Spartium junceum

In June the countryside down here is full of these wonderfully bright yellow, fragrant shrubs that can grow up to 3×2 meters.

Spartium junceum is a native of the Mediterranean Macchia and Garrigue in southern Europe, southwest Asia and northwest Africa. It is also found naturalized in other regions with a similar climate, like California or Hawaii, South America, southeastern Australia, South Africa, etc.

Spartium junceum tolerates all kinds of well-drained soil, likes hot and sunny locations, is very drought-tolerant, and frost hardy down to -15℃, when established. Sounds like an easy plant that would make for a bright and sweetly scented addition to the garden, right?

Alas in our garden it didn’t turn out to be an easy plant at all. It took quite a long time to even begin growing and then, every year during its flowering time in June, it was covered from top to bottom in a sticky mass of black aphids. I tried spraying, I tried ladybugs, nothing helped. Apparently the type of aphids feeding on broom are well-defended: they are covered in protective wax meal, they are attended by ants, and they use the alkaloids of the broom plants to makes themselves toxic or at least unpalatable to predators… In addition, by July, about half of all branches dried up.
I give up – this fall I will therefore take it out and give it away.