Orchid rockrose

Orchid rockrose: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Rounded, dense shrub about 1 m tall and as wide.

Leaves

Narrow and lance-shaped, dark green and slightly sticky, especially in warm weather.

Flowers

Saucer-shaped, up to 7 cm across, with thin, crumpled petals. Each flower lasts only one day.

Colour

Deep pink to magenta, with a dark maroon blotch at the base of each petal and yellow stamens.

Roots

Deep and finely branched. A large plant does not transplant well.

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

Why grow it?

• Weeks of new flowers in June and July, fresh ones every day.
• Evergreen: a dense, dark green shrub even in winter.
• Drought-tolerant: ideal for a gravel garden, a sunny bank or a dry strip along a wall.
• Bees collect plenty of pollen from it.
• Copes with wind and salt air, so it also suits a coastal garden.

Orchid rockrose: where does it grow best?

• Full sun, in the warmest spot in the garden.
• Poor, free-draining sandy or loamy soil; acid, neutral or chalky.
• Dry: wet soil in winter is worse than frost. Never where water stands.
• Sheltered from cold east and north winds, for example in front of a south-facing wall.
• Allow about 1 m between plants.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Not fussy

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 sun and drought, for a Mediterranean feel.
• Rosemary: An evergreen herb for the same warm, dry spot.
• Spurge: Blue-green leaves and yellow flowers, just as drought-tolerant.
• Feather grass: Airy stems that sway beautifully in a gravel garden.
• Thyme: A low, fragrant mat at the foot of the shrub.

Orchid rockrose: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May.

1. Plant in April or May, so it has a whole summer to root in before winter.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot. Mix in gravel or coarse sand, not compost or fertiliser.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot; on heavier soil slightly higher, on a low mound.
4. Keep about 1 m away from other shrubs.
5. Water in thoroughly straight away, and again in dry spells during the first summer.
6. Mulch with gravel: it keeps the base dry and reflects warmth.

Care

Watering

Only in the first year during dry spells. After that hardly ever, except in pots.

Feeding

Not needed. Rich soil gives soft growth that survives winter less well.

Mulching

Use gravel rather than compost so the base stays dry.

Deadheading

The petals drop by themselves. You can remove the seed capsules during the light prune after flowering.

In pots

A large pot with free-draining, gritty compost. In winter keep it sheltered and fairly dry.

Tip: Plant it in the driest, sunniest spot you have, ideally in gravel against a south-facing wall. Take a few cuttings every summer as a back-up, in case a hard winter proves too much for it.

Orchid rockrose: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April and August.

When: After flowering, in August. It needs little pruning; in April just remove frost-damaged tips.

How:

• Shorten this year’s shoots by no more than a third to keep the shrub compact.
• Never cut into old, bare wood: always stay within the leafy part.
• In April, remove frost-damaged tips back to just above the first healthy leaves.
• Start light pruning early: an old, leggy shrub does not recover from a hard prune.

Caution: Never cut back into old wood: a rockrose will not reshoot from it.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings

In July–August: cuttings of 8–10 cm from non-flowering shoots, lower leaves removed, in a mix of sand and cutting compost. Keep frost-free over winter.

Softwood cuttings

In June from young shoots, under plastic in moist cutting compost. They root fairly quickly.

Orchid rockrose: how does it get through the winter?

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

• Hardy to about −10 °C: in a dry, sheltered spot it survives most Belgian winters, but a severe winter can kill it.
• Wet soil is more dangerous than frost: make sure drainage is perfect.
• In hard frost you can cover it temporarily with horticultural fleece. Remove it as soon as the weather turns milder.
• In a pot: move it to a cool, light, frost-free place, or stand it against a sheltered wall with the pot wrapped, and water sparingly.

Diseases and pests

• Root rot: The plant wilts and dies on wet soil. Move it to a dry spot or, on heavy soil, plant it in a raised bed.
• Frost damage: Brown leaves and dead stems after a hard winter. Wait until April and cut out dead parts back to healthy leaves.
• Bare, woody shrub: Rockroses age fairly quickly. A light prune every year after flowering helps; replace an old plant with a rooted cutting.
• Few flowers: Too much shade or soil that is too rich. Move it into full sun and do not feed.

Through the year

• January: Cover with fleece in hard frost. Keep pots dry.
• March: Remove the fleece once it turns milder. Do not prune yet.
• April: Plant. Cut frost-damaged tips back to healthy leaves.
• May: Plant. Flower buds form.
• June: Flowering begins: new flowers every day. Take softwood cuttings.
• July: Full flower. Take semi-ripe cuttings.
• August: Light prune after flowering, never into old wood.
• October: Move cuttings to a frost-free place. Put pots in a sheltered spot.
• December: Cover temporarily in hard frost.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• Each flower lasts only one day: it opens in the morning and its petals start to drop in the course of the afternoon.
• One of its parents, Cistus ladanifer, yields labdanum, a fragrant resin used in perfumery for centuries.
• Many rockroses are adapted to wildfires: their seeds germinate better after being heated by fire.