growing and care


Apples Now why would anyone want to cultivate Gorse in their garden? It is a beautiful flower and shrub, plentiful in the wild, but in your own garden may take it over. However, some people do cultivate it.

preferred soil conditions?

Gorse loves acidic well drained soil, hence why it is often seen on the side of hillsides.

preferred light, shade and water conditions?

Enjoys good light to produce the most abundant yellow flowers, but partial light is ok too.

budding

Leaves, its spindles, are everygreen, so they are out all year round and producing new buds all year round.

blossoming

Bright yellow coconut fragrance flowers can bloom all year round but are most abundant from mid May until mid September, There is a dwarf species in Ireland that only blooms mid May to mid September.

Bees love Gorse.

fruit and seeds

Black pods form all year round. They look like pea pods because Gorse is in the pea family. The pods eventually open, the seeds fall and some will germinate. The seeds do not travel far as they are quite heavy for the wind to push along..

Gorse is an excellent nitrogen fixer and a wonderful plant for eventually reclaiming land.
It is regarded as a nuisance as it takes over grazing land but is excellent for starting a woodland.

What Gorse does do is welcome new woodland establishing trees like Birch and protect them when growing. As a woodland is established its actually thins out the gorse until it has completely gone.



for the healing and nourishment qualities of Gorse, please click here