Everything's Coming Up Roses

Just remember, during the winter, far beneath the bitter snow, that there's a seed that with the sun's love in the spring becomes a rose. ~Leanne Rhimes

Spring has definitely arrived here in the desert and the rose bush we feared would not survive the record cold this past winter is blooming its little heart out.  We planted it last year in a big pot outside the gate to our back yard and mulched it heavily. As you can see, we worried needlessly about its ability to withstand the cold.

It is a Lady Banks' Rose (Rosa banksiae) and it is a climber that generally reaches 10 to 20 feet in height with a 12 to 20 foot spread. It is tolerant of heat so it is a good candidate for our area.  

In Tombstone, which is about 24 miles south of us, there is a Lady Banks' rose that was planted in 1885 and has become something of a tourist attraction in that town. Supported by an ever-expanding trellis, it is now over nine feet tall and covers an area over 8,000 square feet.  I doubt if our sweet little rose ever grows to those proportions, but who knows?  Someday people may come from all over to view our rose.