Cleome

Cleome, Cleome

Create a bold and exotic display in your garden with these lovely, unusual flowers.

Growing

Cleomes prefer full sun but tolerate late-afternoon shade. Plants adapt to most soils, though mixing in organic matter to help retain water is a good idea. These plants are drought tolerant but perform best when watered regularly.

Pinch out the tip of the center stem on young plants to encourage branching and more blooms. Deadhead to prolong blooming.

Tips

Cleomes can be planted in groups at the back of a border or in the center of an island bed. These striking plants also make an attractive addition to a large mixed container planting.

Recommended

C. x hybrid ‘Senorita Rosalita’ from Proven Winners is a heat tolerant, thornless and dense-growing hybrid cleome. This cultivar does not require deadheading and blooms continuously until first frost. The foliage has a purple tinge. The flowers are lavender-pink and sterile, so you won’t have to worry about re-seeding. It grows 2–4' tall.

Also called: spider flower

Features: attractive, scented foliage; colorful flowers

Height: 2–5'

Spread: 2–3'

Sidebar

Cleome attracts hummingbirds and provides them with nectar well into fall because the flowers keep on blooming after many other plants have finished for the year.