Red Ribbons' marketing leaves much to be desired. It's usually sold as a groundcover rose, but in my garden that's something of a misnomer. It covers a lot of ground, but not close to the ground. The canes are upright for about 3 feet before they begin arching another 2 or 3 feet in various directions.

It's also sold by some of the large chains (Lowes, for one) as 'Red Lady Banks.' It has nothing in common with Rosa banksia, however. It blooms in several flushes during the year. The 3-inch blooms are an eye-catching shade of true red with contrasting gold anthers. They have a mild, pleasant fragrance. Red Ribbons is used extensively in my county as a landscape rose on commercial properties because it takes little care to grow well.

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