When to Sow Cleome? A Detailed Guide to the Best Planting Time

Cleome (Cleome hassleriana) is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant with exceedingly beautiful flowers; it can be called a flower that attracts bees and butterflies and radiates charm. When the flowers bloom, its raceme forms a flower ball, and the small flowers are like dancing butterflies, exceptionally beautiful and very endearing. Nowadays more and more people grow a pot of cleome at home; let us take a look at its sowing time.

When to Plant Cleome

Generally, spring sowing or broadcast sowing is carried out in March to April. Because the seeds germinate uniformly, the sowing density should be low; after sowing, cover with 0.2 cm of soil. At 15°C they germinate in 7-10 days; after the seedlings emerge, apply fertilizer between the seedlings. Once there are 2-3 true leaves, they can be transplanted. Sown in autumn in a greenhouse, they bloom in spring.

Cleome Sowing Time

The growth pattern of cleome is much like that of ordinary crops: planted in spring and harvested in autumn. So of course, sowing is chosen in spring, when all things revive.

When the seeds germinate, the temperature needs to be above 20°C; in early spring, sowing must be done in a plastic tunnel to keep them warm so they can germinate uniformly. If the temperature is suitable, they will germinate about 1 week after sowing.

Gardeners in the north can appropriately delay the sowing time, because spring always arrives quite late in the north!

Home Growing Methods and Precautions for Cleome

1. Home Growing Methods

1. Soil

Cleome is a plant that is easy to care for and does not need special soil. A sandy soil containing humus with good drainage is best. Cleome has a fairly developed root system, so the pot used should be rather deep and large, with a pot diameter of 20 cm to 30 cm being preferable.

Aside from growing poorly in alkaline soil, it can grow in sandy soil and clay soil, and grows best in slightly acidic sandy loam; you can use equal parts leaf mold and vegetable garden soil mixed as the growing medium. The soil is required to be loose and well drained.

2. Light and Temperature

It likes sunlight and warmth, tolerates heat, slightly tolerates semi-shade, and is not cold-tolerant. Summer is its growing season; when frost occurs, the plant dies. The suitable temperature is 20-32°C.

3. Watering

It can tolerate drought, but grows better when given greater air humidity; in midsummer, water every day, and water thoroughly. It likes higher air humidity; if the air humidity is too low, individual flowers will fade faster. It also fears rain, and the leaves need to stay dry at night. The most suitable relative air humidity is 65-75%.

4. Fertilizing

Like other herbaceous flowers, cleome has a relatively high fertilizer requirement, but the fertilization (and watering) principle of “light fertilizer applied frequently, small amounts with many applications, complete nutrition” should be followed, and after fertilizing, the leaves and flowers should be kept dry at night. For those grown as pot plants, during the bud stage, apply 2-3 times of dilute compound liquid fertilizer; they can bloom during the Spring Festival period.

2. Precautions for Home Growing

1. Potting or Transplanting

When potting young seedlings, first place 2-3 cm of coarse granular substrate or ceramsite at the bottom of the pot as a drainage layer, then sprinkle a layer of fully decomposed organic fertilizer on top as base fertilizer, about 1-2 cm thick, then cover with another layer of substrate about 1-2 cm thick, and then place the plant in, so as to separate the fertilizer from the roots and avoid burning the roots. After potting, water thoroughly once, and keep it in a slightly shaded environment for a week.

2. Pinching

Before flowering, generally pinch twice to encourage more flowering branches to sprout: one to two weeks after potting, or when the seedling is 6-10 cm tall and has six or more leaves, remove the top shoot and keep the lower 3-4 leaves to encourage branching.

Three to five weeks after the first pinching, or when the side branches grow to 6-8 cm long, carry out the second pinching, that is, remove the top shoots of the side branches and keep the 4 leaves below on the side branches. After two pinchings, the plant shape will be more ideal and the number of flowers will also be greater. When planting in flower beds, faded flowers should be removed promptly so that they do not set seed, thereby extending the flowering period.

Main Values of Cleome

1. Landscape Use

The petals of cleome are light and graceful, and when in full bloom they seem like butterflies dancing, which is quite interesting; it can be used in summer and autumn to furnish flower beds and flower borders, and can also be grown as a dwarfed plant for potted ornament. In landscape applications, because of its semi-shade tolerance, it can be planted under trees or on the shaded side of buildings for viewing.

2. Economic Use

Cleome is native to the tropical regions of South America and is a very good pollution-resistant flower, with strong resistance to sulfur dioxide and chlorine gas. It can beautify the environment and is a very good pollution-resistant flower; it can also grow well in heavily polluted factories and mines. Cleome is also an excellent nectar plant and can yield high-quality essential oil.

3. Excellent Decorative Effect

When cleome opens, the petals slowly spread, and the long claws go from curved to popping out from the flower, a process like a movie fast-motion shot played in slow motion. Grown in the ground, it can be planted beside courtyard walls and under trees. Grown in pots, it can be placed on a windowsill or desk, and the plant shape should be controlled so that it does not grow too tall.

4. Medicinal Use

Cleome is not only a high-quality nectar source; the whole plant can also be used as medicine. Cleome whole plant: pungent, astringent, neutral. Slightly toxic. It dispels wind and disperses cold, kills insects and relieves itching. It is said that the fruit of cleome has also been tried among the people for liver cancer.

The propagation methods of cleome include cuttings and sowing, but sowing is more common, because cleome sets seed very easily, and the harvested seeds can be sown after being air-dried and stored for one year. When sowing, everyone needs to pay more attention to many aspects such as temperature and soil.