Thank you so much for the pics and your comments. I would say that mine looks like that as well. I was hoping for a deeper red color.

No. My rather fuzzy memory of it was that it was a red, red.

It was not a success in this climate.

But but, I thought Rhode Island Red was a chicken. Diane

OMG! Gorgeous! Except that I know it is a large-flowered climber, I’d guess from those photos alone that RIR is an antique China rose. Its color and bloom form remind me so much of the classic red flowers of Cramoisi Superiour. Carol

Bella Rosa, have you tried Don Juan? I think it is zone 5-9 hardy. Carol

Hi Carol, no, I've not as I thought I read somewhere that it's not hardy in Zone 5b.

Bellarosa, DJ‘s zone could worth posting about on the forum. I think he’s everything you are looking for in a red climber…if he’s hardy enough.

Diane, you crack me up!

Carol

I have never grown it but I also read that Don Juan is pretty tender on some old post on here. Let me try to find it...

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1710358/how-to-overwinter-climbers-in-zone-5

I have never grown it either but there is an absolutely stunning picture of it on hedgerowrose's website: https://hedgerowrose.com/rose-gardening/2019/02/15/rounding-up-the-strays-roses-excluded-from-celebration-of-roses/.

Direct link to the image if you don't want to scroll:

https://hedgerowrose.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/071118_31-1.jpg

@bellarosa - did you ever get RIR?

@malcolm_manners - how would you describe the fragrance and its strength?

I grow it and have loved it but my plant has declined some. It can be a little deeper red, a bit more garnet. I love the bloom form and it's pretty disease resistant.

I think the actual color is in between the above photo and this one. So I agree with Malcolm that it photographs a little brighter than it really is.

You can see Fields of the Wood , a few red blooms between Gertrude J on the left and Parade on the right. There are some red blooms of FOTW on the ground. I think the red is a little bluer than fire engine but it is a true red. I'm sure it would do better with more space...a nearby friend had a glorious big plant of it.

Carol, the leaves remind me of a China or something also and they're a bit similar to Maggie. I don't detect much of a fragrance.

Dave4bWY, I'd agree with the HMF description -- moderate rose fragrance. Not wafting through the garden, but if I stick my nose in it, it's nicely rosy -- not spicy, not fruity, not musky, but "typical" rose, whatever that is! Ha.

Thank you @erasmus_gw and @malcolm_manners! I love the bloom form and the color, even though I agree that reds can be hard to capture. I’ve heard mixed reviews on the fragrance and so I appreciate your input.