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Cistaceae
Pink Rock Rose
Cistus × purpureus
Fleeting beauty and living in the moment.
- Family
- Cistaceae
- Genus
- Cistus
- Native to
- hybrid origin; parents from Mediterranean region
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Summer
- Type
- evergreen shrub
- Height
- 90–150 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- poor, well-drained, rocky
- Water
- very low; drought-tolerant
- Hardiness
- 7–10
- Lifespan
- perennial shrub; 10–15 years
Did you know
- Each flower lasts only a single day — the crumpled petals drop by evening, but new buds open each morning for weeks.
- Cistus produces a fragrant resin called labdanum, one of the oldest known perfume ingredients, prized since Biblical times.
- It is among the first plants to colonize after Mediterranean wildfires, germinating profusely from heat-cracked seeds.
- The dark maroon blotch at the base of each pink petal serves as a nectar guide for pollinating bees.
- Rock roses thrive in the poorest, most sun-baked soils and actually perform worse with fertilizer or irrigation.
Color meanings
Pink
ephemeral joy
Magenta
passionate impermanence