Rain splits Senorita Rosalita cleome
‘Senorita Rosalita’, a cleome I rhapsodized about just a few days ago, which was so full and fluffy despite our ongoing drought…
…split in half like a wimpy Bradford pear under the weight of a brief burst of rain yesterday. Gee, Senorita, I know you’d hardly ever seen rain before, but did you really have to break down over it, leaving a big hole and requiring me to prop up what was left of you?
Performing admirably in drought conditions is this young Datura metel , grown from a packet of seeds sent to me by Fairegarden Frances. Several furled trumpets look ready to open.
And a hot-and-cool pairing of ‘Goblin’ gaillardia and ‘Powis Castle’ artemesia is looking good too. Thank goodness for tough plants that can do without much rain—and that don’t fall apart when they get a little!
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Dear Pam, so sorry the senorita let you down, after that high praise you lavished on her too. But very glad for the link, thanks, and seeing the Datura stood tall. Ours was still standing in March this year and I had to give in and cut it down to make way for emerging new growth on the nearby Joe Pye. Those are some strong stems. This year there are no seedlings so far, odd since the seed heads were left on all those months too. But we still have plenty of extra seeds saved, and you will have plenty to share too. 🙂
Frances
That is a pretty dull colored Senorita! Did you like the color? Curious name for such a cool lilac. Sorry she split. Love the new tank and the soft green water is soothing don’t you think? It looks pretty clear. Raining again here. Webbing between the toes is going to stay I fear. Have a wonderful weekend.
Oh, I love this color, Layanee! The camera has washed it out a bit. But the lavender-pink blossoms look so cool and refreshing, and they seem to glow in the evening light. I agree though that the name doesn’t really fit. I hope you get some dry weather soon. Send all your rain to us, please. —Pam
I guess the stems couldn’t hold up the weight of the plant with rain on the leaves. Rosalita’s a dwarf, right? I wonder if breeding for compact size took away some of the sturdiness. I hope she recovers.
Congrats on the rain, though! We got about 10 minutes of light rain at 2 pm, which was disappointing. The radar shows more storms in the area but I’m not holding my breath!
I don’t know if Rosalita is a dwarf, Cindy. It gets about four or five feet tall, which seems pretty big to me. —Pam
Bummer on the Senorita. I don’t think she would make it here with our monsoons. Getting a storm now.
Maybe if she were used to rain from a smaller size she’d have sturdier stems? —Pam
Hmm… okay, I am not at all acquainted with this “splitting” phenomenon. How come I haven’t heard about this before?
Don’t know, Chuck. Basically, the main stem just split in half, and half the plant had to be cut off and discarded. The other half is still attached to the roots, and I’ve propped it up with a big rock. A hard rain might do it in though.
At this point, it would be a worthy sacrifice for a hard rain. —Pam
Oh dear — that’s definitely not the plant for our summer rains! How annoying!
Oh, to have summer rains! It sounds lovely, Chookie. —Pam
How will she ever redeem herself now? Poor breeding on her part.
Perhaps so, CIMS. But I still love what’s left of her. —Pam
The cleome must have been quite brittle from lack of rain. I usually break them when weeding or something. They just keep on coming. Good to hear you had a splash of rain. I hope you get more.
Thanks, Lisa. I’m hoping for more…someday. —Pam
Pam, what a great combo the Powis Castle is with the gallardia! You always give me such good ideas. Now if I could just find my Powis Castle. Hmmm, did it die out a few years ago? I think my garden is a bit overgrown.
Hi, LostRoses. Thanks for stopping by. Isn’t it great how certain plants, like Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’ and Gaillardia grow so well in so many different regions? —Pam
Pam, I seem to remember the fair Senorita doing this at the end of the gardening season when she got hit with rain. I do think she gets very brittle. Your last combo was great. Cool and hot at the same time.~~Dee
Pam, I was just over at Flower Garden Girl’s blog (http://flowergardengirl.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/sugar-tip-blue-and-white-chiffon-rose-of-sharons/) and she’s also testing Proven Winners… guess what? Her Senorita Cleome also split in two…but also mended itself.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Thanks for the link. Man, her garden looks so wet and lush compared to those in Austin! I’m posting more about my cleome tomorrow. —Pam
Pam, Annie in Austin sent me over to see your Senorita Rosalita and others have told me that you grow it also. Mine split this year too–several months ago—and it healed itself and is sprouting back from the base also the split sides were never affected and kept on blooming like nothing had happened). I did nothing to it and all seems fine. Except for the big gap in the middle for awhile of course. Next year, I’m going to plant lots of them together like they show on the PW website. Hopefully that will prop them up. Your gardens look grand and I have Goblin too.
Thanks for visiting, Anna. Despite the split, I would happily plant gobs of this cleome next year. It’s held up admirably in a very hot and dry summer, and the cloud of blooms haven’t stopped. —Pam