Are Cleomes a good idea

longforgotten

I bought three of them without knowing what type of cleome they are as they were from a market. I remembered seeing the name cleome as being good for bees so that's why I bought them. At 50p a pop I thought give them a go.


Now I'm wondering if it was such a good idea. Are they invasive ? Will I forever be pulling out seedlings next year unless I pull them up before they set seed................

Davesnave

Run for the hills! Cleomes are second to only Japanese knotweed when it comes to ruining your garden and rendering your house valueless overnight!

Why do you think it's called Cleome hassleriana? Yes, even the Romans had trouble with it destroying their roads and aqueducts, bringing the Empire to its knees.

Or there again, there are only 3 of them and they're annuals, so you won't have them for very long.....and they are pretty attractive to pollinators.

Mine never seem to self-seed.

P.S. Advice here is often less reliable than that from the RHS:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/search-results?form-mode=false&query=Cleome

longforgotten

Davesnave, thank you for the reply


I'm not chancing it and heading to the garden to dig 'em up !!

firebird082

Davesnave wrote: »

Run for the hills! Cleomes are second to only Japanese knotweed when it comes to ruining your garden and rendering your house valueless overnight!

:eek: I had some the other year - they were lovely, but certainly didn't self-seed, seen no sign of them since

Davesnave

longforgotten wrote: »

I'm not chancing it and heading to the garden to dig 'em up !!

I hope you're as big a joker as I am, because they do make an interesting addition for the late summer garden.

They're not the easiest of seeds to germinate, so I haven't sown any while I've been renovating the house, but I think I'll give them a go again next year.

longforgotten

Nope, I'm not a joker. They are in the bin

Davesnave

longforgotten wrote: »

Nope, I'm not a joker. They are in the bin

As a matter of interest then, what did you think they might do to your garden?

Normally, when I buy or grow some annuals, I don't assume they will cause some sort of havoc, which is probably why I took your original post less seriously than I might.

There are a few plants which one doesn't want let loose at any price, but these are months from setting seed just now, so no need for panic measures.

Here I'm thinking of Himalayan balsam, which began growing in my garden around March/April. At first, I wondered what they were and then, when I recognised them, I couldn't think why they'd suddenly sprung up without making an appearance before.

Then it dawned on me; the digger which had been here last autumn when I put in new drains, had brought some seed on its tracks.

Those have now gone on my bonfire, but plants so treacherous are very few and far between, thankfully.

longforgotten

What can I say.......I came here for advice and acted upon advice given. Don't try and make excuses now. Anyway, it's only cost me £1.50 to put them in the bin.

Justagardener

What can I say.......I came here for advice and acted upon advice given.

I agree! although this forum can be light hearted, people come here for solid advice. I have noticed that some posters can have quite an unpalatable manner about them when giving advice or when criticising other posters advice....we all have different opinions!
Posters will not always agree with comments made on posts or may just simply have a different view.
This poor OP clearly wanted to know the answer to a question, otherwise they wouldn't have posted it. Joking or not davesnave might do better to realise that not everybody knows the answer to everything as he thinks he clearly does. He would do well to learn that things can come accross poorly or not as intended when using the digital word!
For what its worth I grow cleomes every year From seed and they are stunning plants and great border fillers...you will be lucky if they self seed so don't worry about them taking over at all.

Davesnave

Gosh, that's quite a strong personal attack justagardener.

I thought perhaps I'd offended you, or we'd crossed swords somewhere else, but it seems not; you obviously just don't like my presence here.

I don't respond to vague innuendo, so let's just look at the matter of this thread:

Yes, the 'poor' OP wanted to know the answer to a question, which is why I pointed them to the RHS web site. The RHS grow many more cleomes than I do.

You say they don't seem to self seed. So did I.

The rest is all balderdash, which I'd never have written if I thought it would be taken seriously. However, just in case, the link is there, as indeed is the whole of the internet for more research, if the OP had chosen to do it.

Have a nice evening.

Davesnave

longforgotten wrote: »

What can I say.......I came here for advice and acted upon advice given. Don't try and make excuses now. Anyway, it's only cost me £1.50 to put them in the bin.

I'm sorry if you felt misled.

I thought my post was so far over the top everyone would see through it immediately.

If the RHS don't warn you about the invasive nature of a plant described on their site, it isn't normally considered a problem.