I think you may have to compromise on at least some of your criteria for Maine. There are some fabulously hardy and fragrant once-bloomers that might eventually reach these kinds of heights, but that kind of hardiness in a huge repeat bloomer is tough. The best one for repeat bloom in my experience that could get big in Maine is Quadra, a crimson red climber. It could easily be the kind of draping rose bush that's flopping over the fence in the picture, but I don't know how you'd get it to stay on a roof and climb like that. I'd think the rose would destroy the shingles or other water protection of the roof.

Fragrance is a long shot on a rose that's hardy in zone 4 and gets big if you want a repeat bloomer. Quadra isn't fragrant and none of the Canadian roses are that I can think of either. I can't think of any climber that would be fragrant and repeat blooming for zone 4. Your wish list for this rose is like a lot of our wish lists - something to strive for but not necessarily able to be realized. Some of the most fragrant roses like Apothecary Rose are used for perfume and they're very hardy and might climb that big, but it's a once bloomer in spring.

Scenes like you showed are so much easier to do in warmer zones, and in cold zones everything is usually shorter and less profuse in bloom. Good luck with the project though, it sounds like fun.

Cynthia

I agree with Cynthia. Finding a rose that meets all these will be very challenging if at all possible, but sounds like a fun project. I know of a very large rose that is fragrant in my garden and repeats with great health, Mels’s heritage. If you click on Lisa’s garden post that Lilyfinch just posted you can see it. I however don’t know how cold hardy it is since I live in zone 7b. I will try to research it and report back.

Edit: Rogué valley only rates this rose to zone 6, but it is not a widely distributed rose that I can tell so it might be worth a shot.

It will not get that big but you could take a look at Victorian memory.

Thank you for the suggestions!

I’m in zone 5b and I talked with my grandmother, who got me into gardening years ago, and her favorite climber for our area is New Dawn. What do you think of this one? It looks to check a number of boxes Im looking for.

I think it's very good to talk to your grandmother and other people in the area who have experience with roses. There might be a rose club nearby and your local agriculture extension agent might also be knowledgeable.

Notice that in your picture there is some kind of wooden framework on the roof for the rose . Maybe that keeps it off the shingles some. I had ivy on my roof that was bad for the roof. It held moisture against the roof. I'd notice which way the wind blows at your house. If it blew from the side, you might have to tie your rose to a support.

New Dawn is a good climber. It repeats, gets big, but is very thorny and gets some blackspot. I have seen Madame Alfred Carriere described as hardy pretty far north. Not sure I believe it. That one gets very large in some climates, repeats well, is not that thorny and can be grown no-spray.

Even if you don't get a rose to grow on your roof you can certainly have roses .

By all means keep looking into fun roses to grow that can drape around your yard, even if they don't have the overwhelming exuberance of the cottage picture you showed. You won't see the roof of your cottage that often, compared to looking out your window and seeing roses blooming around the yard, so think about a variety of draping rose forms that you could put around the place. For instance, Teasing Georgia is hardy to zone 4 and it makes a pretty self-sufficient big fountain of light yellow flowers that do rebloom. I'll chime in with my experience with the roses that have come up so far, knowing that roses perform differently in different areas of the country even within the same zone ratings.

I very sadly have to conclude that Mel's Heritage isn't survivable in my zone 5 even with maximum pampering and my virtual zone 6. It's a gorgeous rose from a terrific breeder, but Barden roses tend to have a lot of tea rose in their genetics which cuts down on the hardiness. I've also not been able to overwinter Victorian Memory in my zone 5. I can overwinter Madame Alfred Carriere in my virtual zone 6, and Krista in NY posted on another thread that she can overwinter it with at least 3 feet of surviving cane in her zone 5, but I never get more than one bloom cycle on mine. Mine does get big (like 10-12') but not the heights you're talking about.

New Dawn is rated only to zone 5, so I'd be cautious about it in zone 4. I took three tries before I could overwinter one in my zone 5, and even so this last winter it still died to the ground. Any rose that dies to the ground every winter might survive but it's unlikely to climb more than 6-8' at best in the season to replace those canes. If the rose blooms on old wood (like Eden), then you'll get regrowth but no blooms if it doesn't have surviving cane from the previous year. Your zone might be a little more friendly to roses since I'm presuming Maine has pretty reliable snow cover, which makes a world of difference in surviving healthy cane after the winter. Snow is nature's best insulator and it is unreliable in my area where we often have temperatures well below zero for long spells with no snow. Last winter was our most consistently snowy ever and I have much better cane survival than I've had for a long time.

So New Dawn is a possibility and it has the reputation for being a house-eater of a sort if it's happy. I'd invest in a full-body suit of protection though if you're seriously planning to try to tie its canes to a structure that would need consistent maintenance, like the roof trellis would be in your photo (or even a wall trellis, in my opinion). I grew Quadra as a free standing 8' bush before I decided to wrestle him into a large 8' arch, and it took all day and copious blood loss before I sort of got him wrestled into shape. Roses keep growing new canes, so you'd have to keep periodically climbing up there to retie and otherwise tend the canes, and as Daniela said New Dawn has the reputation for having some of the more vicious thorns in rose-dom.

You also need to consider the overall health of the rose which can vary a lot from place to place. The east coast has a reputation for being terrible for black spot (BS), which can defoliate a rose for the growing season, though not necessarily killing it. Maine might be less prone to BS than further south but New England and the upper Atlantic coast could be considered BS central in the US. Climbing up to spray a rose every two weeks would sap the joy out of having a rose explosion, so it's something to consider too. I don't know that New Dawn has a reputation for being particularly BS prone, but most roses on the east coast get BS to some extent unless they're noted for their BS resistance.

Don't let us discourage you though - New Dawn is easily available and it's worth a try without a lot of cost involved. Even if it doesn't climb or do what you'd hoped, it is likely to make a reasonable tall shrub and you can take it out if you don't like it. Just don't get discouraged about roses from one particular rose that doesn't do what you'd hoped it would do. We can offer support to help pick roses that grow well in your climate too.

Cynthia

Your photo definitely looks east coast, but might have been taken in a coastal area where the air never gets quite a frigid as inland. If you are coastal, you might have better luck temperature wise, but probably more wind. We cold zoners are always in search of a rose that will climb. I'm trying Peggy Martin and Victorian Memory (Isabella Skinner) this year. All I hope for is for is to cover an arbor. Being inland, I wouldn't even entertain the thought of one to climb the roof. In cold zones, many climbers die to the ground every winter and have to come back from the roots. There just isn't enough time in a season for them to reach the heights we all long for. Good luck. I hope you'll report back with the rose(s you plan to try.

Thanks for the comments!

I am NOT in zone 4. I am in zone 5b, about 10 minutes from the ocean.

Considering this zone, do you think New Dawn would do good? They are going to be sheltered from the wind coming across the lake and the cottage will make a micro climate of sorts. My grandmother sold her house recently but the ones shes had must have been a good 8' tall grown up to the porch but were only planted a few years ago... Im hopeful this is the right choice! :)

Check this out. Suzanne Verrier has also written a couple of book on growing roses in Maine. What area do you live? There are probably some once-bloomers that you could incorporate to give a more prolonged bloom if you plant a few with differing bloom periods. I know my Dad's family grew 7 Sisters at the old homestead. There is also a public rose garden in Portland that might be worth a visit.

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/ezine.php?publicationID=504&js=0

I was at a local nursery, one I trust, and they had the following climbers available: Highwire Flyer, Cherry Frost, Don Juan, New Dawn, Eden Climber, Blaze, Zepherine Drouhin, Joseph's Coat, America, and Golden Showers.

Im near Camden on a lake :)

That 'Ghislaine de Feligonde' looks fabulous! Thanks so much for the link :)

Now, to try and source it...

ZD will grow, but not to the extent you want, I don't think. This is judging from one I've seen at Sabbathday Lake. No way to Don Juan. It can be iffy here in S.Ohio Z6.

I grow it and it's a fantastically healthy, vigorous rose that's currently packed with buds in a less than stellar spot. I got mine from Antique Rose Emporium. Peter Schneider's book, Right Rose, Right Place has many climbers that grow in his Z5 garden so you might also take a look at it if your library carries it. Fabulous book. I have many New Dawns.... yes they have thorns, but they are widely spaced and much better than others. Still for your situation low thorn might be better and GdF is that. While Diane was not able to grow VM I believe she gets less rain, so that could be a factor. I know it's recommended as a climber in Colorado which generally has snow cover, but not much rain in the summer. Sometimes, you just have to experiment. I think Mat at High Country Roses carries both GdF and VM, but his plants are smaller than thos at ARE.

Im torn now. I saw my grandmother this morning and we talked roses over tea and she was very emphatic that I picked New Dawn... However, I could do both!

Thanks so much for the info :)

New Dawn is my avatar so I obviously love this rose, but I grow it on a horizontal balustrade that is easier to prune. I think it's soft colours would look pretty with GdF. For your purposes you'll definitely need more than one rose, I think. : )) Cherry Frost is a new rose I read about a couple of years ago, before it was available commercially. It's meant to be really hardy.

I think both are in order! The cherry frost looks nice but doesn't fit within my color palette for the garden.

Ghislaine is a wonderful, reliable, hardy, tough, ever blooming rose in my garden, but it is a good sized shrub, however, I've never encouraged it to climb. Maybe it would. If you're interested in giant, repeat blooming, fragrant shrubs, consider Darlow's Enigma. I've tried to get one of mine to climb a tree, but it still wants to be a shrub.

You might consider Awakening, the sport of ND that has more petals and repeats better than ND.

This thread exposes the extreme prejudice in favor of repeat bloomers. The assumption is that you would prefer a 6 ft repeat bloomer over a 20 ft once bloomer. I can't ID it off the top of my head, but the inspiration photo looks like a hardy once-bloomer to me that should have no trouble getting to that size in zone 5. Setigera hybrids like Baltimore Belle and Queen of the Prairies, or multiflora hybrids like Hiawatha are places to start.

Mad-gallica makes a very valid point: I sriously wonder if any rose could grow to 20 feet and repeat-bloom really well. Even in a warm climate,that would require absolutely fantastic soil, nutrition, and watering, I would think.

I've only seen roses do the house eater in warmer climates. The banksias seem to grow huge in rather poor conditions.

The awakening rose is amazing! I will see if I can source that locally :) boy oh boy, so many roses I want to get now!!! I think I found my new addiction!

I am working on the beds and on one side of the cottage there is an old lilac I cut down when I bought the place a few years ago. It has some sprouts and I’m considering keeping it but the base is pretty big.

Should I try and remove it or just plant the rose behind it? There’s a good two feet between lilac and wall.

Jeremiah, I wouldn't plant a rose behind the lilac if it were me. Too much competition with those big old roots. I have lilacs, too, and they get enormous, with the base like a tree trunk. If you are planting a climbing rose there, I would move the lilac to another spot. You surely do have a shingled cottage, which I've always admired. It calls for a picket fence, as in your inspiration photo, where you could have shorter climbers clambering and trailing all over it. There are many of those to choose from, just right for your climate.

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.260532

https://hedgerowrose.com/rose-gardening/2017/05/24/roses-chickens-bees/

http://www.rose-gardening-made-easy.com/sally-holmes-rose.html

Check this photo (third from top) that Dianela posted of Super Dorothy and Excelsea:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5699334/better-late-than-never-my-garden-2019-3rd-year#n=30 Dianela is in z7, but these roses are rated to z5 and I've seen Super Dorothy at our rose garden in town doing fabulously.

And, don't overlook Peggy Martin, a rose with a fascinating history:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Biev17NhAn8/

These may not get as big in our z5 climates, but they should all be winter hardy and trail on a low fence.

More Awakening. I used it to hide my HVAC.

I have an awakening rose - beautiful, lovely pink, ok smell, but Christ all mighty the thorns.

I was just thinking of Peggy Martin too. It has a beautiful spring bloom. A fall flush too, but maybe not in a short summer climate. Light fragrance and it looks a lot like that pink rose in your first picture. HMF say 4b zone and a Reverence For Roses is showing in stock.
https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.45405
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/PeggyMartinrose.html
https://www.areverenceforroses.com/Peggy-Martin-roses-p/peggy-martin.html

Thanks for the comments- so many roses to research, I want them all!

As for planting behind the lilac, I have rethought that and am planting on planting the ND on the corner (I took out all that day lily and some of that old fashion moss rose).

I will post pics when I get them planted; thanks again folks! :)

Jeremiah

What’s in that basket you’re holding in your avatar? I’m going to guess fiddlehead ferns?

Oh and to keep this on toptic, I heard Lady in Red is Zone 5 hardy, though it’s a bit smaller climber than what you are looking for.

I just saw “White Cockade” on HMF and after reading the comments I thought of you. It is a short climber, offspring of New Dawn. Maybe not for that roof spot, but could be nice somewhere? And while the HMF description says mild fragrance a user commented that it is very strong. Also a comment attached to one of the pictures says it survived 20 below zero in NY with no cane dieback so maybe the HMF description of 6b isn’t right. Greenmantle looks like they carry it. http://www.greenmantlenursery.com/roses2008/index2008r.html

I've read that 6B is just the default for Zone hardiness on HMF.

Ohhhh, that White Cockade is beautiful! Definitely going on the list. I'm installing a picket fence in the front and will need many rambler's for it :)

Those are fiddleheads, sooo yummy!

I planted a white climbing rose in Mt (zone 4 ) and this rose never stopped! I do not remember what it was. The flowers opened enough you could see the center..so not tons of petals. But it just kept growing and I thought it would climb over my garage. It kept blooming too. It made it through the winters too!

I do remember I bought it at a place that specialized in old roses. I kick myself for not noting what this rose was!!

Deborah, you could post photos and we could help you find the rose's name.

I don't live in Montana anymore..wish I could though!

I know this thread is 5 years old, but I had to add the perfect thornless house eater from Sweden, Lykkefund. For anyone coming here for a great climbing rose to cover a house, Lykkefund is a great choice

Kitchencuttingboard...Thanks for the heads up..I checked it out on several sites and it sounds wonderful!!

Thinking of moving Wollerton Old Hall as it doesn't seem to want to climb..so looking at other climbers..across the way I have Lady Hillingdon..it is GREAT!! Well past 10-12'..Florentina (at 1 yr) looks like it is going to be a BIG bush! Already pushing past 7' with some of the canes!