I'm in zone 6, so my suggestions may not be as useful, but I think Felix LeClerc, John Cabot, Capt. Samuel Holland, William Baffin, and Cape Diamond would all probably work for you as climbers. New Dawn, too. If you don't mind a once bloomer you could look at ramblers too. If it were me, I think I'd concentrate on climbers/ramblers (you can find them on HelpMeFind) that are listed as hardy to zone 4 - that way you have an extra zone, as it were, to play with. I can tell you my friend in zone 5 upstate NY grows Climbing Caldwell Pink (a bruiser) and Gertrude Jekyll as climbers and they do well for her. Hopefully zone 5 people will weigh in with their more experienced advice!

Sure. There are lots. Do you have a color preference?

I am in Canada zone 5a but that would be more like 4a on a USDA map. I had tried a few climbers and they only survived up to the snow line but Henry Kelsey has performed well here.

This pic was taken early season before I freed it from the climbing Hydrangea which was choking it around the base. It was much happier after it had some breathing room. I must have some pics from after this but I have not found them yet. I am just organizing pics now.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help!

Callirhoe - not really. I’d probably prefer not any bright/hot pink but I’m not terribly picky. I should have mentioned that it need to be tolerant of some shade too.

I’ve been looking at Cecile Brunner—does anyone have firsthand experience with her and how big she stays?

Understand that most listed zone ratings are just for where the rose might survive. They don't have anything to do with where a rose could overwinter canes, which is what a climber has to do. So for repeat bloomers, you are looking at ones which are hardy to zone 3. Almost all of those are going to be part of the Explorer series. Once bloomers tend to have more realistic zone ratings, so those only have to be hardy to zone 4. A large, hardy rambler can grow to 20 ft, so those can get a respectable size.

You haven't said where you are, but with those large roses, disease resistance is very important.

have a look at above and beyond. here in the twin cities at the z4/5 border, the lyndale park rose garden has some rather impressive specimens that are basically in an open field taking the lashing of the wind all winter. i have one in my garden in it's second year and the flowers are quite nice. it's very hardy.

my cherry frost grew to about 6 feet it's first year, from a two gallon pot, and they grow it up in the far north of minnesota. a great, cheerful, sturdy rose.

in my neighborhood in minneapolis there are many old and sturdy john cabots and william baffins, some of which throw canes well over 12 feet tall.

my james galway has been healthy but it will take a few years to tell how tall it gets.

i'm going to try paul's himalayan musk, climbing iceberg, and darlow's enigma next year for size.

I am in Northern Indiana. I may just end up doing some of my own experimenting and see how big certain roses get for me. I have a friend who lives no more than 6 miles from me but is in zone 6a and has a Kiss Me Kate that if I remember right is over my head (I’m 5’4”). I would guess it to be at least 6’ but I’d have to ask her for sure. She is also the type to be able to grow anything anywhere and have it be beautiful though. 😀
I was looking into Darlows Enigma as well. It sounds very intriguing!

I can personally vouch for 'James Galway', 'New Dawn', and 'Isabella Skinner': they will climb for you in Zone 5. I have "Darlow's Enigma", too, though I'm not sure I'd recommend training it as a climber -- it'll grow just as big as a free-standing shrub, and the thorns are murder.

I’m in a much warmer zone than you so the others’ advice carries more weight but I wiuld advise against Kiss Me Kate-very stingy with blooms for a lot of different people

Hey Ross, what heights are you getting on those climbers?

I’m not interested in Kiss Me Kate for myself, although she had quite a few blooms for my friend this past summer. My friend did say she doesn’t really rebook but I’ve heard that’s a common problem with Kordes roses too. 🤷‍♀️
I’d be interested in knowing the heights too. Also, I’ve heard some not so great things about James Galway. What has been your experience with him, Ross?

Pardon my delay in responding.

My 'James Galway' (own-root, planted bare-root in Spring 2021) does indeed climb, as you can see in this photo: the top of the arch is 7'. It is not entirely tip-hardy here, but still suffers only minimum winter dieback. (In terms of hardiness, it is comparable to 'Charles de Mills', 'Madame Hardy', 'Reine des Violettes', "Rose de Rescht", and 'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain', to give you some idea. Certainly the most hardy Austin rose I grow, though its proximity to the house may be a factor too.) Vigor has been excellent, and repeat has improved every year. Hips are good, too -- unexpectedly, for a rose with so many petals. Scent is not strong, but it's pleasant enough. The chief defect of 'James Galway' is a tendency to ball in wet weather: this past spring's flush was just about entirely ruined.

'Isabella Skinner' (AKA "Victorian Memory") is completely tip-hardy here, and though I only got mine in 2022, signs are good that it will reach ten feet eventually. Certainly last winter didn't set it back at all.

I got 'New Dawn' just this year, but even in its first season, the vigor and repeat are good enough that I would wager it will make a good climber. Peter Schneider says it grows to 9' in his Zone 6a garden, so I figure it will get close to that.

Thank you so much for your response! I’ve decided to go with Eden and The Pilgrim but if one of those doesn’t pan out, James Galway will be on my list to try! Or if I come up with another location to put him because I really do want him! 😄 If only I had the time, location and money to have all the roses I want…! 😅

Thanks Ross! Hope my James Galway gets that tall in the twin cities. It’s right on my house facing south so I have a good feeling.

What a fabulous rose, rouge!

Yes, that rose is gorgeous! And just loaded with flowers! Does it repeat well for you?

If you can tolerate the thorns, New Dawn gets huge. Its sport Awakening is always in bloom for me. You could also consider Eden, which I rarely have to trim back.

Applejack can be trained to climb.

I didn't realize that but it can get quite big here.

Carefree Delight can get huge, always in bloom, never diseased.

Gorgeous, gdinieontario! I love the color of that rose.
I will hopefully be able to update this thread with my experiences with the roses I chose. I also decided to order a Claire Austin too along with my Eden and The Pilgrim. And if they don’t work out I have a long list to choose from on here it looks like! 👍🏻

Real, Ariel, those sounds like good choices. Ontario, I did not realize carefree delight was so delight delightful! I have carefree beauty but this CD is really lovely! How was the? Repeat for you?

Vaporvac, Carefree Delight truly is a delight. For the longest time I thought it was a Buck rose, like Carefree Beauty, but I recently found out that it was bred by Jacques Mouchotte, and introduced by Meilland. Kind of funny. It blooms just about continuously, well into fall. The pictures were taken halfway July in 2014, so this was not the first flush. It just continues to grow more little shoots with more blooms.

I thought the same thing! Thanks for the knowledge... And intro.