Cistus x purpureus - Rockrose

The purple rockrose or Cistus x purpureus is a persistent Mediterranean shrub, forming a large, even ball. It is covered in spring with ephemeral flowers similar to pink-purple dog roses, with creased petals adorned with beautiful red-purple macules, contrasting with its dark and curled foliage. This fairly hardy bush, perfectly adapted to drought, clearly expresses the spirit of the scrubland and requires heat, sun, and very well-drained soil. Offer it stony soil and a scorching exposure so that its scent fills the space on very hot days with its intense, amber, balsamic fragrance, with spicy and woody wafts.

The Cistus (x) purpureus is a plant from the cistaceae family, which is found in the wild in the rocky scrublands of the Mediterranean region. It is a natural hybrid between Cistus creticus and Cistus ladanifer, from which a highly used aromatic substance is obtained in perfumery and aromatherapy, called labdanum. This highly branched shrub forms a dense ball about 1 m (3 ft 4 in) in all directions. Flowering takes place before the period of summer drought and heat, from May to June-July, depending on the climate. It bears ephemeral flowers measuring 7 to 8 cm (2.8 to 3.1 in) in diameter, formed by 5 slightly creased, pink-purple petals. The base of each petal is marked with a purple macule, while the heart of the flower is occupied by a collection of golden stamens. Each flower disappears in the late afternoon, releasing a shower of petals on the ground. But the buds are countless, ensuring a flowering that 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. The root system of this rockrose is both deep and ramified, it is so powerful that it manages to infiltrate between fissured rocks to draw the slightest trace of coolness from deep below.

The purple rockrose is a plant for rocky and poor soils, perfectly adapted to drought: its fragile flowers hide a strong temperament and a robustness that withstands all tests. Create a persistent dense display evoking scrubland by mixing the foliage and fragrances 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), Californian poppies, catmints, ballotes, dry soil euphorbias (E.characias, E. cyparissias). It is possible to grow it in large pots by tensuring free drainage and providing the plant with abundant but very spaced out watering in the summer, allowing the substrate to dry out in-between waterings.