(Cleomella serrulata ‘Rocky Mountain’)

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Rocky Mountain Bee Plant is a gorgeous native annual flower commonly found growing in open prairies throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 3-4' and features an erect stem, leafy branches, and beautiful clusters of large pink flowers. This plant attracts bees, birds, and butterflies to your garden, is a larval host for the checkered-white butterfly, is both edible and medicinal, is resistant to deer and rabbits, is used as a cut flower, and makes dye! 

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  • General Information
  • Starting Bee Plant Seeds
  • Crop Care
  • Harvesting
  • Seed Saving
  • Culinary
  • Medicinal
  • Other Uses:
  • Companion Planting
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Family: Cleomaceae 

Genus: Cleomella 

Species: serrulata

Variety: Rocky Mountain Bee Plant

Also Known As: Beeplant, Stinking Clover, Navajo Spinach.

Native to: Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.

Introduced into: Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Ontario.

Grown as: Annual
 
Maturity (Blooms): Summer

Light: Full Sun

Water: Medium.

Soil Moisture: Medium

Beneficial Insects?: Yes. It attracts bees, birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies as well as being resistant to rabbits and deer. It is also a larval host plant for the checkered white butterflies (Pontia protodice)!

Height: 36-48”
 
Spacing: 18-20”

Sow Depth: 1/4"
 
USDA Zone: 3a-9b

Produces: an erect stem, leafy branches, and beautiful clusters of large pink flowers which bare six stamens that extend far beyond the flower itself!

Starting Bee Plant Seeds Indoors for Spring

To start your Bee Plant indoors for a spring transplant, mix your Bee Plant seeds with moist sand and store it in the refrigerator for 30 days before sowing them on the surface of the soil of a 2" Soil Blocks 6-8 weeks before the last frost date of your area. Keep the soil evenly moist until germination, which should occur within 30-35 days at the temperature of 65 degrees F. The germination rate may be naturally low.

Transplanting Bee Plant Seedlings Outdoors for Spring

Transplant your Bee Plant seedlings 18-20” apart as soon as they can safely be handled and there is no chance of frost.

​Starting Bee Plant Seeds Outdoors for Spring

For spring planting, mix your Bee Plant seeds with moist sand and store it in the refrigerator for 30 days before direct sowing. Keep the soil evenly moist until germination, which should occur within 30-35 days. The germination rate may be naturally low.

​Starting Bee Plant Seeds Outdoors in Fall

Direct sow Bee Plant in late fall. Plant the seed just below the surface of the soil. Bee Plant seeds need light to germinate. 
Water the plants regularly until they become established. Mature plants also appreciate watering, though the soil should not be soggy. Remove tips of the developing stems to encourage branching and bushy growth. As the plant grows, it may need support or staking for protection from the wind. This plant may reseed, but not aggressively. It attracts bees, birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies as well as deterring rabbits and deer.
This makes a stunning cut flower, though the entire plant does have a unique fragrance that some find unappealing.
As the flowers fade, the plant will produce drooping 4” pods that ripen to a dark brown; the ripe seed will be light and dark brown. Remove the pods as soon as they ripen to prevent loss, since they will eventually split and release their seed; small birds also enjoy eating the ripe seed. Spread out the pods away from direct sunlight to dry completely. Split the dry pods open and remove the seed. Store the cleaned seed in a cool, dry place.
Young shoots, leaves and flowers are cooked and used as potherbs. The plants were gathered and, after removing an alkaline taste, were eaten with cornmeal porridge. The plant smells like a skunk, but it was an important potherb for the native North American Indians and the early European settlers in America. Seed - raw or cooked. It can be dried and ground into a meal then used as a mush or mixed with flour to make bread etc. Seedpods - cooked. The hardened cakes of dyestuff (see note on the plants other uses) can be soaked in hot water and then eaten fried.
An infusion of the plant is drunk in the treatment of fevers and stomach disorders. A poultice made from the pounded, soaked leaves has been applied to sore eyes.
Project Purity Seeds can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.​
A black dye is obtained by boiling down the whole plant. It is used as a paint for decorating pottery. The young plants are harvested in mid-summer, boiled well in water, the woody parts of the plant are removed and the decoction is boiled again until it becomes thick and turns black. This thick liquid is then poured onto a board to dry in cakes and can be kept for an indefinite period. When needed it is soaked in hot water until the correct consistency for paint is achieved. A decoction of the leaves has been used as a body and shoe deodorant.
​Companion planting is an excellent practice for any skill level of gardener. By using the natural substances contained within a plant’s roots your garden can both repel unwanted insects and attract those with useful traits. Companion planting can also be used to group flowers that prefer similar conditions.

Using companion plants as a border, backdrop, or interplanting in your garden beds will allow you to harness the ecosystem to its full potential.  It is best to use plants native to your area so that the insects you seek to attract will know what to look for!

Bee Plant is known as the 4th Sister to the traditional 3 Sister Planting Method. Bee Plants role in this layout is to attracts bees and other pollinators. Below is corns companions and we suggesting adding Bee Plant in with the crops listed below. 

Allies: The benefits of planting corn with beans has been upheld by scientific research, which showed increased yields when corn was grown with a legume. One study points out that an interplanting of soybeans encourages parasitic Trichogramma wasps, which help control corn earworms. Soybeans or peanuts also increase populations of predatory insects, which help reduce the number of corn borers. Beans and corn are mutually beneficial: Beans help keep fall armyworms in check on corn, notes one study, while corn minimizes leafhoppers on bean plants. Alternate rows of corn and bush beans, two rows of corn to one row of beans. Or plant pole beans to climb corn rows.

Companions: Sunflower borders were a tradition in American Indian gardens. British research indicates that strips of sunflowers alternated with corn will increase yields and decrease infestations of all armyworms. Squash and pumpkins do well in the shade of the corn rows. to make nitrogen and potassium unavailable to corn, even when the area is heavily fertilized. Leached toxins from wheat straw mulch reduced corn yields in farm research by 44-94%.

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