Plant profile - cistus

With a native range across the Mediterranean area, the rock roses are ideal plant for our Gravel Garden. Drought tolerant once established, coping with long hot summers, excelling on poorer, well-drained soils. They make a variety of rounded, to spreading evergreen shapes, a perfect contrast to strong verticals, or the exuberance of some herbaceous perennials. Leaves often scented, with the resin ladanum of C. ladanifer and C. creticus extracted and used in herbal medicine and in perfumes. Flowering occurs from late spring through summer. Individual blooms often have crinkled petals, which may be short-lived, but they are produced over a long period. Various shades from white to pink, with attractive markings. Excellent for bees. A light prune after flowering can be done to retain shape, but they don't generally respond to being cut back hard. Cistus is one of the parents of the bi-generic hybrid x Halimiocistus. 

Wildlife credentials

Epitomizing the necessary future of gardening in a warmed world, Cistus have it all: drought-tolerance, floral beauty over a long period, and a moderate to high attraction (according to species) to pollinators. The massed stamens produce abundant pollen, the nectaries (at least in some species) a good nectar supply, and so they are much visited by honeybees, hoverflies and beetles.

Just some of our range:

Cistus × lenis 'Grayswood Pink' - a spreading evergreen shrub with grey-green, ovate leaves and light pink, white-centred flowers. Depending on the source, this may be the same as Cistus parviflorus and Cistus x argenteus 'Silver Pink'. Height and spread 1m x 1.5m.

Cistus × lenis 'Grayswood Pink' 

Cistus populifolius - makes a dense bush of very attractive foliage, pointed, fresh-green aromatic leaves have deeply ruffled edges. In spring every tip shoot carries a handsome cluster of large round buds enclosed in red sepals, as attractive as the chalk-white flowers which open in late spring through into summer. Height and spread 1.2m x 1.5m.

Cistus populifolius

Cistus x argenteus 'Peggy Sammons' - soft grey-green downy leaves are attractive all the year round and as a setting in summer for flowers with crumpled petals in wild-rose pink. Forms a medium-sized shrub. Height and spread 1m x 1m.

Cistus x argenteus 'Peggy Sammons'

Cistus 'Gordon Cooper' - a spreading, evergreen rock rose, flowering prolifically in late spring, early summer, white, with strong, red-maroon blotches. A hybrid of C. 'Ruby Cluster', providing the attractive flowers and Cistus salviifolius, which gives it a lower spreading habit. Height and spread 50cm x 2m.

Cistus 'Gordon Cooper' 

Cistus x purpureus - fresh green foliage all year, slightly crinkled, smothered in summer with large rich pink flowers, each with a purple splash. Height and spread 1.2m x 1m.

Cistus x purpureus

Perfect companion plants

Nepeta

Stachys

Verbascum