Cleoma is a grassy annual plant that has recently become a particularly popular decoration of flower beds and summer cottages.
It can be recognized by its characteristic bright flowers up to 3 cm in diameter. They are collected in multi-flowered racemose inflorescences.
The flowers of the prickly
Cleoma have an original and peculiar shape: on one side are the corolla petals, and on the other - a column and thin long stamens. The stem of the plant is erect, strong and strong, can reach 150 cm in height. Light green leaves of cleoma differ in apical (small whole) and middle (large complex, consisting of several serrated leaflets on the edges). At their base are hard spikes, and the whole plant as a whole is covered with sticky hairs. The foliate fruits of the flower appear as they bloom and contain a large number of black small seeds. Due to its unusual and attractive appearance, cultivation of kleoma has become widespread both as an interesting central element in the flowerbed and as a background in group plantings. On large flower beds, these plants will perfectly emphasize the beauty of undersized flowers, especially white petunia and lemon tagetis.
The cultivation of Cleoma is justified in the form of a central element of the floristic composition. This plant goes well with verbena and sage. These flowers are also great for cutting - they stand in water for a long time (up to 10 days), while maintaining their fresh
appearance. Growing kleoma does not require any "extra effort." All that this plant needs is timely watering, weed removal and soil loosening, as well as well-planned top dressing.
Cleoma: growing and caring for this beautiful annual
It is advisable to select sunny areas for this plant, protected from strong cold winds. The soil must be fertile and well-drained. Cleoma propagates by seed. In order to get good seedlings, they are sown in late March or early April. The first shoots appear after about two weeks. The grown plants are planted in open ground in the spring, after the threat of frost has passed (you can focus on planting tomatoes). The distance between the seedlings is maintained at 35 or 40 cm. Before planting the material, the soil must be fertilized with compost. After the procedure of transferring seedlings to an open area, they are regularly watered, but not poured (plants cannot stand water stagnation). Cleoma does not respond well to over-dried and waterlogged soil, so it must be watered moderately and at the same time regularly. In general, the plant is quite unpretentious and resistant to aggressive environmental influences: the temperature regime does not matter for it either.
If the soil on the site is poor, fertilize every 3 or 4 weeks. For abundant flowering, the plant can be fertilized during budding. Thus, growing kleoma is not burdensome. It is only necessary to follow the simple rules of agricultural technology: watering, fertilizing, cultivating the soil and removing weeds. On fertile, rich soils, subject to these conditions, cleome will bloom all summer, adorning any site with its original appearance.