I would like to plant a row of the evergreen Cistus 'rock rose' along the
swimming pool. I am not sure if this plant is mostly litter-free. Does it
drop leaves anytime like when old growth turns brown? Is the only litter
from this plant the pink flowers dropping in the summer?

On 8/3/2009 7:17 PM, scorpionleather wrote:
I would like to plant a row of the evergreen Cistus 'rock rose' along the
swimming pool. I am not sure if this plant is mostly litter-free. Does it
drop leaves anytime like when old growth turns brown? Is the only litter
from this plant the pink flowers dropping in the summer?


Cictus will drop individual leaves as new leaves appear. This happens
throughout the year but mostly in the spring with a rush of new growth.
This is true with any evergreen plant. Even cactus (which you
definitely don't want right next to a swimming pool) will occasionally
drop a pad. I don't think there is such a thing as a litter-free plant.

Furthermore, Cistus prefers a dry environment. It will not survive if
it is repeatedly wet by splashes from the pool.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

"scorpionleather" wrote in message

I would like to plant a row of the evergreen Cistus 'rock rose' along the
swimming pool. I am not sure if this plant is mostly litter-free. Does it
drop leaves anytime like when old growth turns brown? Is the only litter
from this plant the pink flowers dropping in the summer?

I've just been out and had a look at mine - they are at least 20+ years old
and rarely pruned. There is a lot of leaf litter under them but then, as I
say thay are not pruned often and are big so there is a lot of litter.

I would say that if you do keep them well pruned to keep encouraging new
growth, they would be relatively leaf litter free but then that would also
encourage more flowers so the dropping flowers could be a bit of an issue.