Grey-leaved cistus

Grey-leaved cistus: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Compact, rounded evergreen shrub, 0.8–1 m tall and as wide.

Leaves

Oval, 2–5 cm, thick and soft, densely covered in greyish-white hairs; opposite and stalkless.

Flowers

Saucer-shaped, 4–6 cm across, pink to lilac with a yellow centre and five crumpled petals, in May–June. Each flower lasts one day.

Fruit

Small, hairy capsules full of fine seeds.

Roots

Deep-rooted: it resents being moved.

Flowering: May–June · Plants: April–May · Pruning: April and July

Why grow it?

• Silver-grey leaves that look good all year and bring light to a border.
• Weeks of pink flowers in May–June, busy with bees.
• Very drought-tolerant: once established it needs hardly any water.
• Tolerates lime well and thrives on poor, stony soil, in a gravel garden or on a bank.
• Perfect for a Mediterranean corner next to lavender, rosemary and sage.

Grey-leaved cistus: where does it grow best?

• Full sun, ideally a warm, sheltered spot against a south-facing wall or on a sunny bank.
• Poor, free-draining soil: sand, loam or clay with grit, neutral to chalky.
• Dry: wet feet in winter are more dangerous than frost. On heavy clay, plant on a mound or work in plenty of grit.
• Allow 80–100 cm per plant.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry

Size

1 m tall, 1 m wide

Hardiness

Half hardy (to -10 °C): protect it in harsh winters

Goes well with

• Lavender: The same dry, sunny spot; purple beside pink.
• Rosemary: Evergreen and fragrant, for a Mediterranean corner.
• Common sage: Grey leaves that match the felted foliage of the rockrose.
• Catmint: A long blue flowering season on dry soil.
• Feather grass: Airy stems that sway between the compact shrubs.

Grey-leaved cistus: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May.

1. Plant in April–May, so it is well rooted before winter.
2. Choose a young plant in a pot: small plants establish better than large ones.
3. Dig a hole slightly larger than the pot and mix grit or coarse sand into heavy soil. No compost or fertiliser: rich soil makes it floppy.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as in the pot, no deeper, and firm the soil.
5. Water at planting and during the first weeks in dry weather.
6. Mulch with gravel instead of compost or bark: this keeps the base of the stems dry.

Care

Watering

In the first year during long dry spells. After that hardly ever: too much water does more harm than too little.

Feeding

Not needed. Rich soil gives long, floppy shoots and fewer flowers.

Mulching

A layer of gravel around the base keeps the stems dry and the roots warm.

Moving

Best avoided: it roots deeply and struggles to re-establish after moving.

Renewing

Rockroses are fairly short-lived, often around ten years. Take cuttings in good time to replace an old plant.

Tip: Plant it against a sunny wall or on a slope, in soil with plenty of grit: dry feet in winter are the secret of an old rockrose. Cover the base with dry leaves in hard frost.

Grey-leaved cistus: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April and July.

When: A light trim straight after flowering, in July, keeps it compact. In April, remove frost-damaged shoots.

How:

• Shorten this year’s young shoots by a third, at most by half.
• Always stay within the green, leafy part of the shoots.
• In April, cut dead or frosted shoots back to healthy wood.

Caution: Never cut into old, bare wood: a rockrose will not regrow from it.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In July–August take semi-ripe cuttings of 8–10 cm from non-flowering shoots and insert them in a gritty mix of cutting compost and sand. Keep them slightly moist and overwinter them frost-free.

Seed

Sow indoors in spring in a warm place. Rockroses hybridise easily, so seedlings do not always resemble the parent.

Grey-leaved cistus: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −10 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Moderately hardy, to about −10 °C and only on dry soil: in a severe Belgian winter it can be killed.
• In hard frost, cover the base with a layer of dry leaves or straw, and lay fleece over the shrub in cold easterly winds.
• In a pot: stand it against a south-facing wall in winter or move it to a cool, bright room, and water sparingly.
• Take a few cuttings in summer as a back-up for after a hard winter.

Diseases and pests

• Root rot: The plant wilts and dies suddenly, often after a wet winter. Plant in free-draining soil, water sparingly and mulch with gravel.
• Frost damage: Brown, dried-out shoots in spring. Cut them back to healthy wood in April; if the whole plant is dead, replace it with a cutting.
• Bare, sprawling shrub: Happens on rich soil or without pruning. Trim lightly every year after flowering; an old, leggy plant is best replaced.
• Aphids: Sometimes on young shoots in spring. Hose them off or leave them to ladybirds.

Through the year

• January: In hard frost, cover the base and lay fleece over the shrub.
• March: Remove the fleece once hard frosts are over.
• April: Cut frosted shoots back to healthy wood. Plant.
• May: Plant. Flowering begins.
• June: Full bloom: new flowers every day.
• July: Trim lightly after flowering. Take cuttings.
• August: Take cuttings. Water only in long droughts.
• October: Move cuttings to a frost-free place for winter.
• November: Have dry leaves or straw ready to cover the base.
• December: In hard frost, protect with dry leaves and fleece.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• Each flower lives for just one day: it opens in the morning and its petals drop by evening.
• Rockroses are adapted to wildfires in their native lands: after a fire their seed often germinates en masse.
• The name albidus means whitish, after the greyish-white leaves. The dense hairs reflect sunlight and reduce water loss.