Requires a very well-drained light sandy soil in a sunny position. Prefers a rich soil. Soils rich in nitrogen encourage excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowering. Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Seed - cooked. Ground into a powder and used to thicken soups etc or added to cereal flours when making bread etc.

Seed - sow March/April in a greenhouse. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. In areas where the plant is towards the limits of its hardiness, it is best to grow the plants on in a greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood succeed at almost any time in the growing season.

Dry slopes and flats, 1000 - 1500 metres in California.