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Hello (again) all! My garden (with its new fence) is starting to look more cared-for now, and I've done a fair bit of weeding, planting, sowing etc. etc. Can anyone help me with this (minor) issue?

• I have what I have been told is a rock rose (see pic - confirmation needed, please) - it isn't anything like the other so-called rock roses that I have, being more ground-cover/low growing than a shrub.
• If it is, indeed, a rock rose, I have seen some advice not to prune it, and yet other advice (a video) that 'hacked' one right back (after flowering)? Which is it?!
• Also, does anyone have any suggestions for how to remove the grass that has decided to grow right in the middle of the clump of said 'rock rose' (see pic)?

Many thanks, in advance, for any advice!

 

Hello MM It's a Helianthemum..a true rock rose. Your others are perhaps Cistus? You can shear it over if it gets straggly after flowering, but only youngish plants. It grows from a central stem, so if you sweep your hands underneath, you'll be able to get hold of the grass and pull it out at ground level, with the roots, without affecting the rock rose.

 

Thank you so much @noisette47! I have to admit that I didn't 'investigate' my Rock Rose to see whether or not I could reach the grass interloper!
Now that you have called into question my 4 other (so-called) 'Rock Roses', I have attached a some pics and should be very grateful if you could ID them for me? They are rather sorry-looking...(the pink and white flowers in the last photo are a different shrub...just included to confuse matters!)

 

Hi, they're not Cistus No idea for No.1. What are the flowers like? No.2 is a Hebe. No.3 looks like Potentilla. No.4 Potentilla also, although perhaps it's had a close encounter with some weedkiller? Ask me again when they're flowering

 

Thank you so much again, Noisette47...so, no rock roses amongst those 4 then !! I will post some photos when they're in flower and yes, No.4 could quite possibly have had a 'close encounter' of the unwanted kind! I've been battling horse tail (using some x-rated nasty stuff) and it's quite likely that I knocked against the (possible) Potentilla! I've (temporarily) got on top of the horse tail, but by the looks of my next door neighbours garden, they're purposely cultivating the stuff (along with old baths, car reg. plates, bicycle wheels), so I have no doubt it will make another appearance

 

Next time, how about treating the neighbours with double-strength nasty stuff?
Here's a tip for safely treating amongst precious plants: Take one plastic plant pot, about 15cm/6" diameter but as deep as possible. The pots sold with climbers are ideal. Cut out the bottom, place round weed then use as a 'collar' to spray into.

 

Oh believe me, the thought has crossed my mind!! I think the only thing holding me back from offering, is that I get really anxious about all the neighbourhood cats...it's one thing staying in my garden to shoo them away until the nasty stuff has dried, but it would be quite another to try and keep them out of my neighbour's garden if I had been given licence to spray the whole area...

I did do something similar (a 'sawn off' plastic bottle with the narrow neck against the spray nozzle) but think I may have knocked against the Potentilla when I lifted the 'protection' away
On the subject of whether to prune my Helianthemum or not - which camp are you in? It does produce loads of lovely flowers (much later this year than usual), but there are also areas of 'dead wood' within the clump, which is why I am wondering about pruning it back...

 

100% with you on the cat question ;-) Re. the Helianthemums, snip out the dead wood and shear the scraggly remains by 1/3. They'll either rejuvenate or die. They're easy to propagate from seed or cuttings, though.