Description
Genista – Chamaespartium – Echinopartum – Teline – Broom –
There are about 90 species of mainly deciduous, sometimes spiny shrubs and occasionally trees, which may appear evergreen because of their flat green branchlets, in this genus. They occur in pastures and moorland to cliffs and rocky places in Europe, the Mediterranean, and Western Asia. They have alternate, simple or 3 palmate leaves, usually to ½” long, sometimes more, but may be nearly leafless. They are grown for their small, fragrant, pea like yellow flowers, held singly or in terminal racemes or dense heads. Grow as specimen plants, or in a shrub border or rock garden.
Grow in light, poor to moderately fertile, well drained soil in full sun.
Prone to dieback, powdery mildew and scale insects.
G. hispanica – Spanich Gorse – Spanish Broom – This dwarf, deciduous shrub from Southwestern Europe grows 30″ tall and 5′ feet wide. It forms a neat dome. It produces oblong to egg shaped leaves. In late spring and early summer it is covered with dense cluster of tiny golden-yellow flowers.
Zones 6-10
