Cytisus 'LENA'

Broom. What a name! Looking at this small shrub one can understand why but couldn’t we be a bit more diplomatic and call it for instance a flowering brush or something alike? Anyway. It is an unusual and nice plant that flowers from the first warmer days of spring.

Lena is a very attractive variety of broom that bears small, pea-like flowers that are soft red outside and vivid golden-yellow inside. This combination looks striking and at the same time pleasant thanks to warm colour tones. Blooming time is early May to early June. Leaves are small, deciduous, mid green, up to 2 cm long, and mature plants are almost leafless. The twigs are green all year round.

It forms a dense shrub, about 1.2m tall and wide. In order to get the whole plant covered with flowers we recommend pruning it after flowering – in early June. Cut back new branches by one or two thirds. This will result in production of many new branches that will flower the following year. Broom dislikes cutting into old wood so if you wish to keep this plant compact prune it every year.

Unpruned flowers lose bottom branches and their new shoots tend to nod a bit. Such plants are ideal for natural landscapes. Cytisus needs extremely well-drained, preferably acid soil. It hates water-logging and shaded areas. This colourful variety will look great almost anywhere, by planting it among evergreen shrubs it will help highlight the landscape with bright colour for about a month. Grow it in full sun. Fully hardy to -27°C (USDA zone 5b).

Last update 27-01-2011