Lady Banks is an evergreen climbing rose that spreads 20 feet if you don't prune it. Some of its most appealing features are its heat and drought tolerance, low susceptibility to pests and its lack of prickly thorns on some cultivars. Lady Banks flowers also come as fragrant, like White Banksia, and nonfragrant, like Lutea. In every sense, this is a rose, and it takes the same care to transplant it as planting any other rose bush.

Look for a planting spot that receives at least six hours of sun. Choose a site with morning sun if you can't avoid setting the Lady Banks in partial shade. Additionally, find a place with room for the rose to sprawl or climb. If there isn't a wall, figure out whether there's space for you to install a trellis.

  • Lady Banks is an evergreen climbing rose that spreads 20 feet if you don't prune it.
  • Choose a site with morning sun if you can't avoid setting the Lady Banks in partial shade.

Break up the ground to a depth of 6 inches. Spread a 2-inch layer of organic matter, such as compost, manure or peat moss, over the bed. Incorporate the amendment into the soil with a spade. Build a raised bed 8 inches higher than the surface if your yard floods after heavy rainstorms.

  • Break up the ground to a depth of 6 inches.
  • Build a raised bed 8 inches higher than the surface if your yard floods after heavy rainstorms.

Spread the roots of the Lady Banks and examine them for signs of mould and insect infestations. Prune broken and diseased roots. Trim the healthy ones to an equal length. Measure the width of the root system when all the roots are extended. In addition, measure the length from the root crown to the bottom of the roots.

Use your measurements to dig a hole to accommodate the rose's root system. Make a mound of topsoil in the centre of the hole tall enough to allow the graft union to be just above the soil line. The graft union is the enlarged area above the root crown, where the plant was propagated by grafting.

  • Use your measurements to dig a hole to accommodate the rose's root system.

Set the rose on the mound and spread its roots. Refill the hole with topsoil. Press the ground around the plant's base with your palms to remove air pockets.

Irrigate the Lady Banks at planting, giving it 1 inch of water. Use a soaker hose, as overhead sprinklers create a disease-friendly environment when they make the leaves wet.

Prune the rose canes back to 6 inches from the graft union. As the canes develop, tie them to a trellis, anchor them to a wall or let them sprawl as ground cover.

TIP

Don't apply synthetic fertilisers to your newly transplanted Lady Banks until it's bloomed for the first time.