Hairy Calycotome Care
Calycotome villosa
A thorny, xeric shrub typical of Mediterranean maquis. It loves full sun and poor, rocky, calcareous soils; once established it requires no irrigation or fertilizing.
Monthly care calendar
Timings are for a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate. In warmer areas tasks start earlier, in colder areas later; in the Southern Hemisphere shift them by six months.
- Watering: Not required; winter precipitation is sufficient.
- General care: None; leave the plant to itself.
- Frost risk: In hard and prolonged frosts, cover the root zone with mulch or dry leaves; also protect young plants. It is damaged below about -10 °C.
- Watering: Not needed; rainfall is sufficient.
- Frost risk: In hard and prolonged frosts, cover the root zone with mulch or dry leaves; also protect young plants. It is damaged below about -10 °C.
- Watering: Not required, spring rainfall is sufficient.
- Fertilizing: Not needed. The plant produces its own nitrogen.
- General care: The plant is covered in bright yellow flowers.
- Pruning: After flowering ends, if desired, the tips can be taken off very lightly just to clear the flower remains, but it is not mandatory.
- General care: Seed envelopes begin to form.
- General care: Drainage is vital for this plant. In heavy, water-retaining soil, plant on a mound or bed raised 20-30 cm, and keep the root collar above the surrounding soil level.
- Watering: In a long drought, water deeply once a month.
- General care: The plant enters dormancy during the summer heat and may drop its leaves; this is normal.
- Watering: In midsummer, deep watering every 15-20 days is enough. Established plants (over 2 years old) do not need watering in most years. Water the area around the roots to a depth of 15-20 cm.
- Pruning: Prune as soon as flowering ends. Next year's flower buds form over the summer; late pruning reduces flowering.
- Watering: In midsummer, deep watering every 15-20 days is enough. Established plants (over 2 years old) do not need watering in most years. Water the area around the roots to a depth of 15-20 cm.
- Watering: In a long drought, water deeply once a month.
- General care: It is a suitable time to collect ripe seeds.
- Watering: Not required; autumn precipitation is sufficient.
- General care: With the rains the plant begins to produce new small leaves for winter.
- Watering: Not needed; rainfall is sufficient.
- General care: In winter rains, make sure water does not pool in the root zone; for this plant, drainage is more critical than irrigation.
- Frost risk: Young plants may be affected by severe frost in their first winter but usually recover.
- General care: Evergreen leaves continue to lose water in winter. Water thoroughly once before the soil freezes.
- Frost risk: In hard and prolonged frosts, cover the root zone with mulch or dry leaves; also protect young plants. It is damaged below about -10 °C.
The care advice on this page is general and for information only; it is not professional advice. Plant age, soil and your garden’s microclimate can change the outcome. Plant protection products are mentioned only as general information; they are regulated, and the choice, dose and timing must be decided by a qualified professional under local rules. Consult a landscape architect or agronomist before applying.
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