Rock Rose

Pavonia lasiopetala

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Rock Rose is a perennial native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3 ft tall and 3 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms pink and yellow in Apr–Nov. Good for hummingbirds.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Rock Rose against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Loose shrubby perennial with small pink hibiscus flowers, blooming spring through fall.

Why it works here

Blooms through heat with no attention and reseeds freely. Attracts butterflies and native bees.

Watch out

Legginess is chronic. Cut back by a third in late winter and again mid-summer.

The facts

8 sources

Type: Perennial
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Low
Height: 3 ft
Spread: 3 ft
Bloom: Apr–Nov · pink, yellow
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, loam, sand, well drained
Deer: Low — deer eat it; cage or plant where they cannot reach. Browsed
Wildlife: Supports hummingbirds

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau Woodland

2,072 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

2.5–4.5 inch pots1 gallon

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.