Van Hevelingen Herb Nursery

Cistus 'Christopher Gable'

Common name(s): rockrose

Description: evergreen shrub; raised by Robert G. Page and named for the ballet dancer and actor Christopher Gable.Vigorous, mounding growth with narrow, dense foliage. Blooms from spring into summer. It is especially floriferous and has the smallest (3.5 cm.) flowers of any of the blotched-white flowered cistus. Attractive, bronze-red sepals give the shrub an extra layer of attraction preceding and following the bloom period. Parentage: C. 'Ruby Cluster' × C. monspeliensis.

Height: to 5 ft. Spread: to 6 ft.

Position: full sun and lean, well-draining soil

Uses: ornamental

Winter Hardiness: to 5 F and below

Drought: adapted to 4 months of summer drought

Care: tip-pruning after flowering (especially in the first couple of years) will result in a more attractive, compact plant. Cistus generally won't tolerate or regenerate from hard pruning of older, woody growth.

Notes: a summary of its origin written by Robert Page:

"This cultivar is named in memory of the ballet dancer and actor, Christopher Gable, former Artistic Director of Northern Ballet Theatre, who sadly died in 1998. It was he who developed Northern Ballet Theatre from a small regional company into an internationally respected and cherished company with a unique style. Without him Northern Ballet Theatre would probably not exist today. Central School of Ballet was also founded by Christopher Gable and Ann Stannard in 1982. Christopher had another career as an actor and music lovers will remember his moving portrayal of Eric Fenby in Ken Russell’s 1968 TV film about the last years of composer Frederick Delius, “Song of Summer”.

Apart from some plants released in error by the propagating nursery through garden centres during 2004, this cultivar was exclusively released in 2005 to members of the Friends of Northern Ballet Theatre as a living memorial to Christopher. Propagation material is now available to interested nurseries."

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