Cytisus Species, Scotch Broom, Broomtops, Common Broom, European Broom, Irish Broom

According to Sunset Western Garden Book, lower growing hybrids like "Lena" or "Moonlight" are much less aggressive. In fact, this link sa...Read Moreys "Lena's Broom is a recipient of the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society"

http://www.paghat.com/broom.html

Anyone has experience with these hybrid being invasive?

I don't see many comments from the southeast. Is this plant invasive in Tennessee? I bought one at Wally World a while back and wonder ...Read Moreabout whether I should plant it or let it die now. Some feedback would be GREATLY appreciated.

We live in Davenport, WA (just NW of Spokake in eastern Washington). It hits 85 degrees (dry) here in the summer and only goes to about ...Read More22 degrees (snowy) in the winter. The scotch broom at the front corner of my home was there when we moved in and I've seen no reason to remove it in the 9 years we've lived here.
It is the most beautiful yellow bouquet (4ft x 4ft) every April/May. Extremely fragrant with an aroma that reminds me of my grandmother's honeysuckle vine when I was a child. It does make my nose run and I sneeze a lot, but I count that as a fair trade, as it's soooo beautiful and soooo fragrant (the breeze here wafts the scent across an entire acre to any location I'm sitting and it meanders through the house as well....I love it). Can't enjoy the roses without the thorns, as they say.
It has never spread anywhere (not another one anyplace for miles) and although I've tried desperately to propogate it in order to place two more at the opposing corners of our yard, I've never been able to get it to reproduce....maybe because it needs another plant to pollinate? I've never seen seeds and taking cuttings and root stock from it has been a complete failure for me.
The deer/rabbits/voles/moles etc., don't touch it above or below the ground, which in our area is a blessing for any plant.
I cut it back to about two feet above the ground almost every year and it just comes back up bushier and happier...which is fine with me.
Guess our area is not condusive to it's propogation, though it grows well here on its own.
The only negative I can give it is that I don't think it's a very pretty plant when NOT in bloom, it really does look rather like a grey/green broom end sticking out of the ground when not blooming .... another reason I trim it down to an inconspicuous size each year.

Plant gets infested with genista worms. I no longer grow this plant because they ate it up.

I have the "moonlight" variety planted in a large pot beside my back door. I seems to be one of the few plants that can take the hot, dr...Read Morey summers that we have been having in NC over the past few years. It has already had its bloom cycle for this year. If it winters well, I look forward to seeing it return next spring.

I just bought this at Lowe's in Michigan. I think it is spectacular in appearance. I guess I should have researched first. Now, I don'...Read Moret know whether to plant it or give it to someone I don't like.

We planted a Scotch Broom in our yard on Cape Cod. We recently transplanted it because it was not doing as well as we hoped. It does fl...Read Moreower every year, and has shown no tendency of becoming invasive. We do have invasive bushes and vines on the Cape, but this is not listed as one of them in anything I have read. I actually think it is quite pretty, both the flower and the foliage. My friend planted one in a colder area of MA, but she lost it one winter.

i would recommend in any zone, do not plant. I just saw this here in this area for sale. Cute but having passed on cute plants to other...Read Mores without knowing the consequences before and feeling like a bum about it , do not buy or plant this. I am going back to the place of sale and tell them to check this out.

I see the occasional plant of this near where I live (Maidstone, SE England) but it is nowhere near as common or prolific as Gorse, which...Read More seems to be its main competitor in its natural range. The two can be found side by side but Gorse grows far larger and seems to crowd out Broom. Broom has the brighter flowers though.

I live in a very arid desert area in middle west Nevada. These plants do very well in the sub-zero temperatures and we have not had one p...Read Moreroblem with invasiveness. They resemble a lacy large tumbleweed and unlike the gold junipers don't turn an ugly rust color in winter.

Most of us out here have acres and acres so it's a great plant to cover all the territory we have to. My husband and I are upgrading to a new house on 5 acres with additional 5 available. So I'm thinking of cannibalizing present home and digging up the brooms that have been planted for one or 2 seasons if they don't die. When Home Depot gets a delivery of these plants, you'd better be there or they are gone that afternoon!

Glad to find this website, didn't know there was invasion problems with this plant. Thinking back on how many thousands of seeds it puts out, I can see the threat. However, we are too arid for seeds to germinate without help. This is a good plant for xeroscape type landscaping.

Scotch Broom: Even if this plant is not invasive in your area, planting it allows it to travel via automobiles, birds, etc. It is a horri...Read Morebly invasive plant and should be fought on every corner. Just read the negative comments. Unless you have experienced this plant, you cannot imagine what its like.

My shoulders ache as I type this, the piles of pulled scotch broom are so high that it is difficult to imagine. One pile is as high as a bus and the other pile is the size of a sedan. I burned two earlier piles. I still have a long way to go, but I'm exhausted from fighting it.

I have been using a weed wrench. It is only sold via the internet. Google it. Use it during the rainy season and just when the sun starts to come out. The ground is still soft and I've been able to pull out scotch broom plants with trunks as wide as my forearm using it.

Please pick a different plant. You don't understand what invasive means if you think it doesn't apply to you. There is no redeeming quality to this plant. It does not provide food, shelter or anything else to the environment. It simply grows. It is an alien being that can consume entire hillsides. It is highly flammable, has a single tap root (so its not good for erosion control) and attracts nitrogen fixing bacteria that benefits it and no other plants.

I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Anyone who plants this on purpose is simply telling the entire world that they don't have a clue what they are doing. Nurseries are not allowed to carry it for a reason!

Please keep hunting for a plant that won't turn into a nightmare. It may appear to be self contained in your yard, but you are giving it a chance to propagate and that is not necessary. It's a hateful thing.

I pull, kill, burn and curse it at every turn.

I live in lower Michigan, zone 5. I bought two scotch brooms yesterday at Lowe"s. The tag said zone 5, but have not read any remarks from...Read More this zone. Could I plant this in large container's, and winter over in the garage?. Thanks, Judy

I have or had three scotch broom plants in front of my house. The house was built in 2006 and we bought it in 2008. I'm guessing the plan...Read Morets were planted in the lanscape at the time the house was built. They are very large and falling over. I came online to learn how to care for them. One plant died last fall and I fear the other two may as well. These plants are gorgous with pink booms. They haven't began blooming yet, can I prune them now or wait until they bloom? I have to admit I did not know much about these plants and am suprised of the negative comments. I have not seen seedlings around my plants but they do produce those pods after they bloom. The blooms only last a couple of weeks in northeastern Maryland. Any ideas on how to keep my plants from dying? Several areas on the plants have strands that look brown not green. Help!

After reading the other reviews and seeing myself firsthand how bad of an invasive species this can be (I have heard of and witnessed qui...Read Morete a few instances of this plant choking out other flora), I have found out this kind of broom only seems to become extremely invasive in climates that are either very wet (Such as the pacific northwest) and mild (the pacific northwest and California). However, In hotter, much drier climates such as here in Arizona, the climate seems to be very poor when it comes to the propagation of the plant.

In the ten years our neighbor has had one of these, it has never successfully spread. I have had two of these planted beside each other near the end of my property, and they actually have become invaded by myrtle! Though I cannot say for certain, this species appears to be a poor choice for mild or wet climates, but cannot seem to become very invasive in very dry, arid climates on its own.

There are several brooms that are noxious/invasive weeds, dominently are FRENCH BROOM, SCOTCH BROOM and SPANISH BROOM.

T...Read Morehe one that is dominent in Southern California is SPANISH broom. The federal government spends 10's of thousands of dollars every year fighting this broom down there.

The one that is dominent in the pacific NW is SCOTCH broom. We spend even more trying to rid of this up here.

All 3 are extremely invasive and difficult to get rid of. Seeds are viable in the soil for up to 80 years! i cant tell you how hard it is fight this stuff! Please please please do not propagate, buy or sell any of these 3 brooms!

Not only are they invasive, but they are highly flammable. If you live in southern California and have spanish broom around your home, a fire that would come through there would burn much hotter and run much faster.

Many counties outlaw nurseries from growing and selling these but we still find many that sell it. Please please stop growing these plants!

Even if you have one plant in the corner of your yard and you havent seen it spread, if its going to seed, then it is dispursing!

by the way, it doesnt matter which genus you have, or what colors you have, they all hybridize! I will try to post pics of this here

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/271834/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/271835/

OR Noxious Weed Quarantine Amended February 4, 2010, - The rule prohibits the growing or sale of Scotch broom in Oregon regardless of the variety or cultivar.C. scoparious should not be grown or sold in Oregon effective immediately.

Information for the species noted above can also be found at: http://oregon.gov/ODA/PLANT/WEEDS/

Invasive exotic which should not be planted. It invades meadows and displaces natives. It is a lot of work to remove due to its deep root...Read Mores, but can be pulled up (may need special tools if well established). Grows super fast.
It does look pretty in the spring.

The plant that I am in love with is the "Sweet Broom" bush, which purfumes the air with a most intoxicating citrus smell from heaven.
...Read More/>
I live in Maryland, and I planted my 3 bushes the in my front flower bed. I have seen the same bushes in neighbors yards and flower beds since I panted my bushes, and they look like they are growing well and thriving. My favorite thing about Sweet Broom is that it flowers all spring and summer long, throwing out that amazing smell, bringing me the utmost joy!

Insofar as my experience, I have never had a problem with my bushes procreating, so I don't think I will develop the problems others seem to have; even though I think most problems are with the Scotish Broom or other varieties of the like.

Now, I am somewhat confused about most of the west-coaster reports in relation to their experiences with broom. I would really like to see information such as genera name, or a photograph instead of just the color of the plant, so that I might gain more insight on exactly what plant is being reviewed. It sounds to me like Scotish Broom is like our situation with god awful bamboo...

This review is a first for me, because never in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined ranting and raving over a nasty bush... I despise bushes, particularly anything that smells like pine or cat-piss. I don't know why anyone would even consider planting anything so ugly as an evergreen anyting anywhere near their homes. That is, of course, until the day I met my precious Sweet Broom...

I just bought 6 more bushes to plant in pots, which will be placed on my deck... Of the millions of times I have touched the bush, or harvested the precious blooms for a fragrant arrangement inside, I have never had any problems or reactions. I don't have any problems with allergens either; unless you consider the stupid ginormous holly tree (over 40 feet tall) that lives in my neighbors yard which is stationed right across from my bed room window, that I am severely allergic to; oh the dreams of tree murder I have!

The pollen released by stupid evergreens is by far and large the biggest problem we have here on the east coast! In fact, the year that I lived in Georgia was one of the worst years of my life, because pollen there can be measured by the inch when those stupid pine trees pollenate.

Regards...

According to the experts in the field, the broom along the highways is NOT Scotch Brooom, but Spanish Broom, Sparteum junceum.
...Read More /> I have had great success with Scotch Broom 'Moonlight', a pale yellow, not the harsh yellow of the Spanish broom, as well as a maroon colored one, of which I do not recall the variety name, The 'Moonlight' will produce a few seedlings, of which are easy to grow on in pots and put them where you want them to grow.

Now one person mentions not having a deer problem with this one, but the deer in this area don't eat it, but rub their antlers on it until it is almost destroyed, but not entirely. What I do is wait until it looks like they are finshed with it, as well as leaving all the plant leavings on the ground, and then when it starts to grow again, I remove all the remainders, and spray with deer repellant, and it regains its composure and grows for another year. This particular one, I have grown from a 2" pot. The first year it was pulled out of the ground at least a dozen times, either by raccoons or deer, but I keep putting it back in. Then I dicovered Liquid Fence, but if I don't spray in time, it will experience what I just mentioned all over again, but still survive. That plant tells me when the deer are back, and it is time to spray everything that is not behind the fence, which is primarily for my vegetable garden though I have borders around the edges by the fence.

The one I have up front, by the road, is a bit shaggy, as it gets "the deer treatment" as well, and only an iccasional watering, paired with a rosemary, but it is the one that produced a few babies, but I do not see them all over the place. This is the 'Moonlight" to which I am referring. Also the maroon one is inside the fence, on the edge of my "Dark Side Garden". The garnet-colored one or is it ruby-colored one is enclosed behind the fence. It has not produced any seedlings. It may be a hybrid.

3 years ago I planted 2 of these in my evergreen shrub bed in front of the house. They grew to 5' by 5' and completely fell forward cove...Read Morering lower growing shrubs. Their vivd yellow blooms are spectacular and beautifully set off my red azaleas and rhododendrons. I just cut them back to 2' by 2' .

They look pretty wretched right now. I'll see how they grow . If they continue to be so prolific, I may move them to a drier spot, or perhaps a shadier spot. Does anyone have a suggestion?

At another home I grew the burgundy variety which never reached this size and always maintained upright form. They have not produced any offspring, but they certainly have lots of seed pods.

Although this plant looks nice, we just spent a bundle having around 3 acres of it cleared by tractor. We are in the hills about an hr o...Read Moreutside of sacramento and it seems to be growing ramped in these parts. Some of the plants that were cleared out had reached well over 8 ft. I can't wait to be rid of the stuff!

When I lived in southern Calif., we had a Scotch broom in the corner of our yard and it never spread! I was surprised to read it is consi...Read Moredered a weed. It was so pretty when it came into bloom in the spring - very bright yellow and contrasted nicely with our two different-hued bougainvillea next to it. Maybe it was because it was in the corner - but we never had any trouble with it leavings its "boundaries."

The invasiveness of this plant cannot be overstated. It has spread all over Oregon, and if it's not on the Invasive Species List, it shou...Read Moreld be. It is also highly flammable. Do not plant this!

This plant has totally overgrown my lower 5 acres chocking out all native vegetation and the 100 douglas fir trees I planted. The propert...Read Morey looks yellow on a satellite photograph. I have started to attack the plant with a chain saw. My neighbor mowed it down with a brush hog but the plants started sprouting back in one year. The odor and pollen covering everything is very annoying. Who likes a runny nose? Please do not plant any more of it in the Pacific Northwest.

On a recent visit to the Gulf Islands off British Columbia's coast, I was horrified to learn that, in addition to its relentless invasive...Read Moreness, Scotch Broom emits a highly flammable gas. Botanists estimate that, if it ignited on Mayne Island, the fire would cross the entire island in 35 minutes !!
Does anyone know why it's so obnoxious on the West Coast, but so much better behaved on the East?

Have had two in West MD for about 6+ years and never had either spread.
Unfortunately this year the lovely kind of reddish/pink/...Read Moreburgundy one has died off and would love to get another.
Only problem I have had is they must have shallow roots as they need to be staked to keep from just dropping over at 6+ feet in height.

The comments almost exclusively show that this is a horror on the West Coast, and a pleasure on the East Coast. I'm in Colorado and plan...Read Moreted two of these last year. I found them at Home Depot after I saw them in a neighbor's yard. They recently had a xeriscape designer redo their yard, so I assumed they were a good xeriscape plant for us. I guess time will tell.

I have one that blooms pink, for two years, it's confined in a big pot outside. No seeds was observed. Easy care, like more of them aro...Read Moreund the garden.

On Vancouver Island from a few plants planted by a scotchman we are now over run by this plant it will cost thousands if not millions to ...Read Moreeradicate.The lucky person who discovers how to steralize this plant
will be rich!!!!!!Allergies are wicked in spring because of this plant it lasts till they finish blooming.Horribly invasive pretty to look at.

This stuff is bad...bad...bad!!! Here in Shelton, WA, it is everywhere. In the spring, everything turns yellow from the pollen. My ca...Read Morer is yellow, my hot tub is yellow...everything turns yellow. And....everyone is this house sneezes for days...weeks...months. Home Depot is suppose to have some type of mechanical "puller" you can rent from them for the weekend that will pull it out for you to dispose of. Thought I would check this out this weekend. I have been told by the old timers around here that there just "ain't" no way to get rid of the evil stuff.

Scotch broom adds a yellow flash of color in our area which has an over abundent amount of white tailed deer who eat almost everything. T...Read Morehe plant seems to survive milder winters better than cold ones, unless covered by much snow. Our growing zone here in NE PA is 5a and the broom plants tend to brown out on the tips. We cut them back hard after their bloom and have no problem with invasive spread.

We are east of the Cincinnati Ohio area and planted ours about 3 years ago. We liked it so much that we began to look for another. We ...Read Morehave a couple of neighbors who would like one as well and they have been looking. Recently my husband talked with a local nursery owner who promised to do some research for us. We were told that it is listed as a noxious weed and therefor he is unable to obtain one for us. I was in the Cleveland area recently and my Aunt's neighbor has a beautiful yellow one in his garden. I will try to aquire a cutting from him on my next visit. I would like to start another plant from the one we currently have. Ours is a deep red in color and we do enjoy it. Do be careful when you cut yours back as it really does cause some nasty skin irritation I know this from personal experience.

This plant is growing on our empty lot in Lakebay, Washington. We are required by the homeowners association to eradicate it from along ...Read Morethe side of the road. I understand from a Lakebay neighbor that it comes back every year. He suggested cutting it down while it is in bloom--said that would kill it and keep it from coming back. I'm doubtful--anybody out there have success at this? It's spread on several acres, and I don't want to go to all that work if it's just going to come back.

Scotct Broom is an Invasive Plant, and one that, alas, grows all too freely in Washington state.

This is one flower that n...Read Moreeeds to be wiped out.

I just bought one "Lena's Broom" (Cytisus x 'Lena') WEED (so you say! ha) yesterday for $24.99 here in Austin, Texas!!! Boy, was I suck...Read Moreered, huh? I'm looking for things that deer don't eat and was told they don't like this as it's poisonous. It's quite large and I also liked the spikey look...I have a mid-century house and am trying to do a "modern" garden. I bought one of each of about 10 different plants to set them in the garden and see how they look before buying more. Anyone want to send me some old rooted out broom plants and save me lots of $$$? ha (My plant...still in the pot...is blooming with a beautiful orange-red...and fits with my color scheme: orange, purple, green and chartreuse. Will our 105 degree heat in August kill it??

I have three in Atlanta - not at all invasive - I've had the three or four years and never pulled a seedling. That said - they tend to le...Read Morean a bit too much from the wind so I put in a central stake and try to keep them more upright. Very pretty plants.

I have three of the rose colored scotch broom plants growing on the south side of my house. In the Pittsburgh area it is an uncommon pla...Read Morent and not at all invasive. I really like mine. Two years ago, I planted my first three. They all died. I planted three more last year and two survived a rather mild winter. One did not make it . I will replace it. So far, so good in the Northeast!

In the Upstate of South Carolina, Scotchbroom is a great plant. While it will reseed itself, it also only lives a few years, so it never...Read More becomes invasive. It may wander a bit, though. In the spring when the azaleas and dogwoods are blooming, it gives a spot of yellow in all the pinks. The foliage is a beautiful shade of green year-round. I also like the shape of the plant--very airy-looking with the long arching branches. It doesn't seem to tolerate the heat in the lower part of the state where I am now so I miss it. It has long been a favorite of mine.

Like others in the west I fight this pest constantly. Only thing I can think of that's worse is Gorse! The seeds seem to be dormant for...Read Moreever and then there it is again. Have not found anything to kill it except keep pulling.

You can't understand quite what a menace this plant is until you've spent days 'pulling' it out by it's tenacious roots on a volunteer ba...Read Moresis. My blistered hands and sore back will tell you that planting Scotch Broom in California is a crime against nature.

This plant is a weed and always has some green catipilars eating at it. One time i found the whole bush had those green eating bugs! And ...Read Moreteh catipilars spread to the rest of my garden, NO GOOD! Please dont plant this, you will be very very sorry.

I'm on the central coast of California and have planted one several years ago. It adds a bright note to the entrance of my estate and has...Read More been no problem at all. It is surrounded by ice plant and both seem to happily co-exist. A neighboring steer seems to enjoy eating it. I recently trimmed it and suffered no problems. As far as invasiveness, a seed will occasionally be dropped by a bird and grow, but that is a minor concern. I guess it is a plant that, if put in the wrong environment, will be a bother, but otherwise is great!

I've grown it both here and in Southern California and never had a problem with it except that snails adore this plant! My plants have al...Read Moreways stayed in place and not renewed elsewhere.

This seems to do well on the East Coast without becoming invasive. I believe there are different varieties with the nursery ones here bei...Read Moreng much different than those found in the West. I have one with white flowers and one with reddish violet flowers. No problems to report and no seedlings either.

I echo the comments of others. Do not be beguiled by this plants beauty or ease of growth! It will consume everything it encounters and w...Read Morereak havoc like a wildfire on everything in its path. Its prolific capacity to produce long-lived seeds and its lack of any biological predators in this nonnative North American environment allows it to stomp out all native and wildlife-friendly vegetation and to become a decidely unfriendly invader. Best viewed in its homeland, not on this side of the ocean! I spend the better part of many weekends trying to stem its assault on my mountain.

This plant is also a "weed" here in Oregon, both on the coast and along the I-5 corridor. Am not sure about East of the Cascade Mountain...Read Mores. It is especially worrisome because it is highly flammable. Would not recommend it for anyone on the West Coast.

One of the plants I most miss being able to grow in Maine. I remember them from the Northumberland countryside..

This is a huge weed in the Gulf Islands (Z8) of Victoria B.C. The only way to get rid of it is to pull all seedlings every year for seve...Read Moreral years (until there are no more seedlings). Getting rid of older plants can be accomplished, but takes a lot more work. On our Island, they have "broom bash" outings to pull the seedlings and take out the older plants.

I grew this from seed this year..I can't see it's invasiveness yet. It's a slow grower. I have also never seen one in PA...at least not i...Read Moren my area. Invasive is good for me! LOL

Back in the 1800’s a homesick Scotsman imported a few broom seeds from his birthplace to Sooke in British Columbia. They didn’t make...Read More it, so he obtained 5 more from Hawaii (The Sandwich islands back then), where broom had been introduced years before. Alas, they did take and Vancouver Island is now rapidly being taken over by the plant. As I drive around I see fields of yellow anywhere there is a gap in the forest or on the sides of the roads.

There is little positive to say about Scotch broom. It is extremely invasive. It changes the chemical content of the soil so that indigenous plants are “starved” out. It does not support local insects such as butterflies or moths. When I moved here 18 years ago both the Red Admiral and Painted Lady were commonplace. Now I have seen neither in over three years.

I have no idea when, or even if, we can get rid of this obnoxious weed. It even chokes out blackberry and English ivy . . . two more “immigrants” to the PNW. If anyone out has any suggestion on how to eradicate our problem . . . I would be most grateful to hear from them.

Peter – Victoria, BC, Canada

Just bought my Scotch Broom plant and after reading all the comments about this plant I am worried? I have terrible allergies but drove ...Read Morearound with two of these plants in my car in the hot 90 degree sun and had not problems at all. I hope mine do spead as I am not putting them in my flower garden but by my fish pond. Would like to see a big nice heap of yellow flowers and sure hope my cats don't eat them!

When I lived in a redwood canyon in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California many years ago this was just about the only plant tha...Read Moret would grow under the redwood trees, besides the native ferns, so we valued the small green clumps that clung to the steep hillsides, and gave us a touch of bright yellow color in all that dark and rainy gloom. However, many people who lived out in the sun just hated this plant, as it was so invasive, and while out driving in my car I could see whole hillsides just covered with it, so I wouldn't advise planting any variety of it in a garden.

Edgewood, Washington
This has to be in the top ten of most obnoxious weeds ever introduced to the world of home gardening. It has...Read More taken over 100's & 1,000's of acres in Washington state. The state had planted it in the median of Interstate 5 many years ago to be the "golden highway". It is now a pain to remove, as it has taken over the countryside. Willing to bet the majority of people hate it with a passion. It will leave you with itchy eyes and running noses in the Spring when it is in bloom. DO NOT PLANT this evil weed anywhere!

Here on the east coast, I love this plant, although my husband thinks it looks like a big weed (turns out that it is - in the west). Aft...Read Moreer a couple of years, the bottom branches die and are difficult to remove. I've since read that, to prevent this, you should trim and shape it after it flowers. Mine started looking so bad that I had to dig it up.

Where I live on the East Coast, we don't have any problems with it naturalizing, so we can grow it without worry. In fact, I have been t...Read Morerying unsuccessfully to grow it from seed. (Go figure!) But a nursery bought plant, once planted, will grow unattended in poor soil and produce beautiful flowers, generally found in varying shades of yellow or rusty red. I love my scotch broom. It's one of my favorite plants since it grows well in my clay soil and is evergreen.

In Washington State, the yellow one is a notoriously bad character, as well. There ARE ornamental varieties in the greenhouses, such as ...Read Morethe white one pictured here. I don't know, but would suspect that those ornamental relatives are not as invasive.

When I grew this plant in Reno, Nevada I loved it. Protected on a wall it was pretty. However, in much of California, this is a rank weed...Read More, albeit a beautiful one, which takes over entire hillsides and crowds out native plants and natural forage for wild life. It is also a fire hazard when dry. Self seeds amazingly well.