used, it is not need fertilizer. Once started, it takes care of itself.
By placing mulch between the plants, there is no need to place more to weed or water the plants.
The thick foliage will soon kill weeds, and the strong root system will reach up to 46 inches in search of water. If you wish choose a plant that does not require much care during the summer months, this is the one.
Cleome Propagation
Cleome grows by means of seeds. The bed is cultivated where the plant grows as deeply as possible, the clumps are broken, and it is gently scraped. Then with a hoe, small holes are dug approximately one meter apart, in all directions.
The seeds will germinate on their own, after the weather is warm. If the soil freezes again after planting, they will not be damaged. In fact, many gardeners plant their seeds in late fall in the beds where they will grow, eliminating that part of the spring work.
After this first sowing, it will not be necessary to plant seeds again. Each spring, dozens of healthy plants will sprout where the old plant was.
It is necessary that they reach about 15 or 20 centimeters, then they can be transplanted anywhere.
If you prefer, you can gather the ripe seeds in the fall and just before the ground freezes, they are sown wherever you want. They will appear in the spring and give a earlier flowering.