Over the summer, I had the opportunity to try a new plant in the garden. Proven Winners sent me three trial plants of Senorita Blanca, which is a Cleome hybrid. I have grown Cleome in the garden before, but this one was different. What I liked about this plant was that when it started blooming, it just kept on producing blooms till the first killing frost took the plant. The flowers are all over the plant and not just on the top of the plant. The plant performed very well in all the heat and humidity that we had. Last year was a tough year in the garden due to a three month drought.
Senorita Blanca needs full sun and grows to a height of 24 to 48 inches with a spread of 18 to 24 inches. The flowers are white to a pale lavender in color and last a long time on the plant. This plant is sterile, so you will not have seed set and have cleome coming up all over the garden. It was easy to care for and no deadheading was needed. An extra bonus to this plant was that butterflies and hummingbirds were attracted to it, a must in my garden.
I really liked this plant and was sad to see the frost kill it. It was one of the few plants in my garden that performed well during the drought last year. This is one plant that I will be adding to my garden again next season.
Happy Gardening!
Debbie