Hi. I have 30 seeds of Lady banks yellow climbing rose flower. I wish to grow some in the front by the porch stairs (the space is small) but i expect them to climb up and rest in the backyard which has substantial space. Can someone please guide me how to plant the seeds. I am from Toronto where the climate is still warm and the first frost is 6 -7 weeks out.

thanks

Puneetpal ... What is the source of your seeds? If they're open pollinated, they may not be the rose you are thinking of. Why don't you just buy a small plant.

Also -- if your space is small, perhaps 20-ft. tree-climber may be a poor choice.

Yeah, and that's 20 feet if you cut it back!
If I may offer an unsolicited opinion here...my Lady Banks blooms for two weeks every April, and that's it. Then it drops messy petals all over the place for another two weeks. The flowers have no scent and are doubles, so bees and pollinators can't feed from it. The leaves aren't especially attractive.

Then, if you want to keep it somewhat controlled, you have to prune it before mid-June because it blooms on the previous year's wood. If you don't get to it, you have to leave it until the next year (or prune late and sacrifice the next year's bloom). Let it go a couple of years and it's massively unruly and all over the place.

You might be able to tell that I think this plant is pretty useless--a pretty face for two weeks--and it is beautiful then--and not much else to offer. Unless you've got a ton of space and can let it do what it wants, it's a pain. Just my opinion, not that anyone asked.

Well, I'd never say it's not a worthwhile rose. Not in my coastal Southern CA conditions, any road. But I DO think that it only Shows It's Stuff where you can allow it to grow big enough to make a dramatic statement.

Our R. banksia lutea was a gift of a ragged stump, from an elderly lady, 35 or so years ago -- she having received it in her youth from an elderly lady. We planted it next to an 8-ft. fence behind our house, thinking it would climb along the fence.

Instead, it leaped over the fence, grabbed a tree, and started to rocket skyward. And it's continued to do so, ever since.




It is companioned by its white sister, R. banksia banksia ... and you now get a good view of them from the FRONT of the house.


So, this is really really not a rose for a small area.

Slight tangent

Jerijen, given both white and yellow planted near each other, do you ever notice hips?

I know neither are particularly willing parents but hybrids have been made so just curious. The only time ive sèen both near each other is when driving out of the city and people are living on multiple acres.

@jerijen

I guess I really gave vent to an obviously deeply rooted resentment up there and didn't make my point nearly as well as your photos did: NOT a plant for a small space! That's amazing!

Size aside, rose seeds tend to be very easy to grow. I don't know if Lady Banks requires cold stratification, but the easiest procedure would be to simply plant the seeds in the ground where you want the rose and put a tomato cage or other marker over the spot so you don't lose them.

In terms of Lady Banks roses specifically, I would agree: they get VERY large.

Protoavis -- No. I have never seen hips on either R. banksia lutea, R. banksia banksia, 'Fortuniana', or ' Purezza'. And if they were there, I'm sure we'd run across them, because we don't-- as a general rule -- prune them.

I also have white and yellow Lady Banks growing near one another and have never seen any hips on either.

Have to agree with nmOasis except on one point - it is so early, it comes at the time of year when you just can't wait to see a flower, and it is way ahead of any other rose I have had... so its value is in being first!

I don't know about you, but the first wave of blooms to me is somehow so much more important and precious that one that comes along in late August....

That being said, your points are well taken! There are a lot of climber that are hugely fragrant, and last a lot longer.

One thing about the banksiaes, for ME, is that in a relatively cool spring, it will repeat fairly well, so I get 4 months or so of bloom out of it, and I can't complain about that.