Spanish broom
Spartium junceum
ShrubSecondary
Fast biomassNitrogen fixer
A fast nitrogen-fixing pioneer that colonises poor, dry banks in golden, scented flowers while building soil beneath it. Toxic seeds and weedy spread mean it's best used as a starter, then phased out.
Tolerances & traits
- Strata
- Shrub
- Lifecycle
- Secondary
- Soil preference
- Sandy, Rocky
- Soil pH range
- 5 – 8.5
- Min. temperature
- -15°C
- Min. rainfall
- 350 mm/year
- Wind tolerance
- High
- Frost tolerance
- Medium
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Irrigation needed
- Low
How to manage it
Fast nitrogen-fixing pioneer for poor, dry, degraded soils; cut hard for chop-and-drop mulch and to stop it going leggy and woody.
Watch out for
All parts, especially seeds, are toxic if ingested; oil-rich stems are highly flammable when dry; classed invasive/weedy in parts of California, Australia and South Africa - check local status before planting.
Design your line to see how your land fits Spanish broom.
Start designing your line →Related species