Name this broom (pruning help needed!)

[MrsBertBibby]

I have a gorgeous shrub at the front of my house but I cannot remember what it is. It is an evergreen broom, I think a cytisus, it flowers late spring in the most astonishing smothering of yellow. It is now over 6 feet high. I need to figure out when and how to prune it. It was about half this size last year, and the bits that flowered last spring are now bare, so am keen to figure out pruning so I can keep it lovely.

Help please! Also, everyone should have one of these, it is amazing. Gorgeous foliage all year round, looks a bit crap with the seed pods, and then whoosh!

Cytisus pollock is the closest I can find, but this is much bigger.

Not easy to see detail. What colour are the flowers?

On first glance it looks very similar to Coronilla.

They are golden yellow.

Coronilla is winter flowering, no? This is May I think

Pretty sure it is a cytisus because my partner always pooh poohs my efforts to sell them to him, so when he liked this I was shoving it in the cart quick smart.

Thanks. It's mainly winter flowering, but they can go on for ages after winter.

On second thoughts, the stems don't look quite like Coronilla so I'll think again.

Thanks! I have been rifling my plant pot store to see if I could find it but no joy.

So annoying when you can't find the label! Looking at the various evergreen Cytisus, there are a few possibilities. All quite similar but one of them might be yours.

C. canariensis: www.rhs.org.uk/plants/31004/cytisus-canariensis/details

C. racemosus: www.rhs.org.uk/plants/57866/cytisus-racemosus/details

C. × spachianus: www.rhs.org.uk/plants/69154/cytisus-spachianus/details

Well the Canary one looks closest (plus it's more tolerant of chalk) but if that's what it is, the pruning advice makes no sense, this plant doubled in size since last year, the branches from last years seed pods to tip are longer than my arm!

Bit fussed what to do, it'll look dreadful if next year the existing framework is bald, and the leaves and flowers start above my head!

Well this won't be much help to you, but I've got one which responds enthusiastically every time I hack it down, no matter what time of year it is. It sounds impossible to kill. (Which is what I was trying to do, it's growing all over some steps - but it is truly beautiful, I'm resigned to hacking it at regular intervals now).

'Pruning group 1' won't stand hard pruning but you can still re-shape it, just don't cut down to bare wood as it won't regenerate from there or will do so poorly. With Cytisus, prune after flowering.

Take a good look at the overall shape, where the leggy stems are and either shorten them to active growth further down or remove the entire stem, leaving shorter, bushier growth in place. I find it's often preferable to remove the entire stem as I try to avoid visible pruning cuts. The general rules for pruning are to remove dead, damaged and diseased growth first and then look at congestion, crossing branches and overall shape. It's a nice puzzle.

Thank you! It's such a lovely plant, even when not in flower, and when it is, well!

if it flowers in the spring, it flowers on last year's growth.
So if you prune it now, you won't get any flowers.

Wait until it has flowered, and then prune immediately, and then the new growth this year will give you flowers next year.

No plans to prune it now, don't worry! I must get a pic of it when it does its thing, though. Last year was incredible, and it's a lot bigger now!

Look forward to seeing the pictures! I do like a plant with a bit of enthusiasm