Cleome hassleriana
Cleome, spider flower, spider plant: these nicknames come from its long, threadlike stamens, which extend well beyond the petals and give each flower the appearance of a small spider hanging in midair. The inflorescence stretches upward throughout the summer, with the lower flowers giving way to seed pods while new buds open at the top.
Characteristics:
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Spectacular silhouette: a tall annual, often reaching 1.20 to 1.50 m, which adds height to flower beds.
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Unusual flowers: pinkish clusters with long stamens, produced continuously throughout the summer until the first frosts.
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Fast growth: from sowing to flowering in a single season, with no difficulty.
Precautions:
- Its stems bear small thorns and its foliage is slightly sticky to the touch: wear gloves when handling or pruning it.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: sunny and warm, essential for abundant flowering.
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Soil: ordinary, loose and well-drained, preferably light. It tolerates poor soil and drought once established, but dislikes waterlogged conditions. Soil that is too rich produces soft, floppy stems: do not overfertilize.
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Method: sow in pots under cover from March onward (20 °C), or directly in the ground after the frosts. The seeds germinate better after a period of cold: keeping them in the refrigerator for a few days before sowing significantly improves germination. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant after the last frosts, spacing plants 40 to 50 cm apart, at the back of a flower bed or along the edge of the vegetable garden, sheltered from strong winds.
Care advice:
- Water moderately. No staking is necessary if the soil remains poor and the site is sunny.
Beneficial combinations:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its long, nectar-rich flowers are especially visited by moths and hawk moths at dusk, wildlife that is often overlooked in the garden.
- Long-tongued bumblebees and daytime butterflies also flock to it throughout the summer.
Harvesting your own seeds:
The long, slender pods that form beneath the flowers turn brown and split open when mature: harvest them just beforehand, when they begin to yellow, and leave them to dry in a paper bag. Cleome also readily self-seeds from one year to the next. See how to store your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our conviction: to give gardeners back the ability to sow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
Add the original silhouette of pink cleome to your summer flower beds.
