I kind of discovered Cleome late in life.
Cleome hassleriana (spider plant) is a plant that tolerates dry conditions, therefore it's a favourite here in south west France.
If you're keen you can grow Cleome from seed and if you're lazy or don't have the facility, you can purchase plants.
However you can also easily grow Cleome from soft/semi-hardwood cuttings. I'm so surprised that there appears to be no advice on this anywhere.
Of course to take a cutting, you need a plant in the first place.
I bought three small Cleome in mid-April and planted them directly into soil in a raised border. Immediately after I planted and watered these in, I took several small cuttings. One of the cutting I placed in a pot and the rest planted directly into soil.
After 2-3 days I could tell that the cuttings were pulling up moisture as they remained turgid and hydrated. However I did notice that the single cutting in the pot was looking a little stressed. I decided to submerge the pot in soil to minimise water loss from the root-zone.
Be patient
Cleome lovesikes the heat so not surprisingly - due to a cool spell in early May - the cuttings appeared to do nothing. The potted cutting, although alive, shrunk back to the stem. The leaves also become very small. The plant was clearly in survival mode.
I got a little impatient and pulled the potted cutting up through the compost only to find some short stubby white root shoots - I think they'd sprouted and then retarded again to protect the plant.
Disappointed with myself for being rash I quickly re-inserted the cutting into the pot and saturated the compost. Three days later I transplanted the cutting directly into a ground-level border.
Meanwhile I noticed that the remaining cuttings were starting to show signs of movement.
The weather had significantly warmed up and this warmth brought the dormant plants to life. Although the initially potted cutting is retarded compared to those planted directly into the soil, every single plant is alive and thriving.
Cut back to discourage bolting
I quite like the long arching stems of single stem plants. If they're not pruned at all the stems can easily reach 4-5 feet. Planting several side by side, with additional under-planting creates a great effect.
However, if you would prefer low growing bushy free-flowering plants, it's advisable to pinch young plants out at an early stage to encourage multi-stems. The result is shorter plant and smaller flowers but a prolific and dependable show, that should last all summer, flowering well into November.
Here's a simple visual guide to taking cuttings from annual flowering Cleome.
Cleome plants bought from the garden centre (not the profusion of flowering stems).
Pick a sturdy fresh shoot and cut back to a main stem - about 9" (20cm).
Trim all side shoots back to a node. Leave a cluster of leaves. Leave the flowers on.
Create a hole using a small dibber. A pencil is ideal.
Push the cutting down as deel as possible so just the leaves remain visible.
Water in well. Make sure the soil is saturated.
....and here are the results of my first cuttings.
This is the potted cutting. Note it's still quite small and its leaves remain slightly retarded. It's planted in an exposed spot into poor soil with little organic matter.
Look at this little fellow. You can see the huge difference in quality. The plant is bushy and lush with growth. Mind you it's grown in better soil with an abundance of organic matter. It's sheltered from the wind too.
Not the blue trowel in both images to give you an idea of scale.
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