Prefers a sandy loam and a very sunny position. Succeeds in any good garden soil that is not excessively limey. Many members of this genus become chlorotic on limey soils. Can succeed in a hot dry position in a mixed border. Plants are not very cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -3°c. They succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of Britain, though even there they can be cut back to the ground in severe winters. A very ornamental tree, it can be pruned back hard after flowering in order to induce good flowering the following year. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Flowers - cooked. Rich in pollen, they are often used in fritters. The flowers have a delicate sweet perfume.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a sunny position in a warm greenhouse. Stored seed should be scarified, pre-soaked for 12 hours in warm water and then sown in a warm greenhouse in March. The seed germinates in 3 - 4 weeks at 25°c. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts, and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in individual pots in a frame. Overwinter in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Fair percentage.

Not known