Requires a hot, well-drained dry position in full sun. Plants are tolerant of drought. Tolerates a pH in the range 6.3 to 8.3. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c. A perennial species, this plant produces annual stems from a woody base. The flowers open in the early morning and fade by midday. Capers are often cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical zones for their aromatic flower buds, which are used as a condiment, they are also frequently gathered from the wild. There are some named varieties, the most commonly cultivated form tends to be the spineless C. spinosa inermis.

The flower buds are pickled and used as a flavoring in sauces, salads etc. The young fruits and tender branch tips can also be pickled and used as a condiment. The flower buds are harvested in the early morning and wilted before pickling them in white vinegar. Young shoots - cooked and used like asparagus.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of well-drained soil when they are large enough to handle. Grow on the young plants for at least their first winter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring or early summer. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in sand in a cold frame.

On rocks, affecting the hottest localities, to 3600 metres in the Himalayas. Old walls, cliffs and rocky hillsides in the Mediterranean.