Rock Roses (Cistus)
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Rock roses are Cistus: evergreen shrubs from the dry, stony hillsides of the Mediterranean, with aromatic, slightly sticky leaves and papery flowers like single roses in late spring and early summer. Each flower lasts a day, but they open in such numbers that the bush is covered for weeks. They thrive on sun, poor soil and neglect. Choose by height and flower colour, and plant them where the drainage is sharp.
Which size? How many?
Size ladder: what each pot looks like on arrivalHedge calculator: plants per metre, pricedHeights on arrival sit under every size on the product page. Freight is quoted with multiple freight companies and passed on at cost.
19% off$16.95$20.95Unit price /Unavailable-
29% off$16.95
$23.95Unit price /Unavailable -
Sageleaf Rock Rose Cistus salviifolius
3 sizes, Tube to 400mm
19% offFrom $16.95$20.95Unit price /Unavailable -
Alan Fradd Rock Rose Cistus x purpurea 'Alan Fradd'
33% off$15.95$23.95On backorderUnit price /Unavailable
More information
How to choose rock rose plants
The Sageleaf Rock Rose is low and spreading, wider than it is high, with wrinkled sage like leaves and white flowers with yellow centres. It is the one for banks and for the front of a dry border. The Alan Fradd Rock Rose is a taller shrub, to about 1.5 metres, with large white flowers that carry a maroon blotch at the base of each petal.
The Silver Pink Rock Rose is a compact shrub with grey green leaves and soft pink flowers. The Sunset Rock Rose is another compact selection for smaller spaces. A mix of a low form in front and a taller one behind gives a longer display, because the varieties peak a little apart.
Where rock roses grow
Rock roses suit Mediterranean and temperate climates with dry summers: Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, country Victoria and inland New South Wales. They are frost hardy, tolerate coastal wind and salt, and grow in limestone and gravelly soils that defeat many shrubs. They are short lived where summers bring humid rain. In Sydney they need perfect drainage and an open, airy position, and they are not plants for the subtropics or tropics.
They belong with our drought tolerant plants, mix well with lavender, and are a dependable choice among the plants for coastal areas.
Planting and spacing
Autumn is the ideal planting time, so the roots establish with winter rain before the first summer. Choose full sun and soil that drains fast. Do not add compost, manure or fertiliser to the hole, because rich soil gives soft growth and a short life. In clay, plant on a mound of gravelly soil. Space low forms 80 centimetres to a metre apart and taller ones 1.2 to 1.5 metres. A gravel mulch suits them better than bark. Rock roses resent root disturbance, so plant them where they are to stay.
Care basics
Water through the first summer, then leave them to the rain except in a severe drought. They need no feeding. Tip prune lightly straight after flowering to keep the shrub compact, taking only the soft green growth. Do not prune into old wood, which will not reshoot. Even well grown plants last about eight to ten years. When a shrub turns leggy and open, replace it rather than cutting it back hard.
Common questions
How long do rock rose flowers last?
Each flower opens in the morning and drops its petals by evening, but new buds open daily for several weeks in late spring and early summer.
Can I prune a rock rose hard?
No. Cistus does not reshoot from old bare wood. Limit pruning to a light trim of green growth after flowering.
Do rock roses need watering?
Only while they establish. After the first summer they are very drought hardy, and too much summer water shortens their life.
Are rock roses related to roses?
No. The name comes from the look of the flowers. Cistus is a separate family of Mediterranean shrubs with no thorns.
