Rosa banksiae

13 years ago

Robert Fortune (1812-1880) is responsible for the gorgeous Rosa banksiae blooming in our backyard and all over Austin at the moment.

I love this vine. Xeric. Disease free. Pest free. No thorns. The clouds of tiny butter yellow roses are lovely. I love this plant because it has been so easy to grow. I appreciate any plant that willingly performs in the yard where so many others are reluctant or downright churlish.

Fortune was a Victorian gentleman adventurer. He spent three years discovering, collecting and transporting many of our most beloved garden plants: wisteria, peonies, rhododendrons, lilacs ...

(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fortune for a more complete list).

It wasn't easy. He had to brave pirates, storms and some violent anti-colonial mobs. I am sure he told harrowing tales to his fellows over tea.

Did I say: tea? He wasn't just interested in fluffy pretty flowers. The man was a plant spy. He shaved his hair into a queue and learned to speak some Mandarin so he could sneak into the forbidden city and explore outside the boundaries set up for foreigners. On one of his trips he collected and shipped tea plants (20,000) and some knowledgable workers to India leading to a profitable industry in that country.

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Comments (2)

roselee z8b S.W. Texas
13 years ago
Isn't he the one who climbed the Himalayan mountains to get white 'Easter' lilies and suffered a broken leg from a boulder that rolled down on him? Quite an adventurer! Wonder if he left a diary or if there is a book about his plant collecting trips?

He did! "published several books: Three Years Wanderings in the Northern Provinces in China (1847), A Journey to the Tea Districts of China (1852), A Residence among the Chinese: Inland, On the Coast and at Sea (1857)"

Also he brought back Rosa Fortuniana which is used as a root stock for southern roses as well as being a beautiful rose itself.

I didn't know he introduced Rosa banksiae to the west. What a guy! Thanks for the post!

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Wikipedia on Robert Fortune ...
afirefly
Original Author
13 years ago
I can totally imagine him in a comic book adventure. I did not know about the Easter lilies. One word: intrepid.
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I grew R. Banksiae Lutea, "Yellow Lady Banks", 16 years ago. I had no idea what tiger I had by the tail when I planted the small delicate climber I thought mistakenly was a mini. By year 4 it was 16' wide and 12' tall and I was trimming it back 8-10 feet every year after it flowered because I had a small yard. The fourth year in full bloom it brought my fence down. The only pics I had I gave to my granddaughter because she was posed in front of it when she was 4. It is just as gorgeous flowering with graceful arching canes as Jeri posts, we have these planted along the hwy coming into town for several miles. If I had a lot of room I would grow it again, I did start to with the house I'm living in now and had to take it out because I needed to do something different with the garden and couldn't have that large of rose there. Here's a pic of it last spring before I removed it. It was 8 months old, I think it was only this small because I'd planted it in July and it was so hot it didn't do much growing until Feb. This pic was taken in Mar. BTW, I knew I was going to have to build a lot more support for it if I had kept it. Leslie
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Hi. I found the double yellow variety at a local nursery, Swanson's. On the advice of another gardenwebber, I had sent an email to the trees/shrubs manager, inquiring as to its availability and he personally answered it in the affirmative. How's that for great customer service? I also received a kind offer from one of the resident experts here (she sent it directly to my email, so not sure if I should publicly thank her) so will soon some backups in case I manage to kill it off before getting it to my sister as well as more to give to her daughter (it's a second marriage) and even my own selfish self. I love gardenweb! Happily, Rain
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I saw a Rosa banksia at Swanson's Nursery in Seattle. The one I saw was the white one, but I didn't notice if it was the single or double. They might have the yellow one, but I wasn't looking for roses, so I can't say for sure. If you don't care if you get the white or yellow, I got some cuttings of the single white form from a lady in Texas, and a couple of them are growing. I specifically asked for cuttings of one that is known to be fragrant, since the fragrance is variable in seed-grown plants. Call Swanson's to see if they still have one, or can get one. If you can't find one anywhere else, I can give you one of my cuttings after they've rooted and grown some more. Send me an e-mail at tammyinolympia@yahoo.com.
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To get the single yellow lutescens you're going to have to have one shipped in from elsewhere - if you can find a US source. If instead you are looking for the double yellow 'Lutea' there may be some around at a garden center somewhere in the area. You'll just have to make some more phone calls, maybe drive a ways to get it. The selection of roses now will not be nearly what it was in spring, and won't be back up again until peak season next year. If instead it being any version of R. banksiae is acceptable the double white form seems to have been the most prevalent at outlets here in later years. This was the original type first named R. banksiae and grown under that name. Later the true original wild species (with single white flowers and thorny canes) was recognized and became differentiated as R. banksiae var. normalis.
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Rosa banksiae

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roselee z8b S.W. Texas

afirefly
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Rosa banksiae

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roselee z8b S.W. Texas

afireflyOriginal Author

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afirefly
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