(Cleome lutea)

This drought-tolerant annual wildflower is native to desert shrub communities across the Western United States. It prefers well-drained soil in full sun. During super-blooms it creates a vast sea of yellow that literally hums with life: Over 140 native bee species in southern Utah have been found to utilize this flower! Beyond the native bees, ants, butterflies, beetles, and many other native pollinators also frequent yellow bee plant.

It is structurally similar to the Rocky Mountain Beeplant we sell, with the main difference being the yellow flowers and slightly shorter stature. Like Rocky Mountain Beeplant, the seeds require cold stratification before germination. The easiest way to do this is to directly sow the seeds anytime from autumn to early spring in our region. In warmer areas you can put the seeds in a plastic bag with moist sand, and then stick the bag in a fridge for around 30 days to break the built-in dormancy.

We have two genetic populations to choose from this year: We have seeds that we grew out on our farm that come from a population of yellow bee plant found in northern Utah/Idaho, and we also have some seeds available that we wild harvested with a BLM permit from a population in southern Utah on the Colorado Plateau.

Packet: 200 seeds