It hides a fence quickly and may be lightly trimmed to form a tall, loose hedge. It is quite frost hardy, though slightly deciduous in the coldest districts. It is very hardy to drought in the sense that although it loses wood in years of extreme drought it renews itself by long suckering branches when watered again, gradually forming a thicket-like shrub with strong whippy branches arching and curving to ground level. With attention to cutting out dead or bare wood a specimen may be kept in good condition for many years. Within a few years it reaches at least 3 m high with a similar spread, in garden conditions.
All parts are smooth and the foliage is a fresh green, at some seasons blue-green, with a bloom.
Around mid-summer, if water has not been scarce, the appearance is lush with new tip growth. Individual leaves are trifoliate resembling clover. From early October the shrub is covered in clear yellow pea flowers in short loose spikes. They continue for several weeks in a cool spring but a hot spell such as often occurs during October or November shortens the season. Large quantities of seed are set after flowering, making this an easy and cheap species to raise as the seed germinates freely.