Spider Flower

Why is it called the Spider Flower – well, from the spidery-like flowers with long, waving stamen which are held on tall, strong leafy stems. The proper name is Cleome. As a mass planting they resemble a wall of colour with bouncing eight inch balls of blossom in white, pink and purple. They can reach a height of six feet in a good season. One of the nicest ways to grow them is to pick an area of the garden, perhaps against a garage wall or greenhouse, where a more casual planting is appropriate and to allow a massed back row of these plants to bob and sway behind more structured plantings. The flowers are elegant and delicate, with something of the shape of honeysuckle, but larger and in more pastel colours. It’s incredibly impressive when grown like this, and there is no need to tell your neighbours that this is one of the easiest plants to grow – in fact, if you leave the flower heads on the plant until they set seed, you may find you’re pulling unwanted Spider Flowers out of your border the following spring – they are very happy to self seed!

The wonderful thing about this annual is that it can be direct seeded and will germinate in one to two weeks if the temperatures are around 70 degrees. Simply press the seed into the soil where you want it to grow and space the plants about a foot apart.

The Spider Flower will grow in most soils in full sun, and it is a drought tolerant species, but will do better if watered during dry spells.

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