Cleome Señorita Carolina

Cleome Señorita Carolina, also known as spider flower, is an annual plant with a bushy habit, offering spider-like flowers topped with prominent, infinitely refined stamens. Its candy-pink inflorescences bloom from May to October above a compact, vibrant green vegetation devoid of thorns. This fast-growing plant is perfect for creating romantic pots and adding a touch of lightness to borders. It should be grown in full sun, in moist and light soil.

Cleome Señorita Carolina originates from a less hardy plant native to subtropical regions of South America, called Cleome hassleriana. It is a cousin of the caper, both belonging to the caper family, and it can be found naturalised in other parts of the world, in fallow fields and on low-lying slopes.

The Señorita Carolina variety quickly forms a dense bushy clump, reaching 60 cm (23.6 in) in height and 30 cm (11.8 in) in width. On rather rough stems, but without thorns, large dark green palmate leaves unfurl, divided into 5 to 7 sharply pointed leaflets with long petioles. Its flowering period is particularly long, starting in May and continuing until October. The inflorescences are unique, remarkable for their architecture and lightness. The flowers are long-petioled, grouped in slightly fuzzy terminal spikes, and slightly fragrant. Each flower is composed of four candy-pink petals narrowing into pedicels at their base, with very long stamens and styles that extend well beyond the corolla, resembling egret plumes. The flowers develop and bloom one after the other, from the bottom to the top of the inflorescence. The fruits that follow the flowers are also unique: they are long, thin pods measuring 6-12 cm (2.4-4.7 in), suspended from the petioles. Sometimes, flowers and fruits can be observed on the same plant. It is the appearance of these fruits that gave the cleome its name of spider plant or spider flower: the numerous siliques resemble spider legs.

Cleomes are among the most beautiful annual flowers. For a beautiful effect, plant Cleome Señorita Carolina in the middle of a flower bed, alongside pennisetums. Planted together, or with other tall summer flowers (cosmos, Buenos Aires verbenas, Oriental poppies... ), they will provide volume and a lot of lightness. This compact variety does not require staking and allows for beautiful flowering pots, for example with tibouchinas.

Note: Please be aware that our young plants in mini-pots are professional products intended for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under shelter (veranda, greenhouse, cold frame... ) at a temperature above 14 °C (57.2 °F) for a few weeks before being planted outdoors once all risk of frost has definitively passed.