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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Fabaceae = Pea Family |
| Origin: South Africa (Africa) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Lavender Blue |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Fragrant Flowers: Yes |
| Synonyms: Fountain Bush or Bloukeur |
| Height: 8-10 feet |
| Width: 8-12 feet |
| Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Psoralea pinnata (Scurfy Pea Shrub) - A fast growing erect evergreen shrub to 8-10 feet tall and 10+ wide that with age can become bare at the base, making it look more like a small tree. The dark green compound leaves densely cover the stems with the needle shaped leaflets that are soft to the touch. In spring and summer the showy sweet smelling 1/2 inch wide lavender-blue and white pea flowers are produced in abundance on the branch tips. Plant in sun or light shade - will bloom in full sun and when grown with only morning sun or light shade. Water regularly to only occasionally - it requires winter moisture, which it usually will get in normally wet winters in California and occasional irrigation through the bloom season keeps it blooming and looking its best. Plants can be grown drier but then tend to be lower growing and more sparse. It is hardy to short duration temperatures down to 25-27° F - our plantings in the nursery withstood the January 2007 freezes with 3 nights in a row with a low temperature or 25°F with only tip damage but did not survive our December 1990 freeze with temperatures recorded down to 18°F and others not longer duration tempeartures not much below freezing can be damaging. It grows well near the seashore in exposed situations but is not a terribly long lived shrub and may need to be replaced with younger plants after 4 to 7 years when it gets too open and sparse. It will often reseed nearby in the garden and seedlings are fast growing and can be easily moved to sustain a garden planting. This plant is native to Cape region north to the Transvaal of South African where it can be found along the seashore at Hermanus in the southwestern Cape upwards onto the surrounding mountains, including on Table Mountain. Near the sea it is usually found in full sun but inland it often is in the understory or near water seeps. The name for the genus comes from the Greek word 'psoraleos' which means "warty" or "scurfy", in reference to the wort like markings on the bark and the specific epithet refers to the pinnate leaves. This is a nice plant for coastal California and in Santa Barbara a nice stand can be found growing at Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden, where it is lovingly known as the Kool Aid bush because of the smell of the flowers. We have grown this plant at our nursery since 1988.
Information displayed on this page about Psoralea pinnata is based on the research conducted about it in our library and from reliable online resources. We also note those observations we have made of this plant as it grows in the nursery's garden and in other gardens, as well how crops have performed in our nursery field. We will incorporate comments we receive from others, and welcome to hear from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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