Broom

In the spring in garden centers it is difficult to pass by bushes strewn with golden “moths”. This is a blooming broom. And his flowers really look like moths, because this plant belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae). The plant is so spectacular that it is difficult to refuse a purchase. However, one must understand that in the middle lane only one species grows and blooms confidently – the broom. The rest are conditionally winter-hardy. As well as the “golden rain” bean, which is often confused with broom.

This bush could be called English. It is on the rocky hills of England that he shows his character and his beauty. It is no coincidence that its golden flowers and the ability to hold stones with its roots have become a symbol of power and entered heraldry. It was from the English hills that the broom began its march through landscaped parks and gardens.

Types and varieties of broom

The genus broom (Cytisus) has 73 species (1), but no more than 15 are used in horticulture. These are mainly deciduous shrubs from 30 cm to 3 m high. They are famous for their abundant flowering, large (up to 2 cm in diameter) and bright flowers of all shades of yellow, less often with purple or pale pink corollas, collected in long racemose inflorescences. The broom blooms in May-June for 2-4 weeks, attracting bees and other insects with its honey aroma.

The leaves of brooms are trifoliate or reduced to one lobe, often with light gray pubescence. The fruits are multi-seeded beans with glossy flat pea seeds.

broom (Cytisus ruthenicus). A compact shrub with a dense crown, 0,5 to 1 m high. Gray shoots on young growth have golden pubescence. The leaves are greenish-gray, covered with pubescence from the inside. The leaves are trifoliate, with a spine at the top. The flowers are yellow, large, collected in 3 – 5 pcs. in leaf axils. Flowering lasts about 1 month. 

This species is the most unpretentious, drought-resistant, with a high degree of winter hardiness (-27 ° C). 

Early broom (Cytisus praecox). Shrub up to 1,5 m high with thin arched shoots forming a lush oval crown. The leaves are trifoliate. In May-June, many bright yellow flowers with a strong aroma appear on the shrub. It is important to consider that the plant has a branched superficial root system. 

The species is unpretentious and quite resistant to frost. Frost resistance up to -23 °С.

This species has several interesting varieties:

• Allgold – up to 0,5 m high, with a wide crown up to 2 m in diameter, with rich yellow flowers that appear before the leaves bloom;
• Boskoop Ruby – up to 2 m high with two-color flowers: external – ruby, and internal – lilac-pink and they are located along the entire length of the shoots;
• Egg white – 60 – 120 cm high, with a wide crown, drooping thin shoots and snow-white flowers.

Coronal broom (Cytisus scoparius). Shrub up to 3 m high, has highly ornamental varieties, one is able to grow and bloom normally in regions with mild winters. The young growth of this species has pubescence on the bark. Leaf plates are oval and form a trifoliate leaflet. Flowers are formed in pairs in leaf axils along the entire length of the shoots.

The species is drought-tolerant, winter hardy to -20 °C.

Among the varieties can be noted:

• Luna – up to 1 m high, with pale lemon flowers;
• Lena – a dense shrub up to 1,2 m high with golden flowers with red wings;
• Firefly – up to 1 m high with yellow flowers, which have brown lobes with a golden border;
• Vanesse – up to 1,2 m high with bright yellow flowers, late flowering.
• Red Wings – up to 1,3 m high, with bright garnet-red flowers with yellow and pink splashes.

Creeping broom (Cytisus decumbens). Shrub up to 20 cm high with an open crown up to 80 cm in diameter. Ribbed shoots are green, slightly pubescent, easily rooted in places of contact with the ground. The leaves are dark green trifoliate. The flowers are yellow, 1,5 cm in diameter, placed in the axils of 1 – 3 pcs. Winters under snow. Ideal for rocky gardens.

Broom hybrid (Cytisus hybrid). Shrub up to 1,5 m high with a wide crown of thin straight shoots with numerous flowers. 

Varieties are created on the basis of interspecific and varietal crossing. They are drought tolerant and frost hardy.

• Hollandia – up to 1,5 m high with a wide crown of thin pale green shoots, with red-cherry-pink-white flowers, frost resistance down to -23 ° C;
• Apricot Gem – height and width up to 1,2 m, with spectacular golden-orange flowers, flowering in June, frost resistance down to -27 ° C;
• Zeelandia – up to 1,2 m high, with pink-orange flowers, frost resistance up to -23 ° С;
• Maria Burkwood – sprawling shrub 100 cm high and wide with thin straight shoots and copper-red flowers with yellow strokes, frost resistance down to -27 ° С.

broom care

By and large, broom care is not difficult, even taking into account its low winter hardiness and the need for shelter for the winter. 

Ground

The ideal soil for broom is sandy loamy soil, light, well-drained, slightly acidic (pH 6,5 – 7,5).

Lighting

The most important condition for lush flowering is a well-lit area and reliable protection from the wind.

Watering

If it rains regularly in summer, then brooms do not need watering. However, if there is a long dry and hot weather, watering is needed.

The broom is watered abundantly, but only after the top layer of soil in the near-stem circle dries out. You need to be especially attentive to soil moisture when growing hybrids.

After watering and rains, it is recommended to loosen the soil. To reduce the amount of watering and loosening, the soil should be mulched, for example, with bark or wood chips, with a layer of 5–7 cm.

It is important that the water for irrigation contains a minimum of lime, so either settled or slightly acidified water is used.

fertilizers

For the cultivation of broom, mullein infusions and other nitrogen fertilizers are used, and in the second half of summer – phosphorus and potash fertilizers. Of the potash brooms, they respond better to potassium sulfate.

Feeding

During the season, the broom needs to be fed 3 times:

• early spring – 3 tbsp. tablespoons of urea per 10 liters of water;
• before flowering – 4 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate and 5 teaspoons of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water;
• after flowering – 3 cups of wood ash under a bush with embedding in the soil.

Trimming

In the spring, sanitary pruning is carried out, removing damaged shoots. After the end of flowering, the branches are cut to the largest side branches, without affecting the lignified part.

Shelter for the winter

Young plants must be covered for the winter: spud with dry peat or a mixture of soil and sand, tie the branches and carefully bend to the ground, pin and cover with spruce branches, dry perennial stems, lay non-woven material on top, pressing it to the ground with stones or bricks.

Shrubs older than 3 years can not be covered, but it is important to throw more snow on them in winter so that the minimum number of shoots can freeze at the level of the snow cover.

Propagation of a broom

The broom is propagated by seeds, cuttings and layering.

Seeds. The best results are obtained by sowing fresh seeds collected in August-September from ripe beans. 

They are sown in early spring in pots with a peat-sand mixture (1: 1), deepening the seeds by 0,5 cm, cover with foil and put in a warm place. Water and spray regularly. Seedlings dive into a mixture of soddy land, humus and sand (2: 1: 1). The grown seedlings are transplanted into pots with a diameter of 11 cm, pinch the tops and continue to grow, watering and feeding. 

Plants are planted in open ground only for 3 years, when the bushes reach a height of 35 – 50 cm.

Cuttings. For propagation, green cuttings are used, which are cut at the end of June from semi-lignified shoots. Each cutting should have 2 – 3 leaf plates. The lower one is removed, the upper one is shortened by half. The lower oblique cut is powdered with a root formation stimulator. Planted in pots with a substrate of sand and peat (1: 1) and covered with a film. 

Rooting occurs at a temperature of 18 – 20 ° C in light penumbra with regular spraying and ventilation. Roots appear after 4 to 6 weeks, after which the film is removed and continued to be grown in pots for two years.

Layers. A shorter way is growing seedlings using layering. In the spring, at the beginning of the growing season, you need to choose a branch closest to the ground, bend it down and lay it in a groove with moist soil, pin it and cover it with earth so that only the top of the shoot remains above the soil level. Water, feed and mulch the shoot all season.

On the eve of winter, it is good to cover the bush and layering, and in the spring, cut the bushes that have grown from the shoot and plant them in a permanent place or for growing into a school.

broom disease

Powdery mildew. It looks like a whitish coating on the plant, and after some time the damaged plant begins to shed dried leaves. 

For prophylaxis in spring, plants are sprayed with a 5% solution of copper sulphate, and in summer diseased plants are sprayed with colloidal sulfur (3).

Black spotting. You can recognize it by the black spots on the leaves.

Diseased plants are sprayed in early spring with a solution of copper sulphate, and in summer with Fundazol or copper oxychloride (3).

Buckthorn pests

It is believed that broom in central Our Country is not damaged by pests. However, there are cases of damage to plants by caterpillars. moths и moth moth.

For prevention, it is recommended to use Actellik spraying (3).

Popular questions and answers

We asked about broom agronomist Oleg Ispolatov – he answered the most popular questions of summer residents.

Sources of

1. Cytisus // The Plant List

   http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Leguminosae/Cytisus/

2. Aksenov E., Aksenova N. Ornamental gardening for amateurs and professionals. Trees and shrubs // M.: AST-Press, 2001
3. State catalog of pesticides and agrochemicals permitted for use on the territory of the Federation as of July 6, 2021 // Ministry of Agriculture of the Federation

   https://mcx.gov.ru/ministry/departments/departament-rastenievodstva-mekhanizatsii-khimizatsii-i-zashchity-rasteniy/industry-information/info-gosudarstvennaya-usluga-po-gosudarstvennoy-registratsii-pestitsidov-i-agrokhimikatov/