The majesty of a one-day wonder
THE BAD NEWS: Each f lower on a cistus plant blossoms for only 24 hours THE GOOD NEWS: Hundreds will be produced to give a super summer display
CI S TUS Are Doi n ’ I t For Themselves, Cistus Of Mercy and A Tale Of Two Cistus are three pre-prepared headlines that are scrawled on a piece of A4 paper that’s stuck to the inside cover of my tatty old contacts book. I created them about 20 years ago, when I was news editor for the UK’s oldest weekly gardening magazine.
I can’t recall whether any of these punny headlines ever saw the light of the day, or whether they even deserved to, but it’s obvious they all refer to a plant called cistus. If you’re unfamiliar with this group of evergreen shrubs, they are easy to grow and deserve a place in your garden for delivering a remarkable summer display.
Each saucer-shaped, five-petalled flower lasts for just one day but a mature plant is capable of producing hundreds of them during their main flowering period between June and July. Looking like the texture of crepe paper, the blooms come in shades
These easy to grow sun-worshippers put on a remarkable show
of white and pink, with many that are adorned with attractive dark blotches.
Commonly known as rock roses, cistus are native to the Canary Islands, North Africa, Turkey and the Mediterranean region, where they thrive in dry, stony and rocky soils. As you’d imagine from their provenance, these plants are complete sun-worshippers that are tolerant of drought conditions once established.
Long before they were ever admired in this country, two wild species of cistus (Cistus creticus and C. ladanifer) were treasured by people of the Mediterranean basin. Not for their flowers but for an aromatic, sticky, dark brown resin called labdanum, that’s exuded by the stems of these plants on hot, sunny days.
A who’s who of ancient civilisations loved the stuff. The Hebrews burned it as incense in temples, the Minoans put it into fragrances and the Romans added it to an ointment to treat hair loss.
Records show that as far back as 1,500 BC, it was used by Egyptians t o embalm bodies during t he mummification process.
Mention cistus to gardeners of a certain vintage and they are likely to think of C. x argenteus ‘Silver Pink’, a mound- forming variety that produces light pink flowers that fade to almost white at the centre. It’s no surprise, really, as it was the go-to cistus for much of the 20th Century following its launch in 1910 by Hillier Nurseries.
These days there’s a much wider choice available, from straight species to varieties created by breeders, with plants ranging in height from 12in to 6ft. Most are grown for their flowers but several have striking foliage – the leaves of ‘Gold Prize’ are variegated with irregular green and yellow markings. Cistus are perfect for gravel gardens, rock gardens, dry banks and the front of mixed beds and borders. They can withstand breezy weather in hot coastal locations and are frost- hardy in normal winters. Unfortunately, plants are likely to suffer during extreme cold snaps, so give them a sheltered spot in colder parts of the country.
As for maintenance, water newly planted specimens regularly during their first year until roots are established, and pinch back shoots after flowering to encourage bushy growth. Cistus are fairly shortlived shrubs and will do well for eight years or so before they need to be replaced. Stockists include Burncoose Nurseries (burncoose.co.uk), Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens (bethchatto.co.uk) and Crocus (crocus.co.uk).