Well, seeing as sheepish has had such good luck in learning about Foxgloves and Hollyhocks from you all, I'd like to know a little about Cleome if possible.

I planted some young plants that I purchased from the nursery earlier this year and now they're starting to flower (beautiful purple flowers). My question is this: do you need to deadhead the top flower bunch after it's done blooming to keep the plant producing more flowers?

I've never grown Cleome before so don't have a clue on how to care for it. The plants sure do smell skunky though, even with such pretty flowers!

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2001

Answers

It's ugly.It falls over.It reseeds voraciously.I hate it.Southern staple, along with yellow marigolds and red salvia. I've seen way too much of it to ever let it in my yard. Kinda like a bad relative. Anything else you need to know,besides kill it while you still have a yard left??? Well,It's not as bad as kudzu. But kudzu is edible,at least.Just my humble opinion,sir.

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2001

Well drat, that's not the answer I was looking for. I wonder if Cleome is as invasive here in Minnesota as it appears to be in more southern states? I really like the plant (so far) and hate to think it won't play nice with other plants.

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2001

*hee hee!* Looks like Sharon and I are gonna disagree!

Ok, I'm in northern Wisdconsin. It doesn't get invasive here, what little does reseed itself is easy to pull if you don't like it in spring. Often if you take an invasive outside it's 'ideal' environment, it behaves better.

I started planting Cleome against a south garage wall where the soil was unbelieveably bad -- pure sand, road gravel, and chunks of waste concrete. I pried the concrete lumps out (left overs from construction), but the gravel defeated me. I planted Cleome there with some composted manure (my favourite soil amendment...we've got so much of it!). They needed some watering originally to establish their root system, and I stuck in some bamboo twigs to keep them propped up at first, but by the end of summer, they were 4' high, had stalks as thick as a man's thumb and held themselves up just fine. By that time they hardly needed watering at all, although we were experiencing a 'Wisconsin Drought' that year. That was a big plus not to have to water them much, I was trying to establish other things that needed the attention.

I'm not sure how yours will grow, but mine continued to put out blossoms at the top as the lower ones died. I never removed the lower ones and they did form seed pods, but as I said, that never got to be a problem. They were pretty carefree and performed well in a spot that was ugly and almost impossible for other flowers, so they got high marks in my book.

They do smell pretty skunky, and what with the shape of leaves, I got accused to growing my own Pot by some who weren't very versed in gardening. I suggested that they smoke it and tell me if it gave them a buzz or what, but they didn't take me up on it.

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2001

Thanks, julie.

I'm glad to hear you've had better luck with them than sharon has. After sharon's post I was afraid they might take over my homestead along the lines of The Day of the Triffids.

(anybody ever read that book?)

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2001

Man, those were some honkin' big plants!! (Triffids, that is!) The movie wasn't too bad either, for an old SciFi flick.

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Uh-oh....

Can I let it grow and re-seed this year and then go plant it under the walnut trees where nothing else will grow? (That way, I won't feel guilty about killing it! ;o)

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Cleome, called spider flower by us is a very striking plant and one of my husbands favorites. It doesn't self sow here, and he is disapointed because we don't have any this year.

Sharon doesn't like it,sounds like everybody grows it where she is and she has seen it too much. But here it is not so common. And I'll tell you who does love it, the hummingbirds, butterflys and the bees. They will thank you for growing this flower Jim!

Cleome makes a striking flower arrangement, and I have used the seed capsules in dried flower arrangements.

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Oh yeh, cleome reseeds, big time. Although I think it is kind of pretty. The hummers, bees, and butterflies really do love it and I grow it just for this reason alone. Trendle is right, it is beautiful in mixed flower arrangements, kind of an airy look. It's not common to see it growing around here either. Actually I never really saw any until I was in a Mennonite area of Indiana. Just be prepared to pull and thin next spring.

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Ok, you all, I feel like a real garden "doofus", what is cleome? Describe it in simple terms to this embarressed supposed "farmer"!!!

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Hi Annie,

I don't think I could describe it in a way that would do it justice so I went out on the Net and found a picture of it:

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Heh, it *does* look a little like a Triffid doesn't it, julie?

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

I really love cleome. Mine never fall over and bloom all summer. They do reseed themselves but usually never in the same place - the wind must blow the tiny seeds around. But if you keep some of the seeds and plant them in the spring - they grow pretty fast. They basically don't need much care at all - one of the reasons I like them.

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

o.k. you guys!!!! You all make it sound like it grows like a weed.........I want some and I can not make it grow. Am I using too good a soil??? Mine just sits there and does nothing. Should I maybe start it in the ground instead of a pot??

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001