cleome
 

I want to plant cleome in my garden but can't find any plants in any nurseries in Long Island. Is it too late to put in seeds?

Elliot
Long Island, New York

From my experience, the seeds germinate quickly and the plants grow very very quickly! And once you have them, you will have them forever -they drop seeds, and they all seem to germinate!!!! We planted them for the first time last year, and each place that had them has hundreds of babies coming up.

[quote=nctomatoman;101241]From my experience, the seeds germinate quickly and the plants grow very very quickly! And once you have them, you will have them forever -they drop seeds, and they all seem to germinate!!!! We planted them for the first time last year, and each place that had them has hundreds of babies coming up.[/quote]


Is it too late to plant them?

I shouldn't think so. I've even planted them in the beginning of August and had them blooming before frost.

[quote=nctomatoman;101241]From my experience, the seeds germinate quickly and the plants grow very very quickly! And once you have them, you will have them forever -they drop seeds, and they all seem to germinate!!!! We planted them for the first time last year, and each place that had them has hundreds of babies coming up.[/quote]

Questions for Craig -- or other warm/hot zone growers, where the heat is plentiful and the rain may sometimes be scarce:

Do they bloom until frost? If not, when do they tend to bloom the most?

How drought tolerant are they? Are they one of those plants that one can get by with watering once a week or so when temps are well into the 90's (yes, all my ornamental beds are mulched), or do they need a little more water than that to do well?

I've wanted to give cleomes a go for quite a while, but since I'm aware they reseed a lot, just want to make sure they have the potential to do well here first before I end up with them all over the place. :)

Elliot,
The nurseries here have them. The ones that carry a lot of annuals seem to sell them. I've also noticed places that sell 'Proven Winners' annuals have them. I thought it odd that there are supposedly improved Proven Winners varieties, but if you want plants at least you can get them.
Remy

Hey Suze - I am by no means a Cleome expert - we grew them last year for the first time. You know what sort of summer we had - hot, humid, drought - the plants bloomed right up till frost, and they show they are dry by visibly wilting - but come right back once watered. When i say prolific self seeders, I mean extremely prolific! We've pulled and tossed hundreds of seedlings, leaving the strongest to grow on.

[quote=nctomatoman;101241]From my experience, the seeds germinate quickly and the plants grow very very quickly! And once you have them, you will have them forever -they drop seeds, and they all seem to germinate!!!! We planted them for the first time last year, and each place that had them has hundreds of babies coming up.[/quote]


Do they have to separated when they start germinating?

You can let them get quite crowded, then separate them to move to their final locations - or you can pot them up and let them settle in following the separation before moving them. My self seeded ones from last year's plants are now 4 feet tall and in bloom! we've been pulling them up and tossing them by the handsfull!

[quote=nctomatoman;102639]You can let them get quite crowded, then separate them to move to their final locations - or you can pot them up and let them settle in following the separation before moving them. My self seeded ones from last year's plants are now 4 feet tall and in bloom! we've been pulling them up and tossing them by the handsfull![/quote]


None of my seeds have germinated yet but there is a nursery in my area that has white cleome plants. I guess I should consider buying them