Purple Rock Rose
Cistus x purpureus
Neat, compact shrub with showy rose-purple blooms with maroon spots. Tolerates drought, poor soil, little maintenance. Great for informal divider, in rock gardens or accent plant. Evergreen.
| Botanical Pronunciation: | SIS-tus per-PU-re-us |
| Key feature: | Firescaping Plant |
| Plant type: | Shrub |
| Garden style: | Mediterranean |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Evergreen |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 8 - 11 |
| Light needs: | Full sun |
| Sunset climate zones: | 6 - 9, 14 - 24 |
| Water Needs: | Once established, needs only occasional watering. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate grower to 4 ft. tall, 4 to 6 ft. wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Growth habit: | Compact, Round |
| Flower attributes: | Fragrant, Showy Flowers |
| Special features: | Deer Resistant, Easy Care, Improved Pest and Disease Resistance, Waterwise, Year-round Interest |
| Landscape uses: | Border, Container, Erosion Control, Firescaping/Fire Wise, Hedge, Mass Planting, Rock Garden, Seacoast Exposure |
| Flower color: | Purple |
| Blooms: | Late spring into summer |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 2460 |
| Retailers for this plant: |
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a formal appearance, shear annually after flowering. Pruning time: summer after flowering.
Design Ideas
This popular Rock Rose is at home in the traditional landscape and the rugged dryland garden. Beautiful in bloom, it looks fine as a single specimen or in a group to fill overly large planting areas. Makes a heat-tolerant background and foundation plant for full sun plantings. Fits along fence lines and spreads enough to be a filler too. Its muted foliage color and unique textural quality is valuable for complementing rugged conifers and wild-looking perennials. Even does exceptionally well in the reflected heat street side or along the driveway.
Companion Plants
Purple Rock Rose fits with favorite easy-care flowering shrubs like Indian PrincessTM Indian Hawthorne (Raphiolepis indica 'Monto'), Variegated Mock Orange (Pittosporum tobira 'Variegatum'), Wheeler's Dwarf Mock Orange (Pittosporum tobira 'Wheeler's Dwarf') and Pink Abelia (Abelia x 'Edward Goucher'). Looks beautiful accented by Petite PlumTM Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica 'Monum') and Petite IndigoTM Dwarf Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii nanhoensis 'Mongo').
History
Oil rich rockroses cloak the arid Mediterranean region from Portugal to Italy. Early breeders of the 1820s sought to coax more cold hardy plants for cultivation in the north for oil production. Later M. Edouard Bernet of Antibes became the Cistus specialist and between 1860 and 1875 he was responsible for over 230 new cultivars. Though long out of favor as the demand for oil evaporated, only the ornamental varieties such as C. x purpureus remain in cultivation.
Lore
Oil harvested from the rockrose plants was known as labdanum, a valuable alternative to rare whale ambergris in the ancient perfume trade.
Neat, compact shrub with showy rose-purple blooms with maroon spots. Tolerates drought, poor soil, little maintenance. Great for informal divider, in rock gardens or accent plant. Evergreen.
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a formal appearance, shear annually after flowering. Pruning time: summer after flowering.
Design Ideas
This popular Rock Rose is at home in the traditional landscape and the rugged dryland garden. Beautiful in bloom, it looks fine as a single specimen or in a group to fill overly large planting areas. Makes a heat-tolerant background and foundation plant for full sun plantings. Fits along fence lines and spreads enough to be a filler too. Its muted foliage color and unique textural quality is valuable for complementing rugged conifers and wild-looking perennials. Even does exceptionally well in the reflected heat street side or along the driveway.
Companion Plants
Purple Rock Rose fits with favorite easy-care flowering shrubs like Indian PrincessTM Indian Hawthorne (Raphiolepis indica 'Monto'), Variegated Mock Orange (Pittosporum tobira 'Variegatum'), Wheeler's Dwarf Mock Orange (Pittosporum tobira 'Wheeler's Dwarf') and Pink Abelia (Abelia x 'Edward Goucher'). Looks beautiful accented by Petite PlumTM Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica 'Monum') and Petite IndigoTM Dwarf Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii nanhoensis 'Mongo').
History
Oil rich rockroses cloak the arid Mediterranean region from Portugal to Italy. Early breeders of the 1820s sought to coax more cold hardy plants for cultivation in the north for oil production. Later M. Edouard Bernet of Antibes became the Cistus specialist and between 1860 and 1875 he was responsible for over 230 new cultivars. Though long out of favor as the demand for oil evaporated, only the ornamental varieties such as C. x purpureus remain in cultivation.
Lore
Oil harvested from the rockrose plants was known as labdanum, a valuable alternative to rare whale ambergris in the ancient perfume trade.
| Botanical Pronunciation: | SIS-tus per-PU-re-us |
| Key feature: | Firescaping Plant |
| Plant type: | Shrub |
| Garden style: | Mediterranean |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Evergreen |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 8 - 11 |
| Light needs: | Full sun |
| Sunset climate zones: | 6 - 9, 14 - 24 |
| Water Needs: | Once established, needs only occasional watering. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate grower to 4 ft. tall, 4 to 6 ft. wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Growth habit: | Compact, Round |
| Flower attributes: | Fragrant, Showy Flowers |
| Special features: | Deer Resistant, Easy Care, Improved Pest and Disease Resistance, Waterwise, Year-round Interest |
| Landscape uses: | Border, Container, Erosion Control, Firescaping/Fire Wise, Hedge, Mass Planting, Rock Garden, Seacoast Exposure |
| Flower color: | Purple |
| Blooms: | Late spring into summer |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 2460 |
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Monrovia soil products
The best fertilizer to use with this plant is Tree & Shrub Food.view soil products