How to Plant Lady Banks' Roses

Lady Banks’ rose (Rosa banksiae) makes planting a simple task whether you opt for a bare-root rose or even a container-grown plant. Decidedly not fussy, this vigorous climber is famous for flourishing in rough, thin conditions with minimal care. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 11, Lady Banks’ rose regularly rises 20 to 50 feet or more and remains bullied in freeze-free zones. Planting Lady Banks’ rose requires little over your rose and a shovel.

Timing and Site Selection

Plant bare-root Lady Banks’ rose in late winter or early spring while temperatures are cool and the rose remains dormant. From the time temperatures rise above 70 degrees Fahrenheit, your window for bare-root planting has passed. Container-grown roses can be planted throughout the rest of the year in Mediterranean climate gardens. Maximize flowering and disease resistance with a planting site that receives a minimal six to eight hours of full sun every day. In warm inland places, protection from hot afternoon sun helps newly planted roses. Ideal dirt is well-drained with plentiful organic matter, so soil retains water, but discharges excess moisture freely.

Planting Bare-Root Girl Banks’

Plan planting so bare-root Lady Banks’ rose goes in the ground right after purchase. Maintain the rose moist, cool and protected when delinquent. Dig a hole large enough to spread roots in all directions, and soak them in water for 2 hours to overnight. Trim broken or damaged roots with sharp bypass pruners, and remove spindly or spanning canes, also. Always use household disinfectant to sterilize pruning blades before and after any sort of pruning. Shape soil to your conelike mound in the hole’s center to support the rose at the same level it grew in the nursery. Lady Banks’ rose rises on its own origins, not grafted; utilize the dirt line as your guide. Backfill the hole with your dirt, free from amendments and fertilizers. Water, and let dirt settle. Then finish filling in with your unamended soil.

Planting Container-Grown Banks’ Rose

Leave Lady Banks’ rose safe in its container as you prep the hole. Dig the same depth as the pot’s dirt, and leave the hole’s bottom intact so the rose can’t settle too low. Dig the hole two to three times the container’s width. Gently tip the grass, and slide your rose. If the nursery dirt and your garden dirt differ significantly, carefully loosen the outer origins and remove extra nursery soil. This can prevent a wall-like boundary between the two soils. Roughen up the hole’s walls to ease root growth in the surrounding soil. Place your rose in the center, and add dirt to raise this up to grade if needed. Backfill, let it settle, and then water the same way you would for a bare-root rose.

Post-Planting Care

Form a 3-foot-diameter basin on your newly planted rose, with a 3-inch rim to store water in. Mulch the basin with 2 inches of organic compost. Examine the dirt by hand, and water when it’s dry 1 to 2 inches deep. Fill the basin with 2 inches of water, and let it gradually sink in. Adjust watering to complement rainfall, and reduce evaporation with morning waterings. Don’t procrastinate Lady Banks’ rose until three to four years after planting. Then prune this rose’s thornless canes right following their abundant display of late-spring flowers. The rose blooms only on old wood, so late-season pruning sacrifices flowers. Once established, drought-tolerant Lady Banks’ rose is practically pest- and disease-free.

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