This flower charms butterflies the moment it blooms, and in full bloom it becomes a sea of beauty

Cleome (spider flower), commonly known as fengdiecao, zhizhuhua and xiyang baihuacai, blooms from June to September. Once it flowers, it looks like a flock of butterflies dancing gracefully, very beautiful. Cleome not only blooms into a sea of beauty, but is also easy to manage and very easy to grow. Below, let us look at some four-season care tips for this cleome that charms butterflies.

Cleome is an annual herbaceous flower. It likes warmth, loves sunlight, tolerates partial shade, and is suited to growing in a ventilated, sunny spot. It requires fertile, well-drained sandy loam soil, is not cold-tolerant, and its seeds are self-sowing.

1. Spring

Cleome is propagated by seed. For spring sowing, gardeners can sow from late March to mid-April in an open-air seedbed. If earlier flowering is desired, sow in pots in a greenhouse between February and March. The seeds germinate rather slowly, sprouting in about 15 days at 15-20°C. After sowing, cover with a thin layer of soil and water; the germination rate is high and the seedlings emerge fairly evenly.

Cleome is a taproot plant with few fibrous roots, and is hard to rejuvenate after transplanting, so gardeners are advised to sow it directly. Alternatively, raise seedlings in nutrient bags, and deep-plow the planting site. When the seedlings are about 15 cm tall, they can be planted out; by gradually thinning them, the spacing of the planted seedlings should reach 30 cm.

Cleome should be given an organic base fertilizer, and after the seedlings are established, topdressing should follow the principle of applying little but often. For topdressing, use a general-purpose organic nutrient solution for flowers, applied once every half month. Nitrogen fertilizer should be limited, with a suitable increase in phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, so the plants flower and fruit early and the flower colors become more vivid.

In addition, after division and transplanting, cleome should be managed carefully, with timely watering, wind protection and sun protection. Once the transplants have taken, keep the soil moderately moist and loosen the soil in time for care.

2. Summer

In summer, it is best to water cleome after sunset or in the morning. The leaves need to be sprayed or watered twice a day. Besides the base fertilizer applied at transplanting, a diluted organic nutrient solution can be applied 1-2 more times during the flowering period to encourage fuller blooming. Cleome plants have few branches, so pinching is not advisable.

3. Autumn

When the cleome capsules mature in August-September, they tend to split lengthwise and scatter the seeds, so seeds should be collected promptly in autumn once the capsules ripen. Sowing can also be done in autumn, and the plants can flower indoors in winter and spring.

4. Winter

When caring for cleome in winter, there is no need to water every day; keeping the potting soil or garden soil moist is enough for it to overwinter safely.