[Fleur Pavlidis]

There was a discussion about Spartium junceum under Ideas for screening shrubs:

I have planted several Spanish brooms, Spartium junceum, as a screen, they are fast-growing, very wind-resistand, thrive in poor soil and need very little water. The leaves are not much to look at and they disappear very quickly, but I like the very green, rushlike branches, and the flowers are bigger than those of Cytisus and the blooming period is quite long. They are easily propagated from seeds.

JTh

Spartium junceum flowers have a glorious scent, too.

Alisdair

Spartium junceum is fast growing even in drought conditions and grows wild here just about everywhere scenting the lanes with its wonderful perfume as Alisdair pointed out. It does need to be pruned regularly however or else it gets very bare and woody at the base. If this happens it can be rejuvenated by cutting half the stems back to ground level one year and the rest the following year. Along the roadsides here the local council cuts everything to ground level (often at the most inopportune times as regards orchids for example) and often taking a wider strip than necessary. The Spartium junceum recovers quickly however and remains fairly short, dense and full of flowers in succeeding years. Those that escape this treatment get very tall and bare at the bottom with flowers only on the top growth. I grow it in my garden and cut large branches to bring into the house and this helps to keep it compact. Further reduction of height can be carried out after the flowering period to maintain shape and density.

Umbrian

I'm interested to hear these comments about Spartium junceum; thanks.
It grows by some roadsides hereabouts, but I have not noticed it becoming a problem through self-seeding (maybe the seeds are tasty to critters). I would have added it to my wants list but I have always thought it short-lived. Am I trading on an old and possibly incorrect assumption?

Mike Hardman

That's very useful to know, Carole. Some of my old spartiums have died back in parts, don't flower and look so ugly that I was thinking of getting rid of them. Instead I'll try severe pruning.

Fleur Pavlidis

[In the garden Mike Spartium junceum can become something of a pest through self seeding. Tiny plants pull out easily if you grasp them in one hand at the point where they emerge from the soil and hold them higher up with the other -  a technique I find works well with plants with tap roots when not too big. Although Spartium junceum resents transplanting, at this young age they do transplant well and require little or no ongoing care. Vigilance is the name of the game though because seedlings grow fast and if one gets to a reasonable size, unnoticed and near to another shrub/plant it is very difficult to erradicate it without damage. Pruning back after flowering helps but as they produce flowers over a long period some will have set seed before you want to do it.
Fleur, by all means try to rejuvenate yours by hard pruning but if they are really quite old, leggy and bare at the bottom it might be better to start again since they do grow so quickly. I know it is hard work grubbing out large specimins such as these but it might be better in the long run and you can start your pruning regime at the right time. A friend of mine who inherited a lot of really old, neglected Spartiums on his land did try cutting them hard back . Some recovered well and have made fine new bushes but others died, I suppose it all depends on the age and vigour of the individual bushes. Also he did do it all in one fell swoop being a rather impatient character Good luck /quote]
Umbrian

[Fleur Pavlidis]

I've transferred all the above discussion so that I can post that the hard pruning has been a success. I cut all the spartiums right down leaving just one or two branches on each so that there would be a bit of green. They are all coming back healthily from the base and I'll be cutting off the remaining old branches very soon.

[Umbrian]

 :)Glad the hard pruning did the trick for you Fleur. I rather neglected mine last year and so am about to embark on a severe clean up! I have been filling the house with big pots full this year and have really enjoyed the perfume that they exude. They can be a bit messy, shedding spent flowers daily but I love to have a bit of the garden in the house.

[Marcellina]

Hello Fleur
My spartiums have just finished flowering. Should I prune hard now or if not now, when?

[Fleur Pavlidis]

If you don't mind seeing them looking forlornly shorn during the summer, prune them now. If you leave it to the autumn there are so many other jobs clambering for attention that you won't feel like devoting time to faithful old spartiums. I speak from experience.