Spotlight on Rosa Banksiae

By Linda Hitney

I first became acquainted with Lady Banks last winter. We had some guests from San Diego and they mentioned that they had been to visit Palapas Nursery in Palm Springs. They said it was a very unique place with lots more than just plants and that they had enjoyed it very much. My husband and I had never been there and it sounded interesting so sometime after our visitors left we went over there for a visit. While we were wandering around I became intrigued by a plant growing over a large arbor. I went up to the front desk and asked: “What is that plant with the cute yellow flowers that look like little roses but there are no thorns?” They said it was indeed a rose – a Lady Banks. I was amazed. No thorns! I was new to growing roses and had no idea that such a thing as a thornless rose existed. When I got home I looked it up on the Internet. I found lots of interesting information including a reference to the largest rose in the world. There is a Lady Banks rose in Tombstone, Arizona that is actually listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. More on that later.

Banksian roses have been grown in China for many years. There are records of cultivated forms as far back as the sixteenth century. They are among the first to flower each year – often several weeks before most other roses. There are four varieties of Rosa banksiae – a single white, a single yellow, a double white and a double yellow. They are all great for covering a fence or pergola, or climbing a tree. All of the Banksian roses have no problems with diseases or insects.

Yellow Lady Banks Rose ? The Uncommon Rose. All rights reserved. Printed with permission.

Rosa banksiae normalis is the single white form and it is considered to be the original wild form. The flowers are intensely violet-scented. Even though it is the oldest of the Banksian roses, it was the last one to be introduced. It was introduced in England in 1877. The Vintage Gardens website describes it as: “The rare, single, white-flowered form of the Banksiae, presumably one of the original species forms. Thornless, as are all the original four; unbelievably vigorous, growing in warm-winter climates big enough to smother a castle, let alone a house.”

Rosa banksiae lutescens is the single yellow form. It was introduced in England in 1870. The description on the Vintage Gardens website says: “The very rare single yellow Banksia has long been awaited in this country, and those who love Banksia roses will delight in this one; it is no disappointment! Flowers with five to seven petals of rich butter yellow with showy stamens of the same tint. Lovely fragrance and the ability to bloom rather heavily in the Autumn if allowed to go dry in late summer, once established, then watered and fed. LIMIT OF ONE PER CUSTOMER THIS SEASON!”

The double yellow form is Rosa banksiae lutea, more commonly known as Yellow Lady Banks. This is the best known and most widely grown form. It is rated 9.1 in the 2005 ARS Handbook for Selecting Roses. It is similar to the double white form except for its color – which is pale to deep yellow. It is also a bit hardier and not as fragrant. It was introduced from China by John Parks in 1824 for the Horticultural Society of London. From what I have read, the Yellow Lady Banks rose is readily propagated from cuttings and because it is a species rose, the seeds will produce true specimens. I have started some cuttings so we will see if this is true. If anyone would like to try growing a Yellow Lady Banks, let me know. If my cuttings make it I would be happy to give one to you.

The double white form is Rosa banksiae banksiae and is better known as White Lady Banks. It was the first Banksian rose introduced into the west. It was brought from China to England by William Kerr in 1807. He worked for Sir Joseph Banks who was then the director of Kew Gardens. Mr. Kerr named this rose to honor Joseph Banks’s wife, Dorothea. This is the most fragrant form with outstanding fragrance, reminiscent of violets. The blooms are small, about 1 inch and have 40-50 petals. This is the highest rated (at 9.4) species rose in the 2005 ARS Handbook for Selecting Roses. The Tombstone rose is a very good example of this variety. When I read about this rose being the largest rose in the world I wanted to see it. My husband’s family lives near Prescott so a visit to Arizona was planned to visit them and Lady Banks. It just happened (!) to get timed to coincide with the peak bloom of the the Tombstone Rose.

The author, Linda Hitney, at the Tombstone Rose. Photo by Linda Hitney

The history of this rose is very interesting. It was planted in 1885 by Mary Gee, a young Scottish bride, in thebackyard of what is now the Rose Tree Museum.

She had been homesick for the green hills of her native Scotland so her family sent her some plants and cuttings including her favorite – the Lady Banks Rose. To say that it has thrived in the last 119 years would be an understatement. It now covers an area of over 8000 square feet and is supported by a framework of wires and many large posts. The trunk is 12 feet in circumference! The town of Tombstone welcomes spring each year with a Rose Festival in honor of this Lady Banks.

The Tombstone Rose Photo by Linda Hitney

The double forms are much more common than the single forms and should be available in better nurseries. Vintage Gardens (www.vintagegardens.com)carries all four varieties. Ashdown Roses(www.ashdownroses.com), Moore Miniature Roses/Sequoia Nursery(www.sequoianursery.biz), The Uncommon Rose (www.uncommongarden.com), and The Antique Rose Emporium (www.antiqueroseemporium.com) carry either one or both of the double forms.

If you plant a Lady Banks, don’t plant her in the middle of your formal rose garden – she gets huge. If you give her a spot where she can grow unresticted you won’t hold it against her that she blooms but once a year. That one bloom period is a spectacular and unforgettable sight and can last several weeks. The Vintage Gardens website says: “The Banksias have won the hearts of gardeners from Washington to California and throughout the warm Southwest and South.” Let them win yours.