Cistus Decumbens
A Low-Growing Rock Rose with Pure White Flowers
Overview
Cistus Decumbens is a charming low-growing evergreen shrub that creates stunning carpets of pure white flowers in early summer. This Mediterranean native is prized for its spreading, ground-hugging habit and exceptional drought tolerance, making it perfect for challenging garden situations where many other plants struggle. With its aromatic foliage and masses of papery white blooms, it brings a touch of Mediterranean sunshine to gardens whilst requiring minimal maintenance.
Key Features
Spectacular White Flowers: Produces abundant clusters of pure white, papery flowers with delicate yellow centres during late spring and early summer, creating breathtaking displays.
Prostrate Growth Habit: Forms a low, spreading mat typically reaching 30-40cm in height but spreading up to 1.5 metres, making it excellent for ground cover and rockeries.
Aromatic Foliage: Small, grey-green leaves release a pleasant resinous fragrance when brushed against or crushed, particularly noticeable on warm days.
Evergreen Structure: Maintains its foliage year-round, providing permanent structure and interest even when not in flower.
Exceptional Drought Tolerance: Once established, requires virtually no supplementary watering, making it ideal for low-maintenance and water-wise gardens.
Growing Conditions
Position: Requires full sun for best flowering and compact growth. Tolerates exposed positions and benefits from excellent air circulation.
Soil Requirements: Thrives in poor, well-draining soils including sandy, gravelly, or chalky conditions. Excellent drainage is essential, particularly in winter months.
Hardiness: Hardy to approximately -10°C to -12°C (zones 7-9), making it suitable for most temperate gardens, though may require protection in very exposed locations.
Coastal Tolerance: Outstanding tolerance of salt spray and coastal winds, making it exceptional for seaside gardens and exposed clifftop locations.
Heat Tolerance: Excellent performance in hot, dry conditions where many other plants fail, thriving in Mediterranean-style climates.
Planting and Care
Planting Time: Best planted in spring or early autumn, allowing good root establishment before winter. Container-grown plants can be planted throughout the growing season.
Spacing: Allow 1-1.5 metres between plants for ground cover effect, or use as individual specimens with adequate space to spread naturally.
Soil Preparation: Improve heavy clay soils with coarse grit or sharp sand to ensure excellent drainage. Avoid enriching soil with organic matter as this can promote soft growth.
Pruning: Requires minimal pruning. Light trimming after flowering helps maintain shape, but avoid cutting into old wood which may not regenerate readily.
Feeding: Generally requires no feeding and actually performs better in nutrient-poor soils. Avoid fertilisers which can reduce flowering and hardiness.
Garden Uses
Ground Cover: Excellent for covering large areas of poor soil, slopes, or challenging sites where grass and other plants struggle.
Rock Gardens: Perfect for larger rock gardens and alpine collections where its spreading habit and drought tolerance are ideal.
Mediterranean Gardens: Outstanding choice for authentic Mediterranean-style plantings alongside lavender, rosemary, and other sun-loving shrubs.
Coastal Planting: Exceptional performance in seaside gardens, tolerating salt spray and strong winds that damage many other plants.
Slope Stabilisation: Useful for stabilising banks and slopes whilst providing attractive seasonal interest.
Companion Planting
Combines beautifully with other Mediterranean plants such as lavender, santolina, and thyme. The white flowers create stunning contrasts with purple or blue flowering plants like salvia or catmint. Silver-foliaged plants such as artemisia complement the grey-green foliage perfectly, whilst ornamental grasses provide textural interest.
Seasonal Interest
Spring: Fresh new growth begins, and flower buds start to form as temperatures rise.
Early Summer: Peak flowering period with masses of white blooms creating spectacular carpet-like displays.
Late Summer: Flowering concludes, but aromatic foliage continues to provide interest and structure.
Winter: Evergreen foliage maintains garden structure, with leaves often taking on subtle bronze or purple tints in cold weather.
Wildlife Value
The abundant flowers provide valuable nectar for bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects during the crucial early summer period. The dense, low growth provides shelter for ground-dwelling beneficial insects and small creatures, whilst the aromatic foliage is generally resistant to pest damage.
Growing Tips
Excellent drainage is absolutely critical for success, particularly in areas with wet winters. Avoid overwatering established plants as this can cause root rot and reduce flowering. The plant dislikes root disturbance, so choose planting positions carefully. In very cold areas, a mulch of gravel around the base can provide additional winter protection.
This exceptional ground-covering shrub offers gardeners a reliable, low-maintenance solution for difficult sites whilst providing stunning seasonal displays and year-round structure, making it invaluable for water-wise and Mediterranean-style gardens.
Buying Shrubs from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell a variety of shrubs both evergreen and deciduous with a variety of flowering times throughout the year. At certain times of the year our shrubs you buy from us may not look like the images shown on our website when deciduous leaves have fallen, the shrub has finished flowering or has been trimmed back.
Some leaves on evergreen shrubs can be damaged in winter by frost or harsh winds but in spring new leaves will readily replace those damaged. This is quite normal on many evergreen varieties and is preferable to plants grown with excessive protection that show cold shock once planted out and establish less satisfactory initially.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
* Please Note: Shrubs in 20 litre pots and above might require a pallet delivery starting at £79.99 per pallet. Depending on the exact pot size and height it may be possible to get approximately 5 plants per pallet at no extra cost. The maximum height we can dispatch on a pallet is 2.0m, this includes the height of the pallet and pot.
Shrubs are deciduous or evergreen woody plants, and often provide fragrant flowers, berries and foliage. They are good for structural framework, and they can provide a wonderful shelter and food source for wildlife.
Planting and Conditions
Container grown shrubs can be grown at any time of year. It is a little known fact that shrubs planted in the autumn and winter will be easier to look after than those planted in the spring and summer, because they will have time to establish and become hardy in the cooler months.
Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot.
One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.
Make sure you loosen the soil prior to planting. Most shrubs are tolerant of most soil types as long as it is fairly well draining.
Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot.
Aftercare and Pruning
Once established, shrubs generally do not require much water. However, at first they need careful, frequent watering and should not be left to dry out.
Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.
Shrubs also benefit from mulching in order to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide vital nutrients. Mulch also greatly improves soil conditions. Shrubs can be mulched in late winter, after fertiliser has been applied, but it can be mulched through autumn to late spring as long as the ground is damp.
All shrubs benefit from dead-heading once spent flowers become apparent. Rhododendrons and Lilac especially benefit from the removal of dead flowers.
Some shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones.
To control reversion, remove reverted shoots promptly to discourage them. Reverted shoots are usually much more vigorous than the variegated ones, and thus should be completely pruned out and cut back into wood containing variegated foliage.
Potential Issues
Although shrubs are usually very robust garden plants, they can sometimes start to decline with no apparent or obvious reason.
This will start with browning leaves, which could indicate plant stress due to lack of water or waterlogging, an establishment failure or, in the worst case scenario, honey fungus. Another cause of leaf browning is a high salt content in the soil. This could be a natural occurrence, especially if you live near the ocean, or it could be from over fertilisation.
To remedy a high salt content, cut back on fertiliser and step up your watering regime for the next few weeks. If you live by the ocean, this will be harder to remedy—but stepping up your watering will help to wash some of the salt away all the same.
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