How to Grow and Plant a Lady Banks' Rose (Banksia Rose): Pot Size, Placement and In-Ground vs. Container

When and where to plant

Planting and repotting steps for modern roses are on the Rose page. Lady Banks' rose is planted during dormancy: fall after the heat breaks, or late winter to very early spring before buds move. In a mild-winter climate any time in the dormant season works. Avoid planting in summer heat or while it is in bloom.

Choose full sun with good air movement and soil that drains. It will survive in part shade, but flower count tracks sunlight closely, and six or more hours a day is the goal. It is extremely vigorous; an in-ground plant left alone exceeds 30 ft (10 m), so leave generous spacing from neighbors and install the fence, arch or pergola before the plant goes in.

Containers: start at 12 inches

The most common container mistake is a pot that is too small. This rose can push 6 to 10 ft (2 to 3 m) of cane a year, so a small pot fills with roots fast, flowering drops off and the plant wilts in summer heat. When you bring a plant home, move it into a pot at least two sizes larger, and preferably 12 in (30 cm) across or more.

1. Pot and mix Use a deep 12 in (30 cm) or larger pot with drainage holes. A general potting mix or rose mix is fine; blend in about a third coarse material such as pumice or bark if your mix stays soggy. The starter fertilizer in the mix is enough.
2. Set the support first Pushing a stake in after planting tears roots. Fill the pot halfway, stand a 5 ft (1.5 m) obelisk or tripod in place, then set the plant beside it.
3. Plant without breaking the root ball Slide the plant out, keep the root ball intact, and set it so any graft union sits just above the soil. Firm mix around it, poke out air pockets and water until it runs from the bottom.
4. Ease it in for a week Keep the newly potted plant out of harsh sun and wind for about a week, then move it to its full-sun spot. A fall planting can sit in that spot through winter in a mild climate.

In the ground: decide size and support first

An established in-ground Lady Banks' rose needs almost no water or fertilizer and will reach a second-story roofline in ten years. The trade-off is that it cannot be moved, and old trunks become thick enough to need a saw and to push a fence over. Before you dig, decide what it will climb and how tall you are willing to let it go.

1. Dig twice the root ball Make the hole twice the width and depth of the root ball, mix about a third compost into the backfill and plant. A small handful of slow-release fertilizer is plenty; more just grows leaves.
2. Stay 20 in (50 cm) off walls Soil against a wall dries out, and canes work into gutters and siding. Plant at least 20 in (50 cm) out from a wall or fence and bring the canes in with ties.
3. Water through the first summer Until the roots are established, soak the plant whenever a week passes without rain. From the second year on, water only in a long hot dry spell.

Placement and winter in a mild climate

Lady Banks' rose is evergreen to semi-evergreen and hardy to roughly 20 to 25 F (about -5 C), which puts it in USDA zones 8 to 10 and sheltered spots in zone 7. In those zones it winters outdoors with no protection; it may drop some leaves in a cold snap and leaf out again in spring. Containers freeze harder than ground, so mulch the pot or tuck it against a wall out of cold wind.

1. Sun comes first On a balcony, the spot inside the railing often gets less sun than you think. Put the pot where it gets morning sun onward, and leave it in the sun through winter.
2. Secure it against wind Long canes catch wind and can topple an obelisk and pot together. Keep the pot against a wall, tie canes in regularly and weight the pot base if it is light.
3. Colder than zone 7: grow it in a pot Where winters drop well below 20 F (-7 C), keep it in a container and move it under an overhang or into an unheated, bright shelter for the cold months.

Repot every one to two years

A potted Lady Banks' rose fills its container quickly. Left root-bound, it flowers less and weakens. Plan on repotting every year or two, and sooner if roots show at the drainage holes. Do it in the dormant season, the same window as planting.

1. Move up one pot size Slide the plant out without breaking the root ball and repot into a container one or two sizes larger with fresh mix. If you cannot go bigger, shave 1 in (2 to 3 cm) off the outside of the root ball and return it to the same pot.
2. Do not prune when you repot Dormant canes carry next spring's flower buds. Unlike a modern rose, you must not cut back hard while repotting. Handle the roots and leave the top alone.

The first year after planting

For a plant potted in fall: if it carried buds, it blooms the first spring; prune right after bloom; canes grow strongly through summer; tie them in during fall. A young plant will give only a few flowers in year one and really perform from the second or third year.