Yogi Berra, the beloved New York Yankee, was as famous for his sayings as he was for his baseball prowess. One of my favorite sayings was "It's déjà vu all over again." When it comes to Senorita Rosalita cleome or spider flower, it is déjà vu again and again.

Senorita Rosalita has been chosen as the Proven Winners "Landscape Annual of the Year" for 2026. Awards are commonplace when it comes to Senorita Rosalita. It has won 166 awards, which has to be up there against all other plants not called Supertunia Vista Bubblegum.

Before Senorita Rosalita, cleome varieties were beautiful and tall but sent out seeds far and wide that numbered in the hundreds if not thousands, depending on the size of your patch. Senorita Rosalita produces no seed.

Prime planting season for Senorita Rosalita, will be here sooner than you think, so start getting ready as the weather allows. They are usually planted as young transplants in warm spring soil. Select a site that is well-drained and receives plenty of sunlight. Morning sun and afternoon shade also work well.

Senorita Rosalita cleome is still considered tall, reaching 24 to 48 inches in height with a spread of 18 to 24 inches. Garden spacing is 12 to 18 inches, and massing makes for a dazzling display. They are also ever so picturesque in a container. They are the quintessential cottage flower.

If the bed is poorly drained, add 2 to 3 inches of organic matter and apply a good layer of mulch after planting. Mulch helps prevent moisture loss to evaporation and deters weeds, which compete for water and nutrients. Cleomes are drought-tolerant once established. In midsummer, give them a little fertilizer, such as a 5-10-5, to help push them into the fall season.

The flower color is pink, but I often see violet shades exhibited in gardens where a little afternoon shade is given. Hummingbirds and butterflies will be frequent visitors to the blooms. The spidery texture of the blooms looks tropical, making good partners with bananas and elephant ears.

To recap, Senorita Rosalita is shorter than typical cleomes and is sterile, which means it does not set seeds. It also does not have thorns, and it blooms all season long. With attributes like that, you would guess it’s an award winner, and it is.

____

(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

©2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC