Chamaecytisus purpureus – Cytisus purpureus – Purple Broom –

Description

Chamaecytisus – There are about 30 species of fast growing, short lived, evergreen and deciduous, occasionally spiny, small trees, shrubs, and subshrubs, in this genus. They mainly occur on hillsides and in open woodland from sea level to 7,000′ feet high in Eurasia, and the Canary Islands. They have alternate, 3 palmate leaves, sometimes with softly hairy, leaflets, and are grown for their clusters of pea like, usually yellow, sometimes purple to pink shades or white flowers. Grow on a sunny bank or in a shrub border, rock garden, trough, or raised bed. Tolerant of a range of soil types, including poor, dry soil, nitrogen poor, but not shallow, alkaline soil in full sun. They resent root disturbance, hard pruning since plant seldom recover fully. C. purpureus – Cytisus purpureus – Purple Broom – This deciduous, dense, low growing shrub from Southeastern Europe and the Balkans grows 18″ tall and 24″ wide. From smooth branching stems it carries 3 palmate, dark green leaves, to 1″ long, with obovate leaflets. In late spring and summer it bears axillary clusters of 2 or 3 pale pink to deep lilac-purple flowers, to 1″ across, with darker throats. Great for large rockeries. Zones 6-10