In my zone 5a, Ramblin Red took four years to finally mature and grow well. The first three years it grew like a shrub and seldom bloomed but this may have been due to being just out of the range of the watering system. After adjusting the sprinklers and routing the downspout drains with 3" perforated corrugated piping so the areas under the eaves gets some moisture, this year it's growing like a weed with canes 12 feet long. I don't winter protect, especially the canes. They're up there to surtvive or not. This spring I just had to remove a few dead tips but most canes stayed green. It's never been without a bloom this season. Mine is also on the west side of my house.
In your colder zone 4, yours may require more cane protection but Ramblin Red is hardy although helpmefind.com only shows it to be hardy to zone 6b.

I have RR in z4 & I don't winter protect it except for some screen to keep the #%$@&* rabbits from gnawing it off. Only loose 6-12" off the tips.

Like Karl, my Ramblin Red took a few years to mature and take off, but it's up to the top of the arbor now. I don't winter protect it and the canes rarely have any winter damage even at the tips. It is always in bloom, from June through the first hard freeze. I took out a large lilac this spring near Ramblin Red and it has really taken off now that it has more sun and less competition. I do not spray this rose and it has been disease free for me. The rose chafers and rose leaf beetles usually ignore it as well, heading across the garden for my lighter toned roses!

Opps, forgot to mention mine is disease free also and I don't spray either. It grew so slow at first I planted another bush in front of it. Next year I have to move that other bush.

Mine has died back to the snow line repeatedly in my zone 4 winters here. I originally had planted it on a trellis, but I moved it to the back fence where it doesn't matter if it has long canes or not. This year it was happiest I've ever seen it because we had a zone 5 winter and there was little damage to the canes. I don't expect that to happen again, but gosh it sure is pretty from a distance when it has 5 ft. canes covered in those red blooms.

Thanks for your answers. I think I'll still put straw around the bottom and up 2-3'. You never know what the winters are going to be like in zone 4!
Peggy

We got down to -28 this winter and there was almost no winter die back. Actually I was disappointed. We planned to slant the trellis away from the house this spring and paint behind it. As I thought, due to the cold winter, there was sure to be die back and I would have to prune. No such luck. It didn't get painted behind this spring!

As mentioned by others, it did take a few years to really start to show its stuff. I believe I planted these (there are 2 planted here with a clematis in the center) in 2005 or 2006. I do not winter protect. Although as it is close to the house, I'm sure that does help some. Planted on the east side of our screened porch. Right now the canes are above the edge of the roof!

These pictures was taken in end of May - early June.
{{gwi:283919}}
{{gwi:278568}}

Wow, Mary Lu - what beautiful pictures of a beautiful rose! Position is everything with roses, and the East wall is magic! It is the only place I can successfully grow hybrid teas - they are never happy out in the meadow with the other hardier roses.

My experience with RR here in MN zone 4a, (tropical Minnesota)
is similar to what annececilia reports.

Almost no winter damage this past winter. However, in past winters it has died back to almost ground level. On average, about two to three feet of cane come through the winter.

I do heap a bit of wood chip mulch on the base after the ground freezes, but I have given up serious winter protection of the canes. When I covered the canes, I would often get through the winter with most of the plant nice and green only to lose much of it to canker in the spring.

regards,

Charles

I'm also in a real zone 4a and have experienced cane die back on my Ramblin Reds. This past winter I pegged the long canes to the ground and they came through 100% intact. The canes are now way up over the arbor. I plan to peg the canes I want to keep again this winter.

{{gwi:316799}}

That does it, this rose is officially on my list!!

I agree with greenhaven, this rose has just made my list! Thank you for the pictures. Now if I could only narrow down the list...