Other Names:  Peanut Butter Cassia, Popcorn Senna

Description:

A large shrub or small tree with small oval, fuzzy compound leaves, covered with racemes of yellow flowers in flushes throughout the year; excellent as a loose screen or tall border planting; can be invasive

Ornamental Features

Popcorn Cassia features showy racemes of yellow cup-shaped flowers rising above the foliage from late winter to late fall. It has attractive dark green deciduous foliage. The fuzzy oval compound leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color. The fruits are showy green pods displayed in mid spring.

Landscape Attributes

Popcorn Cassia is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Suckering
• Invasive

Popcorn Cassia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Popcorn Cassia will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets.