Sister Rosie® Scotch Broom

Light Needs

Full Sun

(At Least 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

2-3 Feet

Mature Spread

2-3 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 8

Sister Rosie Scotch Broom adds fireworks of color and texture to dry, sunny gardens with its wiry stems and pea-shaped flowers. The kaleidoscopic flower petals are dappled in hues of red, pink, yellow, and white. Scotch Broom bursts with color in the spring, as these small, multicolored flowers bloom in abundance along the wiry stems. Tiny leaves grow along these stems following this prolific bloom, adding a unique textural element to the landscape. Scotch Broom can be invasive in the Northwest and is not recommended for this area. However, it is the perfect low-maintenance option for hot, dry, and sunny sites in Zones 5-8.

Scotch Broom is a very deer resistant shrub, so you may want to add several to your garden if you get a lot of hooved visitors. It is also drought-, heat-, and salt-tolerant. This is the perfect shrub for dry areas of your landscape that don’t get a lot of upkeep. Try it with other spring-blooming, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants, including bulbs. Sister Rosie is a Scotch Broom variety that outperforms others in color, bloom, and texture. This is a truly unique and special plant with a striking appearance. There are no others quite like it!

Sister Rosie® Scotch Broom Care

As long as you plant your Sister Rosie in a place that gets full sun (at least 6 hours) and has very well-drained soil, you won’t have to do much to take care of it. It likes low-fertility soil, and does not require fertilizing. Although a bit of well-balanced fertilizer upon planting will get it off to a good start. If you are in Zone 5, it is even more important to plant it in a place with well-draining soil in order to keep it happy through the cold winter.

There’s not much you need to do for pruning, either. However, if the wiry stems start to look scruffy, a little trim after the spring bloom will tidy it up.

Sister Rosie® Scotch Broom Spacing

Sister Rosie Scotch Broom is a medium-sized shrub that grows up to 36” tall and 36” wide at maturity. If you are planting it as a specimen or focal point in your landscape, you’ll want to give it room to shine; plant it 36” away from other plants. If you’re using it in mass or as a border plant, give closer to 24” of space.