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| I have a large part of an even larger bed where beautiful orange poppies come up every spring. For the eight years that I have lived here, every June as the poppy foliage dies back, cleome would come up and would be in gorgeous bloom by mid to late July. These two plants provided a very nice curbside view to my garden. Two years ago we had parts of this bed re-landscaped (should have done it myself but I was just getting interested in gardening at that point)and the cleome must have been disturbed because it has not come back well ever since. I would like to get it re-established but after doing some research, I am confused about the timing and specifics of direct sowing this specific seed. If I direct sow in the fall, won't the seedlings come up and be destroyed by frost before they can produce seed for re-seeding (hence, no plants in 2010)? And if I direct sow early next spring, I have a bed full of emerging poppy foliage in the way. I know this can work becasue somehow the previous owners of this house did so. Any ideas? Thank you |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I also had cleome in my previous Zone 6 garden. I planted it once and it appeared for many years thereafter without effort on my part. Based upon both of our experiences in enjoying this self-seeder, I would suggest that you sprinkle the cleome seeds among the emerging poppy foliage in the early spring. According to the seed germination database attached, cleome seed wants light to germinate, so you don't need to cover it with soil. Thus, you don't need to disturb the emerging poppies in order to "plant" the cleome seeds. Let the spring rains wash the cleome seeds into the nooks and cranies of your garden soil and I think Mother Nature will trigger the cleome to sprout when the temperature is "just right". |
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Germination Database
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Thu, Jul 2, 09 at 10:15
| It's my first time to grow cleomes. The method that worked for me well is with the use of peat moss. Here are the steps that I did mid to late May this year. 1. loosened the top 1/2" part of the soil The other method that I tried which only produced like 3 cleome plants is when I sprinkled them over the soil and not covering them. I also watered them similar to how I mentioned it above. |
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- Posted by beckybloom 6B (My Page) on Sat, Jul 4, 09 at 1:00
| Thank you both so much for your helpful ideas. I really appreciate it. Still thinking about when to do this. Spring sounds like the best time, maybe late April? I did notice a couple stray cleomes coming up in the area and hopefully they will reseed nicely for me to help me out. |
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- Posted by donnabaskets 7b-8 MS (My Page) on Mon, Jul 6, 09 at 9:12
| Just a thought. When trying to get seed to "naturalize" as you are attempting with the cleome, be sure to sow lots and lots of seed. This is what nature does. Plants make a prodigious lot of seed, but only a small proportion of them come up. Whether you sprinkle and water, or whether you lightly cover and water, use plenty. (like 5 or 10 or more for every one plant you hope to have) Thereafter, Nature should take care of it for you. |
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- Posted by azure_lily 6 (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 11:53
| Sorry to dig up this post from 5 years ago, but I found this by google. I'm trying to plan a flower bed in front of my deck. I would really love to have poppy in early spring and cleome for summer. Just want to ask you, is your poppy Papaver poppy or California Poppy? |
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- Posted by susanzone5 z5NY (My Page) on Wed, Apr 23, 14 at 9:34
| Cleomes need a cold/warm cycle to germinate, so plant now. |
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