Cytisus 'ROTER FAVORIT' (Red Favourite) broom
Cytisus
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.Among the most popular colours of broom apart from orange is definitely red. This is why breeders have recently come up with another variety called Red Favourite. It combines rich velvety red colour with pale purple-pink, and yellow margins. Also, the reverse of the upper petal shows a beautiful marking with red veins on the background of a little white flame. Obviously, it is not usual to look at this plant from such a close up but in case of Red Favourite it is definitely worth bending your knees.
Leaves are small, narrowly elliptic, up to 2 cm long, and mature plants are nearly leafless. It forms a dense shrub, about 1.5m 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. Hates water-logging and shaded areas. It looks lovely in a larger rockery or if white stones are placed around it. Grow it in full sun. Fully hardy to -27°C (USDA zone 5b).
Last update 03-01-2013
