Some might say it won’t work for them etc. I live in Michigan and I have 2 of them both on second year. I wrap mine during winter for protection. I don’t think they would do well otherwise.

I get some dieback on the tips over winter but not too bad. Im 6a though and I’m pushin the limits So 5b in Wisconsin might be pushing it.

Look up ‘New Dawn’ That rose is a monster and does well down into the 4’s. Just my 2 cents lol.

Also look at Canadian climbers and "Victorian Memory" for something that might do better in your zone. High Country Roses is a good source. I'd look for something listed as hardy in a couple of zones colder than yours if possible, to keep more cane alive.

I will look at those varieties too, Thank you. i did plant this one up close to the house in a relatively sheltered area and will plan to cover it over winter,

I’m researching winterizing roses, any recommendations on what to do with this climber to give it the best chance at making it through the winter?

Making it through the Winter is not enough. KS and Blondie are right that you need to look at extremely hardy roses to have a climber in your area. The winter protected borderline cases will never make a good show. Over time, the climate always wins. I was in Alaska 33 years. High Country Roses is a great resource.

So frustrating that these are sold and recommended by one of the top nurseries in our area If they aren’t going to survive. So my only option is to dig it out and replace it?

I agree, every garden centre I've been to carries plants that are borderline hardy for my area. I have hydrangeas that survive winter but never bloom because they should only be sold in zone 6 and up. And roses are a whole other category. I lose a few every year to winter. But I keep trying different ones! Your Joseph Coat may survive at ground level or the first foot of cane. The problem is; in cold climates the canes that climb each year will usually be killed off by the cold temperatures. So if it grows to 6 feet during the growing season. Winter comes and the top 5 feet are not covered by snow or the temps drop too low (which will happen in your neck of the woods), then in spring at pruning time you have to cut back the 5 feet of dead black cane to the first bit of live green cane. Then it has to spend spring and summer regrowing cane. It will bloom and such, but you will not be able to have it trained growing up a wall, etc. as envisioned. It's a sad reality for us northern gardeners. But it could be a lovely shorter bushier rose for you still. I have seen online, people who trench their climbing roses under ground for winter. But that seems excessively difficult and cumbersome. There are some hardy climbers out there, but you have to research them and than find good places to buy them.

It will survive for you but probably will be a shrub not a climber. Super hardy climber is Above and Beyond, but blooms once over a long period with just some scattered blooms later in the summer. The Canadians do well - John Cabot, John Davies, etc. Bellarosa has posted lovely pics of hers. Gallicas. Florentina. I’m trying the new Cherry Frost, sounds like a winner here. Talk to people that live by you, and look for threads here from people that actually garden in Z5. One zone warmer makes a huge difference I have found :)

Experiment.

I believe William Baffin will grow like a weed for you and be tip hardy. The German climber, Quick Silver, may also be tip hardy or nearly so for you. The insignificant amount of winter die back it may experience may not inhibit blooming or gaining size, year after year. It is one beauty!

Climbers are generally more hardy than their hybrid tea, floribunda, or grandiflora counterparts.

Climbers in colder climates often grow more like large shrubs than as climbers, which in your case may be an acceptable, if not very desirable characteristic.

The first winter is usually the hardest on any cold climate grown rose. Winter hardiness often increases significantly after getting over the first winter hump. Start a climber's first year purchasing the most mature rose you can. Stay away from liner size roses. They will not be large/mature enough to survive a first winter very well unless well winter protected. At least gallon size climbers or bare root grade #1 climbers will survive 1st. winters best. Some first winter protection can help, protection climber will not need thereafter.

The route to follow is experiment.

Moses

There's a very new climber, 'Cherry Frost' - red, cluster blooming, that might work very well for you. Actually, ''HelpMeFind" shows the breeder is from Wisconsin!

https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.81506

Finding it may be a challenge, as Star Roses only introduced it last year.

I found Cherry Frost at Menards but they only had a few!

The Canadians do well - John Cabot, John Davies, etc

We have a JC at the back and at the front. Here are pics taken today:

No need to dig out Joseph's Coat at present - if it's not hardy in your zone you'll need to dig out the root stock (assuming it's a grafted plant), but there's no harm seeing if it will survive in your zone. I have plenty of climbers that are just shrubs in my zone but they'll put out some nice blooms now and then and I don't expect more of them. The climbers more hardy for your zone are better to plan to be big, but you can always keep JC at their feet for the fun of it if you like. I've not gotten mine to survive except in a virtual zone 6 on the sunny side of my house, and even then it doesn't climb at all.

Don't get frustrated by a rose that doesn't do what you like. A lot of the jaw dropping pictures are from zones a lot warmer than we are so we change our expectations accordingly for what our roses will do. As for why nurseries in your area sell roses that aren't suited for your zone, the charitable suggestion for a reason would be that customers see the pictures of those roses in other areas and ask for them. The less charitable answer could be that these are the ones mass marketed by rose vendors in California and other warm places, and the nurseries don't know enough about roses to question those sources. An even more mercenary reason could be that customers will keep coming back to replace a rose that's not hardy, but one that survives doesn't earn them any more income. The last reason really isn't something I think factors in for most nurseries - they want to sell what looks pretty and it's fairly easy to get a rose to look pretty in a greenhouse and impress customers. The truly hardy roses are stunning at a distance but some aren't all that impressive if you look at the individual flowers themselves.

Cynthia