HARDINESS: Frost tolerant
PREFERRED SOIL pH: Adaptable
PREFERRED SOIL TYPE: Average
PREFERRED LIGHT: Sun to partial shade
ATTRIBUTES: Tall stems topped by feathery white, pink, or purple flowers; for beds, large pots
SEASON OF INTEREST: Midsummer to fall
FAVORITES: Purple 'Violet Queen'; white 'Helen Campbell'
QUIRKS: Stems are prickly
GOOD NEIGHBORS: Evergreen shrubs, white-or pink-flowered annuals
WHERE IT GROWS BEST: Sun or partial shade; warm-summer areas
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: Decreased flowering and foliage in late summer; cut back to remedy
CRITTER RESISTANCE: Excellent
SOURCE: Seeds
DIMENSIONS: 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5 m) tall, 18 in (45.7 cm) wide
Cleome in the Landscape
An old-fashioned flowering plant once grown in every country garden, cleomes get their common name of spider flower from their loose blossom clusters of individual flowers studded with 3 in (7.6 cm) long waving stamens. The flowers can be pink, white, or rosy purple. In a good growing season, cleomes quickly reach a height of 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5 m), with the long, slender stems below the flowers clothed in palm-shaped leaflets. The stems have a slightly prickly texture, and the blooms emit a pungent, but not unpleasant, smell.
Most often grown as back-of-the-border plants in summer flower beds, cleomes also look heavenly jostled cheek to jowl with other annuals planted in large containers. Another way to do majestic cleomes justice is to plant them in groups of 5 or more plants, so that the profusely flowered stems cut a wide swath in a flower bed. Growing cleomes behind a short hedge that hides the stems and allows the feathery flowers to billow above the greenery composes an especially effective planting.
As the flowers fade, long, beanlike seedpods form along the lower stem, eventually shedding hundreds of seeds. In Zones 6 to 8 cleomes reseed so reliably that they reappear year after year in early summer. Tolerant of heat and drought, cleomes often flower nonstop until the plants are felled by hard freezes in the fall.
Spiders Flowers in Different Colors
Sometimes you can't improve on a good thing. The same cleomes that our grandmothers grew remain steadfastly popular. The variety 'Cherry Queen' has flowers of bright rose, 'Helen Campbell' is pure white, 'Pink Queen' is a vibrant pink, and 'Violet Queen' has violet blossoms. If you have sufficient space, a breathtaking scene can be composed by planting cleomes in single-color drifts, with dark-flowered 'Violet Queen' in the rear, fronted by the rose, then lighter pink, with the white variety in front. The result is a lovely study in perspective that makes the bed look twice as deep as it really is.
Growing Cleome
Purchase bedding plants in spring, start seeds indoors 4 weeks before your last frost, or sow seeds direcdy in the garden around your last frost date. The seeds need light to germinate, so barely cover with soil, and keep the soil barely moist and at normal room temperature (or sow outdoors in warm soil) until the seedlings have several leaves. Transplant or thin seedlings to 12 in (30.5 cm) apart.
Cleomes are self-supporting, so staking is never necessary. They only need watering during extended droughts. As cleomes gain height, the lowest sections of the stems often become thin and leggy, and the bloom display may weaken. To help plants make a comeback, prune back half of the stems by half their length to prompt the emergence of new blooming branches. The prickly stems clad with sporadic thorns discourage pests and disease, but also make it wise to wear gloves when priming cleomes.
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