Tough, showy shrubs for dunes, dry hillsides, and other challenging spots. Sweet peashaped owers are often fragrant. Tolerate wind; seashore conditions; and rocky, infertile soil. Prune after bloom to limit size, lessen production of unsightly seedpods. Not browsed by deer.
warminster broom
cytisus x praecox
- Deciduous.
- Compact growth to 35 feet high and 46 feet wide, with many slender stems.
- Plant resembles a mounding mass of pale yellow to creamy white owers in spring.
- Small leaves drop early.
- Effective as informal screen or hedge, along drives, paths, garden steps.
- Allgold, slightly taller, has bright yellow owers; 'Hollandia' has pink ones.
scotch broom
cytisus scoparius
- Evergreen.
- Upright-growing mass of wandlike green stems (often leaess or nearly so) may reach 10 feet Golden yellow, inches owers bloom in spring and early summer.
- Reseeds readily; can be invasive.
Selections exist that are lower growing, more colorful, and much better behaved than Cytisus scoparius. Most of these grow 58 feet tall and wide. Choices include 'Burkwoodii', red blossoms touched with yellow; 'Carla', pink and crimson lined white; 'Dorothy Walpole', rose-pink and crimson; 'Lena', lemon-yellow and red; 'Lilac Time', lilac-pink blooms on a compact plant; 'Lord Lambourne', scarlet and cream; 'Minstead', white ushed deep purple and lilac; 'Moonlight', compact, pale yellow; 'Pomona', orange and apricot; 'St. Mary's', white; 'San Francisco' and 'Stanford', red.
