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What about Colette? Look for Diane's photos. I just ordered one from Northland Rosarium after she inspired me.

I have a first year polka. Super vigorous. Reached 6 ft in 8 months. Repeats quite well for first year climber. But some rust at the bottom of the plant. Nothing serious.

Does Golden Gate Park still have their rose garden? It has been a long time since I was there to see it. If so, it might be worth a trip to the garden to see if they have any climbers that look good and are not rusting. Another possibility is an "Amethyst Falls" wisteria which is supposed to be able to rebloom and not grow as rampantly as some of the other types. It is just a thought if you can't find a rust-resistant rose.

I dont care for New Dawn. It gets huge, is thorny and doesnt bloom as much as I would like. I got a little too close with round up and I think that killed it and I dont mourn it. Polka, on the other hand, is to me divine. I adore the peach sherbert color, blooms are just beautiful. Mine in the ground has long canes but nothing like New Dawn - they are manageable and mine stays pretty healthy, no issues I can think of, and it has blooms all over it right now. Its blooms are much prettier than New Dawn, in my opinion. Your arbor is beautiful! I am sure whatever you put on it will be beautiful.

Judith

Polka does indeed have wonderfully coloured flowers: Judith nailed it :"Peach sherbert". But mine was very stiff and very , very thorny; also I don't particularly care for it's light green leaves. New Dawn gets to be a true behemoth in warm climates: a thorny monster that might well prove too vigorous for an arbour; if I ever get it again I'd probably grow it as a rambler in some area where i could just leave it to it's own devices.I like bustopher's suggestion of "shopping around" locally for other options; there a lots of great, healthy climbing roses around.

Thank you all for your comments. Seems like Polka may be a reasonable choice. I like Bustopher's suggestion of visiting Golden Gate Rose Garden.

Sheila: thank you for the kind suggestion of Colette. In fact I seriously considered it, until I read in Kim Rupert's comment in HMF that this rose did not do well in coastal southern California, of which the humidity is actually quite similar to mine. The blooms ball a lot in high humidity, had little smell (in fact he described foul spelling) and broke out in all sort of fungal disease. It doesn't sound suitable.

You do not want New Dawn that close to where people actually walk!! I agree with bart that she would be great grown more as a rambler off somewhere she could be left to her own devices. She is a thorny witch. Nor did New Dawn do much of a repeat for me. (Although I'm in the SE US, so very different climate that you.)

What about Renea? She would be big/vigorous enough, and is thornless, flexible and healthy.

Here are some pics of polka. I do love the color. It fades a bit when aging. The rose garden in ggp could be a hit or miss. I go there monthly. a Lot of Austin roses And hybrid tea. They don’t have polka tho :( San Jose rose garden has a polka.

If you want a similar color to Polka - I can suggest Crepuscule, a noisette. I have and love several, one of my very favorites. Same color, different bloom, but blooms alot. Flexible, very few thorns. I have several on a couple of my arbors and it is a great rose.

Dianela - I love bi-color roses and hope to have more in my garden. Your raspberry cream twirl is magnificent! All the colors go so well together in your garden. I also have many David Austin roses in my garden.

Oliver - your Polka is so beautiful. If it does well for you, it may be fine in my garden..

subk3 - I just look up Renea. It looks very floriferous; crepuscule is gorgeous too...

Thank you for all for all the idea. Now I have some really good choices and decision to make.

here is a thread I had asked about Polka and Compassion:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5752175/climbers-compassion-vs-polka

The other rose that comes to mind for you is Cl Clothide Soupert. Very healthy, vigorous, and almost thornless with flexible canes that are easy to work with and train. Her blooms are to die for beautiful--medium pink in the center to almost white on the outside. She balls for me in my southern springs, but I understand can be great in other climates. She's certainly worth checking into.

I love the roses so beautiful!