Sophora Microphylla ‘Sun King’

‘Tell them about the honey, mummy’. Remember the good old Sugar Puffs advert? Sophora microphylla ‘Sun King’ is certainly something of a honey mummy, a definite ‘go to’ for the bees, so we are very keen to sing its praises on this and many of its other fine attributes. It is a hybrid evergreen shrub producing masses of vivid yellow fluted, bell shaped flowers just when you need them. These will be profuse once the plant is established and will present themselves, vivid and pendulous, all along its arching stems in early spring.

While yellow isn’t an uncommon colour for spring flowering plants, ‘Sun King’ really does stand out with a rich luminosity. Produced in profusion and seeming to dance, the full-skirted lime tinged petals sway and swing with long anthers peeping invitingly from within. The blooms are waxy and robust, with good weather resistance.

This is an open-formed number with long, arching stems amassed in delicate coins of deep and glossy green. New leaves are a vivid apple green, deepening to a richly burnished darker shade as they mature. The architecture of this small tree manages to be both strong and graceful, with slender stems that arch and drape around firm upright branches to create a softer silhouette.

Hummingbirds (they know a thing or two): pollinate them in its native Chile where this hybrid is thought to originate. Here at our nursery, whilst we are not known for our flowers, wandering bees are certainly attracted to this plant which will grow to roughly 3m tall and 3m across.

 Full sun and a sheltered position in colder gardens. Well drained but moist soil on most soil types.

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well watered when first planted.