Cleome

Cleome, also known as spider plants, are large, coarse plants with interesting foliage and spikes of spidery, ethereal looking blooms that feed multitudes of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Native to South America, this is a tall plant that grows 4-5 ft. tall and wide, and makes an excellent annual hedge or windbreak. The leaves have an unpleasant scent when broken or crushed and they are untouched by diseases or pests, including deer and jackrabbits.

Easy from seed but resentful of transplanting, I suspect that cleome never achieved much in the way of popularity for this reason and the fact that they take up quite a lot of room. They won’t suit every garden. The flowers may be white, pink, lilac, rose, or mauve and have a gentle, sweet fragrance most noticeable on warm, calm days.

The ‘Queen’ series grows about 1.5 meters wide by 1.5 meters tall (5 foot wide by 5 foot tall) and is available in white, rose, and violet. It has received the RHS award of merit.

‘Helen Campbell’ is a particularly robust, large white flowered cultivar that is beguiling by moonlight.

The ‘Sparkler’ series is of recent origins and the bicolor pink-white form

‘Sparkler Blush’ won the AAS award in 2002. This series is extremely compact (only 24 inches) and very free flowering, making it good for large containers.

Grow cleome in full sun and average soil. They are quite drought resistant and generally begin to flower in mid to late July, blooming into September. They are great for creating a little “drama” in the garden, but they also have an old fashioned, somewhat mysterious quality to them that I greatly enjoy. Cleome can handle heat and the stems are very strong- despite being such large plants, they rarely break in the wind. Both stems and leaves are armed with discreet but very sharp little prickles so watch your fingers.