Bassia scoparia (syn. Kochia scoparia)
Burning bush, summer cypress, false cypress: its first name comes from how our ancestors used it, tying its dry stems together to make brooms. In the garden, it forms perfect cones of greenery in a single season, bursting into red in autumn—a botanical fireworks display grown from a simple spring sowing.
Characteristics:
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Sculptural silhouette: naturally conical and dense growth, reaching 40 to 130 cm, with no pruning required.
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Autumn spectacle: its soft green, feathery foliage turns orange, then red and finally purple at the end of summer.
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Rapid growth: an annual that reaches its mature size in a single season, even in a pot.
Precautions:
- This plant self-seeds very easily and can become invasive: cut the plants down before the seeds fully mature if you do not want it to spread, and do not allow it to colonize nearby natural habitats.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: full sun, essential for its autumn coloration.
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Soil: truly any type, even poor, dry, sandy or saline soil—it is one of the most tolerant plants there is, capable of growing where nothing else survives. No fertilization is needed; it has no use for it.
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Method: sow directly after the last frosts, on the surface without covering: its seeds need light to germinate. Simply firm the soil. No soaking or stratification. Thin to 40 cm apart. See how to sow seeds.
Care advice:
- None. Once established, it does not need watering and maintains its conical shape on its own.
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its dense root system is used to combat soil erosion and stabilize bare ground.
- It is among the plants studied for phytoremediation because of its ability to extract certain elements from degraded soils.
- Its extreme drought tolerance makes it an interesting candidate for water-wise gardens.
Uses:
- Ornamental in borders, temporary summer hedges or pots. Its dry stems were traditionally used to make brooms.
- In Japan, its prepared seeds make tonburi, a garnish appreciated for its caviar-like texture, sometimes nicknamed “field caviar.”
Harvesting your own seeds:
The seeds form abundantly in the leaf axils in autumn: simply shake the dry stems over a container. Take care, as the plant self-seeds very generously—harvest before the seeds disperse if you want to control its spread. See how to store your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
Treat yourself to a summer cypress and its spectacular autumn blaze, achieved in a single season.
