In gardens and parks you can see a cleome flower. This is a beautifully flowering plant of the Cleom family, which can be annual or biennial. In the wild, the plant is found almost everywhere where the climate is quite warm. This genus includes 70 species. Unusual carpal flowering makes glue attractive to gardeners. In addition, the plant blooms all summer without interruptions and has a peculiar smell.
Features of Cleoma
The peduncle is large enough with a powerful root system and branched shoots. The height of the bush reaches one and a half meters. The inner side of the bushes is protected by a small prickly edge. Depending on the species, the leaves are simple and divided into several linear segments. The apical plates are much smaller and always solid.
Cleoma blooming
Hand inflorescences consist of individual flowers of a dark red, pink, yellow or white hue. Stamens are quite long. The seed fruit has the shape of a long pod. Gardeners do not always like the specific smell that cleome flowers have, but in the open air it is not so strong. Needed to attract insects that pollinate the plant.
Classification of glue
A fairly unpretentious peduncle, with an annual or two-year development period. A two-year cycle is only possible in warm regions. In the future, cleoma, planting and care in the open ground for which even inexperienced gardeners can afford, is propagated by seeds.
All types of shrubs are divided by botanists into two main groups:
- Hassler's Cleoma (Cleome Hassleriana);
- prickly cleoma (Cleome Spinosa)
Both species have a prickly edge. They differ only in the color of the flower. Many varieties of different sizes and colors were bred from them.
Varieties that are very popular among gardeners
Thanks to breeders, many varieties of plants have appeared in the world, differing from each other not only in appearance, but also in the way of care, as well as in the flowering period. For beginners it is better to choose unpretentious specimens that are easy to plant. These include:
- Cherry Queen. With lilac and lilac flowers. You can grow a plant in a pot or in open ground.
- Cleoma Spray champagne. It has a pearl and pink color.
- Hellen Campbell, pleasing with snow-white peduncles. It is called white cleoma.
- Rosakenigin with a peach color.
- Pink queen and rose queen, reflecting all shades of pink.
- Golden Sparkler, pleasing with yellow flowers on a low bush.
- Giant Pink Chiusen. Large flowers with a pink tint.
- Sparkler lavender. Painted in a pale purple hue.
- Violet Queen with colors of deep purple tone.
Planted Cleoma in the garden looks great along with fragrant tobacco and other plants. It is tall, which is why it is often used to create hedges.
Interesting! The Queen line is very popular among gardeners, the line of which includes such varieties as the Cherry Queen, White Queen and others.
Growing Features
In order for the seedlings to be healthy and resistant to diseases, the preparation of the soil and seed should be done at the end of February. First of all, you need to know how cleome growing from seeds occurs when to plant this plant.
Ground preparation and landing sites
Seeds are planted in planting containers or peat pots with loose nutritious soil. The substrate can be bought in a store or prepared from equal shares of humus, sand and turf. Before planting, the seed material is soaked in special formulations for protection and faster germination. Surface distribution should be uniform. Top them sprinkled with a small layer of soil.
Important! To prevent seedlings from evaporating, remove the film from the containers for ventilation and moisten the soil as needed.
Under favorable conditions, kleoma seedlings will hatch 10-14 days after planting. Next, the containers are placed in a lit place. If this is not, additional lighting is done.
Growing seedlings
The nuances of growing seedlings
For the normal development of shoots, they need to be watered regularly so that the soil is moist. Another rule that must be observed in order to grow glue is watering young seedlings with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. It will kill spores of fungus and viruses and protect the plantings.
After the appearance of the second pair of true leaves, the plants pick. Do it neatly. After a couple of weeks, the flowers are fed with complex mineral fertilizers.
You should know! So that the sprouts develop evenly and do not stretch, the containers regularly rotate relative to the sun.
In open ground, the cleome plant is planted when the threat of frost passes. It is preliminarily hardened. You can directly sow the seeds into the ground in late May or late autumn. The depth of the grooves in this case is 15 mm, and the distance between the rows is 35 mm.
Sowing seeds in the garden
Instructions for planting seeds in open ground in the spring are as follows:
- Soak in a stimulating preparation (zircon, epin and others).
- Dig a plot, make a bed and grooves in it. The depth of the moat is about two millimeters. The distance between them is 25-30 cm.
- Spread the seeds evenly over the surface and sprinkle with a layer of soil. Put cover material on top.
- After germination, it is removed.
- When the first leaves appear on the plants, they need to be thinned out, leaving them at a distance of 50-70 cm from each other.
Flower care
Gardeners are very fond of a plant such as cleome growing which does not require much time and effort. The main thing is to choose the right place, water and treat pests in a timely manner. This will allow the whole summer to admire how the cleoma blooms. Watering can be done once a week, but plentifully.
Watering plants
Fertilizing bushes
Top dressing is carried out 2 times a month by root injection. The open part of the roots should be mulched, and the root circle itself should be systematically loosened and cleaned of weeds.
The amount and volume of fertilizing should be consistent with the needs of plants for a certain period of time. Initially, these are mixtures containing a complex of beneficial substances, including nitrogen. During the formation of the first buds, potassium and magnesium supplements are used for flowering crops.
The frequency of feeding is two weeks or a little more, depending on the condition of the plants. Under weakened bushes, top dressing is applied in a smaller dose. Otherwise, mineral supplements will simply kill the shoots. Sometimes it is enough just to sprinkle the leaves with a weak solution of this composition.
Care Features
If you look after the flower in such a way, it will thank you with lush and long flowering. Cleom bushes are prone to overgrowth, and sometimes break under their own weight. To prevent this, it is recommended to drive pegs along the edges of the flowerbed and pull strong threads around the perimeter that will serve the plant as support. Cleoma refers to annual plants, therefore, in autumn, the bushes should be uprooted and disposed of. Previously, you can collect the seeds of the plant and leave them for sowing for the next season - open the ripened pods, pour the seeds into a paper bag and store them in a dark, cool place.
Cleoma after flowering
Cleoma is a perennial flower and propagates exclusively by seeds. Experienced gardeners collect ripened seeds from the bushes to sow them in the spring or before winter. The maturity of the seed is determined by external data (shape and brown color). Selected seed pods are covered with gauze bags so that they do not wake up on the ground.
Seed collection
When frost occurs, the upper part of the shoots is cut and burned. During the autumn planting of seeds in November, a bed is prepared, which is covered with fir branches.
Causes of seed germination
After the formation of seed pods occurs as the plants bloom. The size of the seeds does not exceed 0.5 cm. The reasons for the poor germination of seeds can be their immaturity and errors in caring for the plant. You can increase the percentage of germination with the help of special drugs that stimulate the process. In them, the seed is soaked before planting. Stress can also help, which triple the seeds through a sharp change in temperature. The containers are first kept for several hours in a warm room, and then taken out in the cold or put in the refrigerator. This speeds up the germination process.
Dangerous diseases and pests
The unusual aroma of Cleome effectively protects the flower from pests. The disease can be the result of errors in care and watering, high soil moisture at the location of the flower bed.
The defeat of the root system
Of the pests, the aphid is the most dangerous, which can lead to the death of plantations. Description of signs is as follows:
- the formation of a sticky layer on the leaves;
- ugly spots of yellow color;
- twisting the edges.
Interesting! To get rid of pests, it is necessary to attract ladybugs and lacewings. They feed on insects and will quickly rid the site of their presence.
You can eliminate the ailment with the help of special preparations or a solution of ordinary laundry soap. The following signs indicate the appearance of root rot on the shoots:
- withering of a plant;
- the appearance of brown spots on the leaves;
- slow growth.
If the problem is too serious, you will have to completely tear out the plantations in the affected area, and then treat the land with special chemicals.
