If you were to hike meadowy trails through a large swath of North America, you might spy a 2-foot-tall bush with big, explosive-looking spidery pink flowers covered in bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. If it resembles anything like the photo above, you’ve just found an example of the Rocky Mountain Beeplant, an annual bush with beautiful, pink flowers.
But natural meadows aren’t the only place that the Rocky Mountain Beeweed, as it’s sometimes known, is able to grow. You can also grow this drought-tolerant bush on your own property, and pollinators from all around will come to pay it a visit. So if you enjoy seeing bees and butterflies around your property, you’re going to want to get one of these beautiful plants.
Growing the Rocky Mountain Beeplant
Before you buy seeds, let’s make sure that the Rocky Mountain Beeplant is a fit for you.
- Latin name: Cleome serrulata
- Other names: Beeweed, stinking-clover, bee spider-flower, skunk weed, Navajo spinach, guaco
- Native to: Western Canada and U.S., naturalized to New England
- Invasiveness: Unknown, unlikely
- Tenderness: Annual
- Sun: Full Sun
- Water: Moderate
- Soil: Sandy, loamy, well-drained soils
- Hardiness zone: 1-10
- When to plant: Sow seeds in late fall
- Spacing: 18-24 inches
- Plant height: 12-48 inches
- Bloom period: Summer
- Container friendly: Yes
- Fertilizer: All-purpose fertilizer
- Toxicity: Unknown
- Drought Resistant: Yes
- Deer resistant: Yes
- Pest resistant: Yes
Rocky Mountain Beeplant (Cleome serrulata) goes by quite a few names, including beeweed, stinking-clover, bee spider-flower, skunk weed, Navajo spinach, and guaco. It is either native to or naturalized to the majority of North America and is probably not invasive outside of its native range. It’s an annual flower that produces spectacular, spider-like pink flowers all summer long.
This plant can be found growing in semi-arid meadows, so it prefers full sun and doesn’t need a lot of water to thrive. It can be planted in sandy or loamy well-drained soils in zones 1-10. To propagate this plant, simply sow its seeds directly in the ground in late fall about 18-24 inches apart.
Rocky Mountain Beeplant can also be easily grown in containers, just be sure that the soil you purchase for the container meets the needs of the plant. Beeweed is probably not toxic – I had difficulty confirming this in my research for this article. It is drought resistant, deer resistant, and pest resistant. You can provide it with an all-purpose fertilizer, but this is not required for a healthy Beeweed.
Water
Rocky Mountain Beeplant is a plant that does well in a semi-arid environment. You can go light with the water once established, providing a brief soaking every week. You may want to water seedlings and container Beeweeds a little more often.
Sunlight
In the wild, this flower is commonly found growing in open meadows and fields, meaning it requires full sunlight. Plant in an area that gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight in the summer.
Soil
When it comes to soil, the Beeweed is not at all picky. It can grow in light, sandy soil or medium, loamy soil. The most important part is that the soil is well-draining and the plant doesn’t have to sit in soggy conditions.
Fertilizing
Fertilizing is generally not needed for the Rocky Mountain Beeplant, but you can provide an all-purpose fertilizer once in early spring and again later in the summer to continue robust flowering. It will probably do fine without it.
Invasiveness
Rocky Mountain Beeplant doesn’t seem to be considered invasive outside of its normal range, and gardeners don’t widely report that it easily gets out of hand on their property. This flower is pretty easily contained.
Growing Rocky Mountain Beeplant in containers
Rocky Mountain Beeplant can be grown in containers without much fuss, just be sure to meet its specific soil, water, and sunlight needs. It is also commonly visited by pollinators which may be a bit flighty, so it’s not a bad idea to set the container in a quiet part of your garden.
Common problems
In its native range, the Rocky Mountain Beeplant doesn’t seem to fall victim to pests or disease. The biggest mistake gardeners make with this flower is overwatering it or planting it in soil that’s too dense. Make sure the plant’s soil doesn’t get soggy.
Propagating Rocky Mountain Beeplant
As summer comes to a close, harvest flowers from your Beeweed and sow them directly into the soil in the fall. The seed pods somewhat resemble pea or green bean pods. In spring, new Beeplants will come bursting forth and you’ll get to enjoy their firework-like pink flowers all over again.
Wildlife attracted by Rocky Mountain Beeplant
Rocky Mountain Beeweed is well known for attracting native pollinators to your gardens, like butterflies, bees, flies, and even hummingbirds. If you’re trying to get these visitors to your garden, this flower is a must-have.
Uses for Rocky Mountain Beeplant
Native people used the Rocky Mountain Beeplant’s flowers as a source of dye and used its edible leaves in traditional medicine. Local, native pollinators use Beeweed is a source of nectar.