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Cistus x hybridus (White Rockrose) - Evergreen mounding shrub 2 to 3 feet tall by 5-6+ feet wide with opposite ovate leaves that are dark grey-green and crinkly. In early to late spring appear the flowers, emerging from red-tinted buds at the tips of the branches opening to 1 1/2-inch-wide flowers of a pure white with yellow spots at the petal base and bright yellow stamens.
Plant in full sun in most any soil so long as it is well drained where it requires little to no irrigation once established. This plant is among the hardiest of the rockroses. It is listed as tolerating temperatures to 10°F. In cold tolerance tests conducted by Oregon State University, Cistus x hybridus showed little or no damage during the trial that ran from 2006 to 2009 where the coldest temperature recorded was 17° F. This plant also is a good choice for gardens near the seacoast and has good deer predation qualities and is generally considered a low fuel volume plant for fire concerns, but this assumes plants are maintained as a low growing groundcover. This plant is often seen as a squared-off plant as wide as tall but if planted with enough room and left alone it can become a large-scale groundcover that grows to 2 feet tall by 12 feet wide as it did at Western Hills Nursery in Occidental.
Cistus x hybridus is a naturally occurring hybrid of Cistus salviifolius and Cistus. populifolius that is found growing in southern Europe. It is also called Cistus x corbariensis, so named for the Corbieres Mountains of southern France but the name Cistus x hybridus is considered to be the most current name and is listed as such by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Source List, the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) and Robert G. Page's National (British) Collection of Cistus and Halimium website. The name Cistus is from the Greek word 'kistos' which was the name originally used to describe the plant in ancient Greece. We grew and sold this plant from 1982 until 2010.
This information about Cistus x hybridus displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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