Jewelweed is an herbaceous plant that grows 3 to 5 feet tall and blooms from late spring to early fall. The flowers are orange (sometimes blood orange or rarely yellow) with a three-lobed corolla; one of the calyx lobes is colored similarly to the corolla and forms a hooked conical spur at the back of the flower. Plants may also produce non-showy cleistogamous flowers, which do not require cross-pollination. It often branches extensively. The round stems are glabrous (smooth) and succulent, and semi-translucent, with swollen or darkened nodes on some plants. The leaves are alternate and simple and have teeth on the margins. The seed pods have five valves which coil back rapidly to eject the seeds in a process called explosive dehiscence or ballistochory. This reaction is where the name 'touch-me-not' comes from; in mature seed pods, dehiscence can easily be triggered with a light touch.
The natural habitats of this plant are moist areas, such as woodland edges and marshes, so they will naturally require more frequent watering. The jewelweed will wither if the soil becomes too dry for a prolonged amount of time. Though the jewelweed can survive even in waterlogged soil, you'll want to aim to keep the soil evenly moist, and applying a thick mulch can help.
The jewelweed should be planted in a location that's exposed to either full sun or partial shade. These plants can tolerate more sun when planted in climates with cooler summers.
The jewelweed plant doesn't necessarily require fertilizer when planted in rich soil, but you can incorporate compost in summer if your plants aren’t growing well.
The jewelweed plant requires a rich, organic soil that remains moist. If the soil lacks organic matter when planting, you can dig in a thick layer of compost (or even rotted manure) before planting.
Though it can be difficult to prevent this plant from propagating on its own (via its explosive seed pods), pruning the plant before the process occurs and removing its seed pods can help control the spread of the plant in your garden.
Tthe jewelweed plant is very vulnerable to frost at any stage of its growth, and it will die when exposed to extremely cold temperatures.
When planting jewelweed in containers, be sure that it contains sufficient drainage and that the soil is kept moist at all times.
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