Garden Notes

Lady Banksia Rose growing on huge metal trellis that is held up with metal pipes

While visiting Tombstone, Arizona we toured the Rose Tree Museum said to contain the largest rose tree in the world as confirmed by the Guiness Book of World Records.

History of the Rose Tree

This rose came originally from China to Scotland and then was brought to Tombstone by Mary Gee, a Scottish girl who came as a bride to Tombstone. Upon arriving with her young mining engineer husband in the fall of 1884, the couple took lodging at the boarding house of the Vizina Mining Company. In charge at the time was Mrs. Amelia Adamson and the two women became friends. When Mary’s house was finally built, her family sent a box of shrubs from her native Scotland. Several rooted shoots of the Lady Banksia Rose were in the box. One of these was given to Mrs. Adamson as a token of friendship and together they planted it in the patio in the spring of 1885.

Mrs. Gee was still living in Tombstone when Mrs. Macia purchased the property and Mrs. Gee told the story of the rose planting to Mrs. Macia. It was Mr. Macia that devised the trellis system and as the years went by and the bush increased in size, more and more room was given to it and more and more pipes and poles were added. In the 1930’s the lovely Rose Tree in the patio started attracting attention. Robert Ripley visited the Inn and was impressed by the bush. He included it in his BELIEVE IT OR NOT Column and called it the “World’s Largest Rose Tree”. Today it is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records and it’s standing has never been disputed.

Presently the Lady Banksia is covered with millions of white blossoms every April and spreads over 8000 square feet of supports and is growing larger every year. This rose is so large that the stem looks like a huge tree trunk knotted and twisted with age. I saw the Lady Banksia Rose Tree in early March and of course there were no flowers yet. However just her size is impressive and I can only imagine how spectacular it would be when blooming.

Today the Macia home (also called the Rose Home) is a museum that houses original furniture, a lot of Tombstone antiques, historical information and of course the Largest Rose Tree in the World.

Photo shows flowers and summer look for the Lady Banksia Rose in Tombstone