Cleoma is still a rare guest in the gardens of our country. However, those who were lucky enough to grow this bright beauty forever loved her. Juicy greens, powerful stems and thick bright inflorescences simply can not leave indifferent. The plant belongs to the Cleomov family and is distributed in a subtropical and temperate climate throughout the planet. In the southern regions, the flower is a perennial, but in most regions of Russia it is grown as an annual crop. Even a gardener with little experience can master the rules for caring for glue.
Botanical Description
Cleoma is a herbaceous or semi-shrub plant. It is nourished by a strong rhizome with many lignified branches. Above the ground there is a strong, upright stalk up to 150 cm high. At the base it quickly lignifies, and at the top it branches out into several more flexible shoots. On the stems and foliage are sticky glandular villi.
Petiole leaves are attached to the stems again. They have a complex, pinnate structure and resemble chestnut foliage. Each petiole has 5-7 lanceolate lobes of light green color. Prickly stipules are located at the base of the leaf.
Flowers with pink, purple or white petals are grouped in spherical inflorescences on long peduncles. The size of one inflorescence is about 20 cm. Each corolla with a diameter of not more than 3 cm consists of four ovoid petals and a bunch of long filiform stamens. Flowering begins with the lower buds. During the season, the inflorescence gradually extends. The flowering period occurs in the summer months and is accompanied by a rather sharp, intense aroma. At home, he attracts not only pollinating insects, but also bats. After pollination, long pods ripen. They contain 1-2 dozen small black seeds.
Types of Cleoma
About 170 plant species are registered in the genus Kleoma, but so far only domestic flower shops are found prickly cleoma. This shrub hails from South America. In Russia, it is grown as an annual crop. The plant is distinguished by long stems with sharp thorns at the base of the leaves. A spherical inflorescence is located on a peduncle 60-80 cm long. Small pink or purple flowers have long stamens resembling spider legs. For them, the glue is often called a "spider." Above the stamens there are 4 ovoid petals in the shape of a fan.
The variety became the basis of many decorative varieties, which allows gardeners to make the flower garden more diverse. The most popular are the following varieties:
- Purple Queen - Blueberry-violet flowers are located above the bright green shoots;
- Spray of champagne - in July, racemose inflorescences with milk or pale pink petals open, they consist of large flowers (up to 5 cm);
- Cherry Queen - on a plant up to 60 cm tall, bright carmine-pink inflorescences blossom;
- Sparkler Lavander - differs in inflorescences of lavender or light purple color;
- Golden Sparkler - a low-growing variety with golden buds;
- Hellen Campbell - The bush is covered with snow-white flowers.
Breeding methods
The only way to grow glue in our climate is by sowing seeds. To get a strong plant early, it is recommended to first grow seedlings. Seeds very quickly lose their germination, so use should be made only on those that were collected last fall. They are sown in the first decade of March. For planting, a greenhouse or box with a sand-peat soil mixture is prepared. Usually seedlings appear slowly and unfriendly. To stimulate them, before planting, the seeds are soaked for a day in a growth activator. Also helps to "swing" the seeds a change in temperature for two weeks. During the day, put the pot in the sun in a warm place, and at night put it in the refrigerator.
Shallow grooves are made in the prepared box at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other and the seed is evenly distributed. Heterogeneous seedlings appear after 25-30 days. When 2 real leaflets grow on the seedlings, they are dived into separate pots with a capacity of 300 ml or more. It is very convenient to use peat tablets, with which the glue can be planted in open ground. If you are late with a transplant, the seedlings will have a harder time transferring the procedure. The sprout should be deepened to the very leaves.
Outdoor landing
In regions where there is no severe frost and enough snow falls, glue is sown immediately in open ground. Do it at the end of November - December. A snow cap will create enough heat. In the spring, when the snow melts and the daylight hours increase, the first shoots will appear. Usually they can be found at the end of April. This method relieves the plants from a painful transplant, but flowering will occur about a month later.
It is possible to plant cleome seedlings in open ground not earlier than the end of May, when the probability of return frosts disappears completely. Mature plants are very sensitive to temperature extremes.
The difficulties of care and the beauty of cleomes largely depend on the chosen place. The site should be well lit and protected from drafts. Before planting, the soil should be well dug up and leveled. Compost and a solution of mineral fertilizer are immediately added to the soil. During the transplant, the roots of the seedlings are treated with elin. Plants are distributed on a site with a distance of 35-80 cm, depending on the expected size of the bush. Immediately after planting, the glue is watered with a humate solution. It promotes rooting and rapid growth.
The soil for cleome should be light and loose. It is advisable to select soils with neutral acidity and moderate fertility. On too nutritious soils, the bushes will grow greatly, but flowering will be weak.
Care Features
Care for the cleome is simple. This is another argument in favor of a beautiful exotic plant. It should be watered moderately. Cleoma tolerates drought well, but suffers from stagnation of water. Usually enough natural rainfall. If watering is indispensable, the bushes are irrigated abundantly, but not often.
Until the cleoma has bloomed, it can be fed with mineral fertilizers twice a month. The solution is applied under the root. Weakened plants also produce top dressing by spraying the leaves. Prior to budding, the glue can be poured with a cyclone solution. This will speed up the flowering period.
So that the soil remains loose after planting a cleome, it should be mulched. If this is not done, you need to periodically loosen the surface of the soil and remove weeds.
Tall bushes of cleomes need support, otherwise they can fall apart from the slightest blow of the wind. At the corners of the flower beds you need to drive in stakes and pull a thin fishing line. When the flowers fade and pods form, it is recommended that the peduncles be cut to avoid abundant self-seeding. To collect seeds, leave only a few inflorescences that bloomed first. Ripe pods open on their own, so it is important to have time to cut them.
Possible difficulties
Cleoma is resistant to diseases and pests. Only in a dark and damp place can bushes be affected by fungal diseases. Parasites not only do not attack the bushes, but are also afraid of their pungent smell. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about the safety of beautiful plants. The insect repellent property can be used. It is enough to plant the glue next to other flowers or beds, and it will protect the neighbors in the garden from parasites.
Cleome's use
Spectacular cleoma looks good in the front gardens, on the combined flower beds, along the fence or outbuildings. Tall plants should be placed in the central part so that the lower flowers hide the long, spiky stems. Low forms are also suitable for framing tracks. All varieties can be used for group planting in the middle of the lawn. Cleoma is also recommended for use in a rustic garden. Bright bushes will look beautiful against the background of conifers or green beds.
The best neighbors for cleomes will be asters, salvia, marigolds, echinacea, rudbeckia, delphinium, gelenium and physostegia. When compiling the composition, you should carefully study the characteristics of a particular variety and find out its height.
Cleoma is good not only in the garden. Its large, exotic inflorescences will stand in a vase for up to 10 days. They can be used as an independent bouquet or as part of a complex floral composition.
