Scientific name: Cytisus scoparius. Common names: Scotch broom, broomtops, common broom, European broom, Irish broom, English. Native Origin: British Isles, central and southern Europe Ecological Impacts: This aggressive, rapid spreading plant can grow 3 feet in the first year. It can form dense impenetrable stands that degrade rangeland, prevent forest regeneration, and create fire hazards. It invades rapidly following logging, land clearing, and burning. It can form pure dense stands for miles along highway and country roads to crowd out native species and destroy wildlife habitat. Toxicity: Mild poisoning can occur from this shrub. Large amounts are required to cause symptoms in animals such as horses. Alkaloids have been identified as being the toxic principle. Cytisin, sparteine and isosparteine are found in the twigs, leaves and seeds in small amounts. The seeds of the plant can stay dormate for 160 years.

perhaps the key is whether you are a hardcore gardener.. who WILL REMEMBER to go cut off the flowers ... versus a newbie or a spring gardener.. who will go nuts in spring.. and then come back next spring and wonder what all those seedlings are ... and be wondering that for the next decade as the seeds keep sprouting .... just because an expert like flora... can 'do it' ... doesnt necessarily mean YOU SHOULD DO IT ... e.g. yes.. you can plant a lot of mint... a lot of us who know better... tried it years ago .... and are still trying to kill it .. lol ... or chameleon plant.. yes it is way cool.. and yes.. you can plant it ... but God help us, more specifically .. yourself .. PLEASE DONT DO IT ... one of the foundation blocks.. of moving from a newbie to the advanced grade.. is to understand.. that ANY ... >>>ANY!!!in my world.. as warped as it is.. life is just too short.. to go planting anything with a suggestion of being invasive ... the better question might be.. what looks like it.. that is not problematic ... flora pic reminds me of my white leafed fallopia ... which might also be problematic.. but not for me ... oh ya. looking up the link.. its a knotweed ... the only thing i hate more than pokeweed in its vine form.. but the shrub isnt too bad.. what a hoot ... lost this argument with myself ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Creeping Charlie or Ground Ivy as we call it, has taken over the back corner of the yard, but it's keeping all the other weeds down and it does smell good when it's cut. But as for all time invasive, there are two plants that I didn't put in but are a nuisance. The wild Rose of Sharon that spreads everywhere and I spend hours every year pulling it out of the 50 yr old peonies and rose bush. There must be thousands of seedlings in the grass. Its my neighbors plant and "she likes it." I call it the the Rose of Sharon from Hell. Then there's a second plant that grows to like 7 feet tall that looks like bamboo with trailers underground. They're impossible to pull out and break at the sections. I have yet to discover what they are.

Rachel, I used Brush Killer, undiluted. There are different brands but it will say 'Brush Killer' on the container. I believe Basic RoundUp is a different product. I see RoundUp now offers a combined mixture that supposedly kills brush, ivy, etc. too. I don't know how well it might work on stem cuttings. When I googled Brush Killer, several items popped up; Bayer Advanced Brush Killer Plus Concentrate, Southern Ag Brush Killer, etc. I think the product I used was made by Bayer. Remember not to dilute the product, just pour a bit of the product into a throw a way cup or something with a broad flat bottom where you can set it down without fear of it overturning, like an empty plastic milk container with the top cut out, anything that will work for you and can be disposed of following your work session. Soak the cotton balls and apply one cotton ball to each freshly cut stem, cover with a plastic sandwich baggie, secure tightly with a strong rubber band and you're done. Be safe. Secure the pets while you're working. Wear good hand and eye protection. I usually doubled the gloves I wore and then threw them away after each work session. Be careful when handling the product. When the weather is warm, I usually noticed wilting within a day and then over time, the plant dies and dries out. I had such a mess of these vines coming up out in my lawn and coming up in my garden beds. Nothing I tried worked until I used the cotton balls. The vines had created a garden nightmare for me. Good luck. You will be so relieved when these things die off. Mary