Cleome hassleriana, or Spider Flower, as it is often called, is an amazing, long-lived annual in the garden. Pictured here are 'volunteer' Cleome plants living at our nursery. Volunteers are plants that grow up from seeds left in the ground from a previous gardening season. They were unplanned and found themselves a perfect spot in our front garden bed.
This particular variety of Cleome is 'Pink Queen' and like all cleome of this particular species, it grows to 4 ft. tall and spreads about 18" wide. The plant has large palmate leaves and the hairy and very prickly stems are sturdy enough to hold up the huge, globe-shaped, spidery flowers for which this plant gets its' common name! Cleome needs full sun and well-drained soil to be most successful. Regular watering during summer is helpful to keep it blooming until after first frost!! We sell already started plugs in May-June and seeds throughout the season. We may even be willing to share seeds from our volunteers if you ask nicely!! They are still flowering now in early October and looking like the garden 'Queens' that they are!
No comments:
Post a Comment