Lush Broom Bush

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

The bush called "Broom" has nothing to do with the "bush bush over the river" sung in a touching song. They belong to different botanical families and have different habits. The moth flowers of the Broom flutter in a dense "swarm" on the branches, almost hiding the small trifoliate leaves from the eyes. Cunningly arranged flowers attract the attention of beneficial insects, and sharp thorns on the branches prevent its enemies from reaching the plant

Rod Broom

Taking a quick glance at the photo of Rakitnik, I was surprised to recognize in it the Yellow Acacia, familiar from childhood, whose actively growing bushes nestled under my old spreading birches. From the tender acacia pods, removing small peas from them, in childhood we made squeaky whistles, trying to depict with their help a semblance of song melodies.

I began to look for differences in plants that looked like at first glance, marveling at the meticulousness of botanists who manage to divide what seems to be the same to the common eye. And, oddly enough, I quickly found them by comparing the leaves of the plants. It turned out that the Yellow Acacia, which, in essence, is related to other acacias only in the common Leguminous family, but belongs to a completely different genus, which is more correctly called "Caragana", complex leaves consist of several pairs of opposite small leaves. And in Broom, the leaves are often trifoliate, located on the stem in an alternating order. In the photo below, on the left, yellow acacia leaves (or tree caragana), on the right are broom leaves:

The Italians call Rakitnik "the gorse of the coal miners" because of their predilection for living near coal mines.

Habit

Plants of the genus Broom (Cytisus) prefer to creep along the ground, rising up to half a meter above its surface, or grow up to 1-2 meters in height, turning into lush deciduous (less often evergreen) shrubs.

Small trifoliate leaves are almost invisible during the flowering period, when the plant is covered with racemose or capitate inflorescences of numerous white, yellow, pinkish or purple moth-shaped flowers that have a “sail boat” with two “oars”.

The culmination of the growing cycle is the fruit - the expanding bean.

Varieties

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Rod-shaped broom (Cytisus scoparius) - glossy green bush branches in May-June are covered with intense yellow numerous flowers.

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Russian broom (Cytisus ruthenicus) is a popular ornamental shrub that grows to a height of half a meter to two meters with an abundance of yellow moth flowers.

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Spanish broom or Spanish gorse (Spartium junceum) - green shoots of a lush shrub all summer covered with racemose inflorescences of fragrant yellow flowers.

Growing

Unpretentious plants that tolerate high and low temperatures equally well prefer to grow in sunny places.

Depending on the species, they can grow on sandy, calcareous or acidic, marginal soil, provided that it is loose and well-drained. Shrubs grown in flower pots require regular watering, while outdoors, the broom is very drought tolerant and requires almost no watering. Potted crops are fed with organic matter every one and a half to two months, combining top dressing with the next watering.

Reproduction

Propagated by early spring sowing of seeds, planting emerging seedlings in personal cups.

More often they resort to propagation by semi-lignified August cuttings, placing them in a mixture of peat and pure river sand and keeping them in an unheated room to form roots. In the spring of next year, cuttings are provided with personal pots that are exposed to the open air. In the fall, or next spring, the seedlings are determined in open ground.

The third way of reproduction is by layering.

Broomstick does not tolerate transplantation, therefore, when purchasing seedlings in horticultural centers, choose younger specimens, with a root ball of earth.

Enemies

The ubiquitous gluttonous aphid sometimes manages to settle on the broom branches.

The leaves can be affected by chlorosis.