Pineapple Brush

Hi,

I was given a Pineapple Brush by a neighbour and it looked very stringy but i thought i would give it a go - that was in the summer and it has shot up to around 8ft but still stringy looking - the main trunk if i can call it that and a few spindly branches with lovely velvety leaves.

It hasnt flowered and i dont know whether to rip it out or prune it back or maybe just leave it.

I know absolutely nothing about this plant so any suggestions would be appreciated :D

 

Pineapple bush, is that?

Maybe pineapple broom?

Cytistus battandieri.

If so it flowers on the previous seasons growth, so any pruning now would take any flower buds off.

If its going to flower next year the buds could well be showing now.

They do get leggy and pruning after flowering is best.
But never cut it hard back.
Early summer I would say.

 

Its a pineapple broom but the lady who gave it to me said it was a brush :D

There aren't any buds on it, do you think i should leave it alone until summer?

Thanks for the info by the way :D

 

Personally I would leave it for now, if it shows no signs of flowers by June next year, give it a bit of a tidy up, but dont prune back into old wood.

Then let it grow for the rest of the summer, it needs a good sunny location to flower well, and a poor soil helps to stop it making lots of leggy growth.

 

Digressing slightly, but I once read that sweeping brushes are also called brooms because they used to be made of dried Broom.

 

i though this was some kind of cleaning device when i saw the title