British Native Trees
and Shrubs

Broom Cytisus scoparius (Fabaceae)

Broom bursts forth in late spring with a bright splash of deep-yellow, pea-like flowers held on slender, arching green stems. An erect, deciduous shrub growing up to 2 m tall, it has wiry, hairless, five-angled green stems which bear short-lived leaves, the lower with three leaflets and the upper with one. In May and June it produces a mass of golden flowers, each about 2 cm long and borne singly or in pairs on slender stalks. The black-brown pods ripen in September and suddenly explode open to eject the seeds, the two halves coiling up after splitting.

Broom is widespread on light, sandy, acid heaths, scrub and woodland margins throughout England, reaching about 450 m in the Lake District.

This is a plant for the shrub border, where its cheerful flowers will light up the late spring foliage, or for the gravel bed. It dislikes shade and thrives best in full sun on free-draining, preferably acid, soil. Broom may not survive a very cold winter. It can be raised from seed collected from ripe pods and sown in spring in a cold frame or greenhouse, or directly into pots. Germination, however, can be erratic. In areas where it grows easily, seeds can be sown straight into the ground, but because broom does not transplant easily the young plants must thinned out before they reach about 30 cm. Softwood cuttings can be successful. The shrub is fairly short-lived and after a few years the older branches die back, some falling to the ground and rooting. As young plants develop quickly, making good-sized specimens within five years, it is better to replace old, leggy plants with new ones.

Broom produces no nectar but the flowers have a trigger mechanism which sprays pollen onto visiting bees. The leaves are fed on by the caterpillars of green hairstreak butterflies and brocade moths, whilst the pods are host to a two-winged gall-midge. Ants are attracted to the seeds and help distribute them.

Page last updated - January 10, 2002  

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