LADY BANKS’ ROSES – The darlings of the spring roses are forms of Rosa banksiae, a rambling rose from the mountains of China. They are named after the wife of Joseph Banks, Director of Kew Gardens, where one of these characterful roses arrived in 1807. Sprays of small, pretty flowers and arching growth make them adorable, and some have wonderful scent. The most widely grown is R. banksiae ‘Lutea’, which is a dreamy mass of double butter-yellow blooms from April to June: a large established plant can produce 50,000 flowers. It is the most floriferous and the hardiest Banksian rose and, at Sissinghurst in Kent, coats the south-eastern side of Vita’s writing tower, well-suited to the red brick.
R. banksiae var. banksiae
Paul Starosta
The other Banks roses are not widely available, but worth hunting down, since they have a lot more scent than ‘Lutea’. The beautiful double white, R. banksiae var. banksiae (syn. ‘Alba Plena’), offers robust growth and a delicious scent, reminiscent of violets. The single-flowered forms, R. banksiae ‘Lutescens’ (Canary yellow) and R. banksiae var. normalis (white) don’t bloom for as long as the doubles, but boast beautiful perfume and look incredible in a naturalistic planting scheme.
All four boast semi-evergreen leaves and almost-thornless stems. Having a scrambling habit, they are arguably best flowing through the branches of a mature tree or tumbling over a garage, but being tender in the UK, a warm, sheltered south or west-facing wall is usually the best bet. If you live in an urban or coastal microclimate or a mild region, you can grow the enchanting Banksian roses with confidence. In sun-baked conditions, they can be vigorous, achieving 6 metres or more. It’s vital not to prune until they are 6 years old and, even then, only lightly.
THE BORSAULT ROSES – This small gang of old thornless rambling and climbing roses are gems for extending the rose season. In May, ‘Amadis’ (magenta purple) and ‘Morletii’ (fuchsia pink) deliver a welcome blast of early colour, with an abundant show of silken rosettes on long, arching wine-red canes, which look perfect hung over a wall or fence. They are scentless, but sometimes repeat flower later in the year and the foliage takes on fiery autumn colour in sun. However, the late rosarian Graham Stuart Thomas declared ‘Madame Sancy de Parabère’ the best of the Borsaults, having an abundance of lovely clear-pink flowers that can reach 12 centimetres wide in late spring.
What are the early-flowering shrub roses in the UK?
Rosa ‘Frühlingsgold’
By Eve Livesey
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