In the wild, P. broteri flowers between April and early June. Seeds become ripe in August or September. It grows in meadows, pastures and in the undergrowth of schrubs, pine and oak forests on well-matured soils on limestone, at an altitude between 300 and 1800 m. It is also common in rocky places and screes, particularly in humid spots. It grows together with Adonis vernalis, Cytisus reverchonii, Quercus rotundifolia, Pinus nigra, Pinus pinaster, and Polygonatum odoratum. Plants that grow in different regions vary in the number of flowers per plant, in petal size, the number of stamens per flower, and the number of ovules in each carpel. These differences are related to the dominant pollinators, such as honey bees and bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) in the Sierra de Cazorla and smaller halictid bees in the Sierra de Jaén.