Lady Banks Lutea [Yellow] Planted in My Garden March 31, 2024

When I planted my Lady Banks Rose in my garden, [4 months ago], I didn’t dream that I would soon need to surgically move her a bit and to untangle her from the jungle of Heavenly Blue Morning Glory vines that I scattered all around her–at about the same time.

Morning Glory VInes in my garden on July 21, 2024

By June, my Lady Banks was ensnared in the mass of vines that you see in the above photo. The vines had wrapped around her and  had trapped her. They also were casting far too much shade on my Lady Banks. I knew I needed to take action.

Lady Banks Rose March 31, 2024

When I planted my Lady Banks, I knew that she would soon cover the ugly arbor that I had placed there for her, but I realized that it would take a few years for that to happen. For short-term relief I liberally cast Heirloom Heavenly Blue Morning Glory seeds, and those seeds have done a great job of covering the ugly arbor–but I may have overdone things a bit.

A few minutes ago, I went out to my garden and cut many of the vines away from my rose, and I transplanted her farther away from the vines. Lady Banks can tolerate some shade, but she needs some sunlight, and where she was trying to grow, she got almost no sunlight. The morning glory vines had shaded the area.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

I look forward to the time when that ugly arbor looks more like the above photo. At that time, I’ll reverse the recipe. I’ll grow only a few morning glory seeds around my Lady Banks, and my Lady will be the Queen of the Show.

“Lady Banks rose is a big, sprawling, rambling shrub in the rose family (Rosaceae) and named in 1807 after Dorothea Lady Banks, the wife of Sir Joseph Banks, the great English explorer, botanist, and long-time president of the Royal Society. It is a rapid grower that can reach upwards of 40 feet high.

“It grows in full sun or partial shade and requires moist, but well-draining, acidic to neutral, loamy soil and good air circulation. Provide sturdy support for the branches to stimulate a sprawling vine. Prune away dead wood. No other pruning is necessary unless you wish to reduce the plant’s size. Prune soon after it blooms. It is evergreen when grown in hardiness zones 8 to10.” NC State Extension

Lady Banks Roses can have one-inch blooms that are either white or yellow. The yellow-blooming Lady Banks is named “Lutea.”

During the 1800s, a Lady Banks Rose was planted in Tombstone, Arizona. The diameter of that plant’s trunk is 12′ now, and the plant’s branches tower above 9,000 square feet of land. Needless to say, Lady Banks can reach a size of mammoth proportions.

When I was a child, people often added an extra candle to birthday cakes, and as the birthday person counted the candles, the ground would chant about the last candle, “And one to grow on.” This post is just a reminder that Lady Banks is a massive plant, and she will produce numerous branches and then some: “One to Grow On.” Give her plenty of room.

Heirloom Heavenl Blue Morning Glory in Jacki Kellum Garden

Last Word: I hate it when I am forced to remove anything from my garden. In about another month, I should have a brilliant display of blue flowers growing along the back of my garden. I’ll cherish every flower that grows, and removing even one of these beauties is painful. But at times, it is necessary to remove some of the plants that are over-crowding others.