Looks pretty (Rock Rose)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Rock Rose
Date:	16/03/07 (1941 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Neds little attention

Disadvantages: None

A rock rose is a Plant that many of you may have in your garden. The rock roses Helianthemum are from the genus cistus. There are about 17 of this species from the wild rockrose Helianthemum nummularium to the many cultivated plants we see in our gardens and parks.
Rockroses are small to medium sized shrubs. As you can detect from the name these plants like a rock soil to grow on and are a useful plant in the rock garden. We have a couple growing on ours they like a well drained soil. They like the chalk soil I live on and do like to be watered occasionally

The rock rose is really a native from the Mediterranean area and it likes a sunny position. This plant is not common in Cornwall or in west Scotland but grows well in other parts of the country .Although the name is rock rose this plant is not a rose but the flowers are rose like. Like the single simple roses. Rockrose flowers are white, pink or a rosy purple colour some have yellow or dark blotches on the flower. . The flowers are bright and radiant. They have 5 petals. The rock rose flowers a long time from spring to midsummer then they often have a second flowering in late summer. This shrub is a twiggy shrub it is an evergreen perennial. The rockrose will grow to just over a meter tall and a meter wide.
The rockrose is very easy to look after and will last many years.
The rock rose is frost hardy.

Now let me talk mostly about the rockrose Helianthemum nummularium. This is a wild plant grows only to about 12 inches. The colours are yellow. One has bright yellow petals and an orange colouring at the base of each petal which makes it look pretty. There is a rose coloured one too. . This plant can cover about 18 inches of a rockery, its good to have a couple of these plants to get a really good show. The roots of this plant go a long way down to search moisture. If after the first late spring/summer flowering that you prune/shear this plant it will look good flowering again late summer.

This rockrose is a good wildlife plant the bees love to suck nectar from them and a couple of butterflies use it as a food plant. Yes you guessed with a manic butterfly nut as a hubby this is why we grow it .The Brown Argos caterpillar munches on Rockrose leaves as does the Green hairstreak and the silver studded blue. So if your garden is in the locality of these butterflies then they might use your rockrose to lay their eggs.
I like this rockrose as it makes a really good ground cover on the rockery, has pretty flowers and is good for our wildlife. With so much of our countryside being destroyed it is important we do our bit and grow plants which wildlife likes.


This rockrose and the other rockroses are easy to buy in garden centres off and on line. Easy to plant and look after. I found some for sale at.
Helianthemum 5 plants for ten pounds.
http://www.wildflowersuk.com/buyit.asp?headingID= 1075 has 10 plug plants for £10 It is possible to grow rock rose from seed at http://www.grovelands.com/acatalog/helianthemum_se eds_uk_flower_seed_thomps on_and_morgan.html a pkt of a rockrose mix costs £1`.99
Best to sow these July to October time.
Once you have a rockrose you could propagate it yourself from a cutting. If you know someone with a plant they may let you have a cutting.

Summary: A plant for your rockery