How should I prune a Scotch broom?

The house we are currently renting has a slightly neglected-looking scotch broom, Cytisus scoparius. It looks quite young but its limbs are a bit long and straggly, as if it's never been pruned.

My question is: how do I go about pruning this shrub? I don't want to interfere with its natural flow and grace and yet I don't want it getting too straggly and becoming damaged in the wind.

Should I hack it right back or be more delicate?

 

Broom will not shoot from old(brown ) wood so be careful.

 

Normally pruned after flowering and only into green wood.

 

Yes - it's a bit too late for any pruning @Siberian Khatru , for the reasons given already. Better to wait until next year and then do a tidy up then, but be aware of cutting back too hard.
They can get uprooted in very windy weather [I lost one here some years ago in rough spring weather] so if you're concerned about the site, and if it's a bit top heavy - making it more vulnerable, it might be better to just put in some supports for over the winter. Then you can review it next year.

 

Thanks, folks. I will hold back on the pruning for the time being.

To be honest, I didn't even know it was a Scotch broom. I showed a photo of it to A.I. and it gave me the answer -- my first ever use of A.I.!

 

Don't rely totally on these AI things @Siberian Khatru - they're regularly wrong!
It's better to post a couple of photos on this forum, and people will help you ID plants

 

I take your point about AI!

I did try to post a photo on here, but it needed an image URL, which I presume means subscribing to a photo hosting site.

 

I just have my pix on my laptop [which is what I'm using here] and I do the drag and drop procedure @Siberian Khatru. They load in a list and you can then add them to your post as a full sized pic. It's easier with a mouse - for me anyway, as the touch pad isn't great on this, and neither are my hands!
I always resize mine too, so that they're quicker to load. Under 1MB works well.

 

@fairygirl - I tried to follow your instructions...and after a bit of jiggery-pokery managed to upload an image off my computer.

Here 'tis...



So, to my eyes the plant looks a bit thin and willowy. Not surprising given that it's probably never been pruned.
I suppose my question is: when the time comes, where do I chop it? My guess would be about 1/4 of the way down? And maybe try and give it some shape rather than a straight, sideways hack!

What do you think?

 

Apologies @Siberian Khatru - I'm not on the forum later in the day so I'm only just seeing your post. Great that you got the photo thing working!
I'd say from your pic that it's not that big, as Cytisus/Brooms go. That could easily spread a couple of feet in each direction, depending on variety. It's got plenty of room to spread forward, and, depending on how much room there is on the left [Path?] it might be ok that way, but the shrub on the right would limit it in that direction.
It probably won't get much taller, but it seems fine for room if it does.
I can't see the shrub on the right well enough. Do you know what it is, or can you take a closer pic of that? If it's something you're less keen on, you could always take it out instead. It may also be something that can be cut back, which would give the broom more room to spread.

 

Thanks for your reply @fairygirl.

I'm not sure what the shrub is next to the Scotch broom. We had one in the front garden of our previous house and it was compact and relatively slow growing.

Just looking at my photo, I can now see the point you're making, which is that it is slightly encroaching onto the Scotch broom. I can see a straggly bit on the left-hand-side of that shrub which I can take off along with one or two other stems just to give the broom a bit more space to grow.

As for pruning the Scotch broom I think your general advice is 'go easy', so I will wait until it has finished flowering next year and then give it a gentle prune.

Our current tenancy finishes mid-March next year, so it may be someone else doing it!

 

Ah- if you may not be there more permanently, it's certainly better to wait!