Description and characteristics of broom, tips for caring for a plant in indoor cultivation, reproduction, cultivation problems, curious notes, species. The broom (Cytisus) belongs to the genus of shrubs in botanical taxonomy, although specimens with a tree-like growth are occasionally found. Such plants are included in the legume family (Fabaceae). In the genus, according to various sources, there are from 30 to 50 varieties. In nature, broomsticks can be found on a territory that covers not only Europe and Western Asia, but also falls on the northern regions of the African continent. Plants prefer to grow mainly on light and dry, sandy and sandy loamy soils, but can often exist on limestone outcrops. Moreover, the place where they grow should have bright lighting.
The broom is a deciduous specimen of flora. For the first time, this genus was identified by scientists, in particular the botanist from France Rene Luis De Fontaine (1750-1833), who for a long time served as director of the Jardin des Plantes (open public garden of plants in Paris). This can be found in the work "Flora Atlantica" published in 1798. According to one version, the broom has its scientific name thanks to the Greek word "kytisos" - this is how legumes are called, and according to another opinion, everything came from the name of the Greek island "Kythinos", where Cytisus was first discovered. In culture, it has been known since the beginning of the 18th century.
So, brooms generally look like shrubs, sometimes taking the form of low trees, which lose their foliage for the winter period. Although there are some varieties that are distinguished by evergreen leaves, and also have small thorns. The leaf plates on the branches are arranged in the next order, the shape of the leaf is trifoliate, sometimes it is so reduced (reduced) that it looks like one leaf. The stipules are small or even absent.
During flowering, buds are formed, reaching a length of about 2-3 cm in opening. Flowers are moth-shaped, the color of the petals is yellow, snow-white, but in rare cases there is a purple or pinkish color. Flowers are located in the leaf axils, gathering in racemose or capitate inflorescences at the ends of the branches. The calyx is tubular, but can take on a bell-shaped or funnel-shaped shape. Its length is much greater than its width, with a clearly two-lipped contour. The calyx length is 10–15 mm. The sail of the corolla (the upper and largest petal) is much longer than the wings (the oars are the petals placed on the sides) and the keel (the boats are the name for the pair of the lower petals). There is usually a notch at the top of the sail, and the boat has pubescence and a blunt top. There are 10 stamens, they are spliced into a tube. The ovary of the flower is sessile, but occasionally it can be pedunculated. The curvature is clearly visible at the column, and there is a stigma in the form of a head or it is oblique.
The broom flower has an interesting feature, if an insect (for example, a bee) settles on it, then the stamens, which are in a bent stress state under the lid created by the petals, straighten quite sharply. At the same time, they hit the insect from below, and the pollen from the stamens sticks around the fluffy underbelly of the pollinator. After that, the insect flies to other flowers to collect nectar, pollinating them along the way.
After pollination, the fruits ripen, bean-shaped with linear outlines. When fully ripe, the beans crack, releasing one, a couple, or many seeds. They have kidney-shaped and flat contours, with a shiny surface, and a bush is also available.
Tips for planting and caring for indoor broom
- Lighting and location. A bright, but diffused light is needed - an east or west location is suitable, on a south or southeast location - shading is needed at noon. In summer, it can be taken out into the open air. In winter, you will need backlights.
- Content temperature. For broom in summer and spring, the best heat indicators are 18-25 degrees. In autumn and winter there is a dormant period and then the indicators are reduced to 8-10 degrees.
- Air humidity. Since the plant is a big fan of high humidity, in the spring-summer period, daily spraying of the deciduous mass is carried out. The pot itself can be placed in a deep pallet, at the bottom of which a little water is poured and expanded clay is laid. The bottom of the flowerpot should not touch the water. If the wintering is cool, then spray it with extreme caution.
- Watering the broom from the spring and summer months, it should be abundant as soon as the topsoil dries up. Throughout autumn and winter, if the content of the bush is cool, then moisten the soil in the pot moderately, with care to prevent acidification. It is better that the water for irrigation contains lime. You can take it straight from the tap, but if it is too soft, then dissolve a little baking soda in it.
- Fertilizers. When the period of activation of vegetation processes begins in the broom (spring-end of summer), then complete mineral complexes should be used. The frequency of their introduction is twice a month. With the arrival of autumn and all winter, the bush does not need feeding.
- General care behind the broom, he trims the plant to avoid exposing the branches. In order for young seedlings to start branching, it is recommended to pinch the branches from time to time. The bush will begin to bloom when its height reaches 40-60 cm. It should be borne in mind that the growth rate of the plant is moderate, it will reach such parameters only by the 3rd age.
- Broom transplant and advice on soil selection. The shrub should be replanted when its root system has completely mastered the substrate provided to it. It is better to perform this operation when the flowering process is over. The new pot may not be very deep, since the root system is shallow, but holes must be made in it to drain excess liquid and a layer of drainage material must be laid to protect the roots from waterlogging. But with the passage of time and the growth of the bush, the containers for transplanting will be tubs of wood or boxes. As a substrate for broom, a composition of sod-humus soil and coarse-grain sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 0, 5 is suitable. A little lime is also added there.
DIY broom breeding steps
You can propagate the broom bush by sowing seeds, cutting or rooting cuttings.
If sowing is carried out in the fall, then the seeds are immediately planted in prepared pots, but when seed reproduction takes place in the spring, then stratification is applied (the seeds are kept in a cold place - for example, on the lower shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of about 5-7 degrees) for 2 months … Seeds are sown in shallow pots or bowls filled with a peat-sand mixture, parts of the constituents are equal. Seeds are planted to a depth of no more than 5–6 mm. The container is covered with a plastic transparent film or a piece of glass is placed on top. So the indicators of heat and humidity will be practically unchanged. The seed pot is placed in a shaded place, keeping heat values within 18-21 degrees. It is necessary to carry out regular spraying and airing of crops.
When sprouts appear and a pair of real leaves unfold on them, then they can be planted (dived) in pots with a diameter of 7 cm, the composition of the substrate does not change. The pots are placed in a bright place, but without direct sunlight. When the root system of young broom grows, then transshipment is carried out into 9-centimer containers with soil from turf, humus earth, river sand (in a ratio of 2: 1: 0.5). With the arrival of the spring period, transplanting into pots with a diameter of about 11 cm is performed.
To ensure the branching of the broom, after transplanting, it is necessary to pinch the shoots. When, in the third year from planting, the plant reaches a height of 30-50 cm, then its flowering will begin.
For blanks for cuttings, semi-lignified branches are used so that they have at least 3-4 leaf plates. If the leaf is large, then it is shortened. Planting is carried out in a peat-sandy substrate. The cuttings pot is covered with a glass jar or a cut plastic bottle, you can wrap it in a plastic bag. The rooting temperature should be 18–20 degrees. Cuttings do not forget to ventilate and moisten the soil in the pot. Rooting often occurs after 1–1.5 months. Broom seedlings are transplanted into containers with a diameter of 7-9 cm. Then they are looked after, as well as for 2-year-old seedlings. When propagating using layering, a healthy long shoot is selected, bent down and attached to the soil with a wire or hairpin. Then the branch is sprinkled with earth and watered well. As soon as the shoot takes root, it is carefully separated from the mother broom bush and planted in a separate pot. But you can immediately attach the layers to a separate container filled with a suitable substrate, and when rooting occurs, you only need to separate the branch.
It is important to take into account when working that all parts of the plant are poisonous.
Broom pests and diseases - ways to overcome problems
Trouble with growing broom is presented in the form:
- Speckled moths. To combat this pest, chlorophos (0, 2%) is used, which is used to treat the shrub, at the first detection of moths on leaf plates.
- Rakitnikova moth. Here it is recommended to spray with insecticidal preparations with organophosphate and bacterial composition, or a mixture of them.
- Powdery mildew. Until the buds of the broom have woken up, then they are treated with 5% copper sulfate; in the summer, regular spraying with foundation, a copper-soap mixture or colloidal sulfur with 8% will be required. Spray these compounds alternately.
- Black spots. Treatment is recommended for dormant kidneys using copper or ferrous sulfate; in the summer months, spraying is carried out with basezol or polycarbacin with a percentage of 0, 2–0, 4, Bordeaux liquid (1%).
Curious notes about broom
Since the wood of the broom has rather high mechanical properties, and is also distinguished by its decorative texture and beauty of color, it is used for handicrafts. For more, alas, it is unsuitable, since the size of the trunks is not large.
Plants are attractive in a decorative sense because of their extended flowering process in early spring or summer. Moreover, in the greenhouse culture, it is customary to grow evergreen varieties and they are often used for forcing.
Broom is an excellent melliferous plant, and the plant contains an alkoloid called cytisine, which increases blood pressure and stimulates respiration. Therefore, some of the broom species are commonly used for medicinal purposes. And also there is an application in cosmetology and the perfumery industry of the highest class, as a perfume. The broom is used in the production of beverages with or without alcohol. The most common use of broom is for livestock feed.
If the plant is kept in the house, then it reminds household members of the concern for personal well-being at all possible levels of human life: the physical body, mind and emotions, as well as the spiritual state.
For the Celts, the month of broom fell at the end of November - the end of the year and the harvest. At this time, it was recommended to carry out a general cleaning of the home, as well as the opportunity to get rid of not only unnecessary trash, but also of bad habits. That is, the plant was a symbol of help in cleansing from filth and negativity of all thoughts and actions. In addition, according to beliefs, broomstick helped to take into account our dreams.
Attention! Do not forget that all plant varieties are quite poisonous, as they contain in all parts not only one alkaloid (cytisine), but also other enzymes, pectin and many other substances.
Description of broom species
- Eternal broom (Cytisus scoparius), is a shrub that can reach 3 meters in height. Shoots are thin, green in color, in youth they have pubescence. The foliage on the branches is alternate, petiolate, with a trifoliate shape, the leaves themselves are oval or oblong-lanceolate. Their apex is blunt, the edge is all-edged, the leaf plates often have only one leaf at the top. During flowering, buds are formed, equal to 2 cm in length, their shape is irregular. Flowers are arranged singly or can grow in pairs in the leaf axils. The color of the petals is light yellow, the calyx and peduncle are pubescent. The fruit is a narrow-oblong bean, flattened from the sides, inside which there are a couple or more seeds. If foliage has begun to fall off in this species of broom, this means that the plant is preparing for winter, while its winter hardiness can reach -20 degrees. This species has received wide recognition when cultivated in Europe, with mild climatic conditions, it can grow well as a greenhouse plant.
- Broom broom (Cytisus kewensis) was bred in 1891 in Kew Gardens. It is no more than 0.3 m in height, but its diameter is almost 2 m. The shoots are drooping, creeping along the soil surface. The foliage is triple in shape, during flowering buds are formed with white-milky-yellowish petals, which are formed on the growth of the coming year.
- The broom broom (Cytisus emeriflorus) or also referred to as the broom broom. A shrub plant, reaching a height of up to 60 cm. The leaf plates are miniature with a trifoliate shape, The flowers are large, with petals of a bright yellow color, growing on long pedicels, because of which they seem to "float" under the foliage. They can be seen only if the shoot is raised from its lower side.
- Early broom (Cytisus praecox). The height of this plant reaches 1–1, 5 m. The branches are thin and spreading, growing in the form of an arc, which form a crown, which is distinguished by its density and density. The leaves are narrow, lanceolate, 2 cm long, their color is light green. The roots are not deeply buried in the soil, superficial. The flowers are formed multiple, with petals of a bright yellow color, are distinguished by a pungent odor. The flowering process takes place in May.
- Crowded broom (Cytisus aggregatus) is a dwarf species, not exceeding the height of 0.3-0.5 m in height, with a bush about 80 cm in diameter. Flowers have a bright yellow color, there are so many of them that the plant looks like a bright yellow ball.
- Creeping broom (Cytisus decumbens) is a spreading shrub plant with a diameter of up to 80 cm and a height of only 20 cm. The branches are green, 5 ribbed, with pubescence, rooting. The foliage is dark green in color, the leaf shape is oblong-lanceolate. The length of the leaf blade reaches 0.8–2 cm, with pubescence on the reverse side. The color of the flowers ranges from dark to bright yellow. The length of the corolla does not exceed 1, 5 cm. Flowers are located 1–3 in the leaf axils along the shoots. The bloom is abundant and very decorative. The fruits are beans with a length of up to 2.5 cm, their surface is pubescent.
You will learn more about growing broom in the following video:
