I know people that grow roses in containers, but...they bring them into the heated garage with windows for the Winter. Could you plant the rose in the ground? I've grown Diamond Jubilee, a zone 6 rose, in zone 5 before.....planted in the ground.

(z6 Roses don't mind the cold, it's the freezing and unthawing repeatedly that is the problem)

You may want to try Awakening (a sport of New Dawn). It’s rated to zone 5, although I would put a thick mulch over the container to over winter it. I have both New Dawn and Awakening z7. New Dawn tends to become a gigantic monster, but Awakening would be easier in a large container and it reblooms much better.

What is the name of the rose you are considering, Roxanna?

What you need is a Canadian Explorer.

Sheila ~ This rose is something new, apparently - 'Rise Up Emberays' (in the Burpee catalog). I love the color and form of the blooms. I'd be taking a chance on it!

As far as hauling the pot into the garage (which is not heated), that's far beyond my capabilities, lol. Planting in the ground is a better idea, certainly, but I once tried 'Zepherine Drouhin' on this arbor in the ground, and it languished sadly for a few years and finally gave up the ghost completely. (Wonder if I could try that one again -- it's lovely and smells wonderful -- and the thornless aspect is most appealing...)

I may just check out 'Awakening'...

Thanks, all for these replies!

mad_gallica ~ I forgot about the Canadian Explorer! Must research. I don't really want a red rose, tho... Thanks for the suggestion!

I wonder about John Davis, Roxanna. Mad Gallica is right that you really need a proven hardy rose. High Country Roses is a good hardy rose source.

Sangerhausen in Germany grows climbers of all sorts by taking down the canes from the supports in the winter and covering them on the ground. I think it is canvas with hay on top. They do immense numbers of them mostly grown on poles but also trellis.

patriciae

I have one climber in a container ( Ghislaine de Feligonde), here in Z8/9 and honestly, I wouldn't do it again. I find container roses hard work at the best of times, but a climber requires more fuss (irrigation and fertiliser) than I am comfortable providing...and frankly, the performance does indeed reflect my general negligence. Afaiac, ALL roses do better in the ground although this might not be the case for a more conscientious gardener, but the larger climbers, ramblers really do struggle somewhat. As for what Sangerhausen does, this is interesting but not really applicable to home gardeners with limited space...who really wants piles of burlap covered canes outside their front door for any time of the year.

Lots of people in the northern tier grow cold sensitive plants by protecting them in the winter It is normal. I dont suppose I would do it next to the front door but it seriously expands your choices.

patriciae

I would not try to grow a climber in a container, even if you could find a way to lug it into a garage for the winter. You would have to have a very very large container. I live in zone 5a New England and have grown roses in containers , but not a climber. The roses finally succumbed when I had to be away and they just didn’t get the care they needed, but it is very difficult to take care of a rose in a container, even a large container. And the containers themselves can be quite cumbersome.

You’re never going to have enough room for the roots and you will not have a lot of latitude for it to be moist enough. It will be very easy to without meaning to have it succumb to dry soil. And then there were other conditions such as humidity, wind, and so on

I have a Fourth of July climbing rose, growing close to the house facing south I almost lost it last year, but it came back and I’ve probably had it for about eight or 10 years. I don’t do any particular thing to whatever other than give us a fertilizer in the spring and too many dead cans off but it takes a while to get going and it puts up nice growth. It is not a mammoth thing as one would get with a rose like new dawn.

The rose you described is very pretty and I’m trying to find is it a floribunda type? What category?

Excuse the mistakes, I’m trying to voice to text and I don’t have to wear all the correct all the goofs.

Many cold region gardeners over time move to hardy roses that do not need protection. I lived in Minnesota, and Alaska and the climate always wins. People get older and need to avoid all the hassle.

O, apols, HU etc (patriciae)...didn't mean to sound snippy and yep, I always find it interesting, hearing how other gardeners deal with challenging circumstances.

some climbers i'm trying in zone 5 right now - above and beyond (very hardy), victorian memory (ditto), collette (first year), new dawn (first year but i have seen massive ones here), snowball (very hardy). i was speaking with a knowledable rosarian about her large climbing roses and she told me that often, growing climbers in cold zones, if you get lucky with a mild winter, that will give them the cane strength to survive a worse winter.

i have also seen large honeymoon arborrose and florentinas here. the winters are very cold. wollerton old hall is fairly cane hardy as well and would probably be fine grown on the south side of a house.

and there are many john davis and john cabots and william baffins that get really big, maybe too big...

If you want a hardy and well blooming true red cimber, Florentina is my favorite. Somewhat stronger grafted, but usually cane hardy. Fields of the Wood/Ramblin Red and Cherry Frost are also good. Illusion wasn't nearly as robust a climber for me as Quadra, who's a thorny constant blooming monster. Dublin Bay also does reasonably well for me in zone 5 Nebraska though it loses some cane.

Cynthia

Roxanna, some thoughts from someone who admittedly is not the best rose-grower in the world. :)

I have overwintered hundreds of pots in my unheated garage for years - sometimes over 200 at a time. This included quite a few roses, although I never attempted to do this with a climber. IMO that would be too much work. Over the years I had very few losses.

The general rule of thumb for pot survival I believe is one zone hardier. So if you are in zone 6, a zone 5 plant should do okay, and I do think that guideline is for pots left outside, not brought in, but perhaps someone can check me on that (it might be two zones hardier...). I am in zone 6 too, and I overwintered many things that were not zone-5 hardy IN the garage, but if you are thinking of leaving it outside, the zone-5 hardiness may work for you.

The description of your rose says it grows from 3-5 feet tall. Now, I am pretty much the biggest skeptic of "mature size" in the world - there have been waaayyyy too many times that I've had to move a 6 foot shrub that was only supposed to grow 3 feet lol. That being said, that seems to be kind of short for a climber. It doesn't seem like something I would want to put on an arbor - it would barely make it halfway up!

Here's a thought. Perhaps a nice big container, on wheels - you can get those little platforms with wheels that you put under the pot. Put in a smallish (4-foot tall maybe?) decorative trellis in the pot. Let the rose grow on this trellis, and then in winter wheel it into the garage.

Or grow it in a pot with a small trellis and perhaps find a protected spot to wheel it to outside (or keep the container in that spot year-round - against a wall or a fence, which would show off the trellis and add some protection as well).

Or grow it in the ground as a shrub and find something else for your arbor. I had looked into some of the Canadian Explorer roses years ago but never tried them, but perhaps something along those line will work if you are worried about hardiness. In my limited experience many of them seem to be pink or red, but the Above and Beyond JosgMaggsib mentioned above is a beautiful apricot-y color. Perhaps not as deep and vibrant as the Rise Up Emberays, but at least it's not red lol. If you can, I do think I would put the rose in the ground (which of course would give you more options too for zone-hardiness).

Regarding Zepherine Drouhin - I have had two of them on an arbor for years here in zone 6. Perfectly hardy in my garden, gorgeous bloom color, do great in the part shade they are in. But I'm thinking of (re)moving them. Not only do they NOT have that wonderful scent I'm always hearing about (very disappointed in that!) but even worse? By summer they are sticks. Just decimated by blackspot every year. LOL not exactly the look I am going for on the arbor entry to my back patio and back door! I do think they are declining now after so many years, although that may be due to my neglectful gardening habits as well!

Zephy last May with a not-yet-in-bloom clematis rooguchi on the right. I will NOT be showing a picture of Zephy from summer time lol!

Good luck with your decision Roxanna!

:)

Dee

My Zephy smells good, and does fine in Z6. We've had Zero degrees F or a little lower, the last 3 winters. It DID cut Reve d"Or down nearly to the ground though.

I haven't read the whole thread. I do believe the rule is that if you grow something in a container that you want to leave outdoors year round, the plants should be 2 zones colder than your zone. I am in zone 6, and I've had two Arborvitae in pots year round for years. But they are hardy to zone 3.

I do grow 'Beverly' in the ground, though It's more a Pillar rose than a climber for me. I'm not sure what zone it is listed as hardy to, but it has yet to be bothered by the winter. And it hasn't even been killed back to the ground. The canes are alive all the way up to 7ft from the ground come the spring. And I haven't even given it any special attention, like mulching heavily for the winter.

Also check out 'New Dawn', which is a very big vigorous climber. I seem to remember that is hardy to the lower zones.