THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN 



CYTISUS. 



527 



turn, until from early spring to late 

 autumn it is possible to rejoice in the 

 rich effulgence of the Cytisus group. 

 They have their faults ; they are difficult 

 to transplant ; are apt to become bare 

 and leggy below, and sometimes, especi- 

 ally when grafted (though this is hardly 

 a fault of their own) are apt to die off 

 suddenly and without apparent cause. On 

 the other hand, their merits are no less 

 pronounced, being for the most part hardy 

 and profuse in flower and seed, free from 

 disease and insect foes, growing well in 

 dry and even poor ground, upon hot banks 

 and other spots unsuited to border plants. 

 Some sorts thrive perfectly in heavy, un- 

 inviting soil, while by using kinds of 

 varied colour, such as the White Broom 

 and the rich crimson-brown of Andre's 

 Broom, it is possible to produce effects of 

 great beauty at a trifling cost in the 

 shrubbery, or on pieces of rough ground 

 which would be otherwise an eyesore and 

 a perplexity. Many kinds come freely 

 from seed scattered here and there, if care 

 be taken to give the young plants some 

 little protection from accident in their 

 earliest stages ; it may also be taken as 

 an axiom that no kind should be grafted 

 that can possibly be obtained on its own 

 roots. 



Cytisus albus (The White Spanish Broom}. 

 A graceful shrub, reaching a height of 5 or 

 6 feet in three or four years from seed, while 

 old plants sometimes reach 15 feet, but are 

 then apt to show naked below. When thickly 

 covered with its white blossoms, borne in long 

 racemes, there are few finer flowering shrubs, 

 and beautiful effects may be gained by massing 

 it in a bold way with one or other of the 

 Golden Brooms ; it bears but few leaves, 

 which are silky and divided in threes. The 

 plant ripens seed in abundance, from which 

 young plants are easily raised. Two or three 

 varieties of this kind are grown : incarnatus, 

 bearing flowers tinged, especially when in bud 

 and newly opened, with pink or red-purple ; 

 multiflortis, a free-flowered garden variety 

 with flowers of creamy white ; and grandi- 

 florus, with blossoms that are larger and of a 

 fine pure white. To this plant belongs a con- 

 fusing list of synonyms, classing it with Genista, 

 Spartium, and Sarothamnus, but it is well 

 known by its English name. 



C. Ardoinii (Dwarf Alpine Cytisus). A 

 low trailing shrub, 4 to 6 inches high, and a 

 gem for the rock-garden. It is covered during 

 April and May with deep yellow flowers, 

 thriving in dry and sunny spots, its silky tri- 

 foliate leaves carried upon fine rod-like steins. 

 It is a scarce plant even in the Maritime Alps, 

 its home, perhaps owing to the nibbling of 

 goats, which, destroy flower and seed alike. 

 Cuttings or seed. 



C. argenteus (Silver-leaved Cyliszis). A 



silvery-leaved plant found in the Maritime 

 Alps, its leaves and stems densely clothed in 

 thick white down, and growing in the sunniest 

 and most arid spots. 



C. austriacus (Austrian Cyiisus}.\ hardy 

 deciduous kind from the east of Europe, grow- 

 ing as a compact leafy bush of 2 to 4 feet, 

 bearing terminal clusters of yellow flowers 

 during early summer and again in autumn. It 

 is grown in two or three distinct forms : leti- 

 canthus, showing paler flowers than the type ; 

 and axillaris, a new kind bearing its flowers' 

 in the axils of the leaves instead of at the end 

 of the shoots. Rocheli. 



C. Beanii (Bean's Cytisus]. A cross be- 

 tween Ardoinii and biflorus, which originated 

 in the Royal Gardens, Kew. It is a dwarf, 

 prostrate shrub with the habit of Ardoinii, 

 useful in masses for the rock-garden, its yellow 

 flowers coming early in May. 



C. biflorus (Twin-flowered Cytistts).The 

 earliest of the Brooms, it is neat in habit, 

 growing very freely and about 4 feet high'. 

 The bright yellow flowers appear in the axils 

 of the leaves throughout the long shoots. It 

 is quite hardy, and a fine plant for the open 

 shrubbery. 



C. candicans (Hoary Cytiszis). A robust 

 downy shrub found throughout the south-east 

 of Europe, from Italy to the Levant, bearing 

 its yellow flowers somewhat sparsely at the 

 ends of the shoots during summer. 



C. capitatus (Cluster-flowered Cytisus}. A 

 low semi-evergreen shrub growing in the out- 

 skirts and clearings of sunny woods throughout 

 central and southern Europe, bearing clusters 

 of pale yellow flowers at times shaded with 

 bronze, at the tips of the long erect shoots. 

 Though less showy than some kinds, its habit 

 is neat and compact, and it flowers from the 

 middle of July into autumn, when few sorts 

 are in beauty. It is sometimes seen grafted 

 upon tall standards of Laburnum, but is finer 

 in its low form, and is easily raised from seed. 

 C. decumbens ( Trailing Cytisus). A dwarf, 

 prostrate shrub from eastern Europe, with 

 large pale yellow flowers in long erect spikes 

 coming from June till August. A scarce 

 plant, but, where obtainable, very pretty in 

 the rock-garden. 



C. glabrescens ( The Italian Cytisus} A 

 hardy plant from the mountains of North 

 Italy, and almost untried in gardens, though 

 pretty as a rock plant. It forms a small bush 

 with the pendulous habit of C. ptirpureus, but 

 with golden flowers crowded in the axils of 

 the leaves ; these are deciduous, smooth above, 

 and covered with soft hairs beneath. 



C. hirsutus (The Hairy Cytisus}. A dwarf 

 shrub I to 2 feet high, with trailing stems and 

 yellow flowers in June and July, and useful in 

 the rock-garden or the front line of the shrub- 

 bery. The hairiness is only in the young 

 growths, the adult leaves being smooth. It is 

 a plant of many names, including falcatus, 

 polytrichtis, and trtflorus. S.-E. Europe and 

 Asia Minor. 

 C. kewensis (The Kew Cytisus}. A beau- 



