Cistus purpureus Alan Fradd - Rockrose

Cistus x purpureus Alan Fradd is a white-flowered mutation of the purple rockrose, a beautiful evergreen Mediterranean shrub forming a large regular ball. It is covered in fleeting flowers in spring, resembling large white roses adorned with small red-purple spots, contrasting with its dark and curled foliage. This fairly hardy bush is perfectly adapted to drought. Give it a rocky soil and a scorching exposure, so that it perfumes the space on a hot day with its aromatic foliage and intense and complex fragrance.

Cistus x purpureus Alan Fradd is a plant belonging to the cistaceae family, which is found in the wild in the rocky garrigues of the Mediterranean region. It is a natural hybrid between Cistus creticus and Cistus ladanifer, a species from which an aromatic substance, labdanum, is extracted and widely used in perfumery and aromatherapy. This highly branched shrub forms a dense ball of about 1m (3 ft) to 1.25m (4 ft ) in all directions. The flowering occurs before the height of summer from May to June-July, depending on the climate. It bears fleeting flowers with a diameter of 7 to 8 cm (2.8 to 3.1 in), formed by 5 slightly crumpled white petals. The base of each petal is marked with a purple spot, while the heart of the flower is occupied by a bouquet of golden stamens. Each flower disappears in the late afternoon, releasing a shower of petals on the ground. But the buds are numerous, ensuring that flowering lasts for 3 weeks. The flowering gives way to fruits that open towards the sky, like small baskets filled with seeds. Its leaves are evergreen, elongated, dark green, sticky and fragrant in hot weather. This very penetrating fragrance is a blend of amber, balsamic, spicy and woody notes. The root system of this rockrose is both deep and branched, it is so powerful that it manages to penetrate between fractured rocks to draw the slightest trace of moisture from deep down. The lifespan of this variety is about 10 to 12 years, in poor soil.

The purple rockrose Alan Fradd is a plant for rock gardens, limestone plateaus and poor soils, remarkably drought-tolerant and essential in a dry garden: its delicate flowers hide a strong temperament and resilience to any test. Create a bed by mixing the foliage and scents of lavender (blue, white, pink), rosemary (creeping or erect), thyme (T.vulgaris, T. polytrichus), sage (Salvia x jamensis or officinalis), oregano, teucriums (T.chamaedrys, T. x lucidrys, T. hircanicum), California poppies, catmints, ballotes and dryland euphorbias (E.characias, E. cyparissias). Growing in large pots is possible, by ensuring good drainage and providing abundant but infrequent waterings in summer, allowing the substrate to dry between waterings. 'Alan Fradd' and its usual form with pinkish-purple flowers will enhance each other on a large slope or in a rocky bed.