Genista hispanica

RHS Plant Profile
Spanish gorse

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Genista hispanica?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
Spanish gorse RHS 1999

Other common names

Spanish furze

Shrubs
Buy this from Plant Nurseries
6 Suppliers

A spiny, gorse-like deciduous shrub with green stems and spines and leafy flowering shoots bearing terminal clusters of bright yellow flowers 12mm long in late spring and early summer

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.5-1 metres

Max Spread

1-1.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
5–10 years
Max Spread
1-1.5 metres
Max Height
0.5-1 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
East–facing or South–facing or North–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H5

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Fabaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Genista are deciduous, sometimes spiny, shrubs or small trees with small, simple or trifoliate leaves and solitary, racemose or clustered, pea-like yellow flowers which are sometimes fragrant
Name Status
Correct
Plant Range
SW Europe

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in poor but well-drained soil in full sun

Propagation

Propagate by seed or semi-hardwood cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Gravel garden
  • Rock garden
  • Banks and slopes
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Wall side borders

Pruning

Pruning group 1. Will not tolerate hard pruning. New growth will not rejuvenate from old wood

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids and gall mites

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus in gardens where it is present but insufficient data to determine degree of susceptibility