That really does look like it! More like it than any other flower I have researched. Thanks for the tip. It has been described as "large flowered" and "to 5 feet" and "climbing". Mine do not fit that description, but they are in a poor location, where a tree has grown up above them. I'll see what happens when I move them. I look forward to more contributions . . . Thanks,

Hi Garcanad - thanks for explaining the parameters of your project. It's easier to visualize what you mean when you describe your structure, and also when you mention that you've already planted the first five roses you mention and are wondering how well they'll fit what you envision. First of all, as fduk says, it takes at least 3-4 years for any climber to reach a decent climbing size and start blooming, so if you need to replace any rose every year it won't meet your vision even as a small shrub sized rose. If you're going to replace a rose every year, choose something modest sized with a visual "pow" toward the front of that bed, better yet in pots so it's easy to replace (or bring inside to an insulated but cool place like an unheated garage so it has at least a chance of surviving the winter). You have at least 3 roses that are likely to survive well enough to climb in your zone - Night Owl, Amadeus, and Jasmina. In my experience, only Night Owl is likely to have the profusion of bloom as a climber that you envision. What I'd do as a supplemental plan, since you mention wanting to shorten your learning curve, is to plant at least two GUARANTEED climbers at each end of the structure you mention so that they will frame the bed with climbing blooms, and let them grow toward the middle of your structure. The only caution is that you need to make sure that your structure is sturdy enough for this plan. Virtually all of the Canadian Explorers could easily pull over a single pole or series of free-standing poles in a good wind, but they are reliable climbers and bloomers in your zone. My recommendation would be Quadra for repeat bloom in the season, but he's a fair thug of a rose. A true thug like New Dawn would stretch across this within a few seasons, but I suspect it would eat your structure for lunch. Other guaranteed climbers would include Ramblin Red, Teasing Georgia (a yellow Austin), any of the Explorers, Felix LeClerc, Reine des Violettes, Rosarium Uetersen, Lunar Mist, Dixieland Linda, or Colette (I listed a range of colors for you to consider). The mini climber "Jeanne LaJoie" also gets quite large and blooms off and on all season. This leaves you a lot more freedom for the middle plants to play around with what you like, and not expect them to climb necessarily. I'd definitely plan to grow clematis around the middle poles, since it sounds like the type of structure you have is more suited to clematis than roses with their big heavy canes. Unless your poles are sunk in concrete, if they're freestanding poles they may not last long with much weight of roses on them. In my zone, clematis does extremely well and is a nice "instant gratification" climber that blooms well within a year or so. That way you can get the climbing effect more easily and fill in the middle with a profusion of large shrubs and other roses. I'm firmly a fan of the kind of intermingled roses you describe, but even with shrubs it'll take a good 3 years before they reach their preferred size. Patience is a rose gardener's best friend. Cynthia

I have Zephirine Drouhin in our Indianapolis home. It is a "climber" but really has longer canes that are manageable. It blooms amazingly in the spring and then again in the fall. Best of all, NO THORNS!!! I ordered our roses from Chamblee's in Texas. I ordered thornless or nearly thornless. I have had them for more than 10 years now. They grow on the south side of our house, but are 10' away from the house. I have frames that I put around and fill with leaves in the winter. I remove the leaves and frames the end of February to keep them dormant thru March and part of April.

I usually wait until they're red or orange but there are certain varieties that never turn red or orange. I'm thinking Madame Lombard. I grow roses from seed every year. Once the hip is ripe I remove the seeds, put them between damp paper towel, and enclose in a plastic bag with a label. I put all the little bags into a larger zip lock bag and keep that in my fridge until some time in January. I don't like to collect the hips too early because I suspect that if they are refrigerated too long they might not germinate as well. If you wait too late to harvest the hips the seeds are more likely to be black. I am not sure if that matters. I collect the hips from late Sept. to November usually. By January some of the seeds are already sprouting in the paper towels. I just remove those carefully and plant them in flats. Other seeds will sprout once they are in the soil and the temperature is warmer than the fridge. Maybe you could plant them sooner than January but I do it in Jan. because I'm busy with Christmas. I grow them indoors under lights until spring. I got a strong seedling from Teasing Georgia several years ago. It bloomed for the first time this year. I was thinking maybe it's a climber because it wanted to grow first, and bloom later. It reminds me a bit of Jude the Obscure. It seems to be healthy. Some roses may not put out hips for a long time then surprise you with a hip or more. Sometimes I'll plant a particular variety for years with no luck and then all of a sudden one will sprout. I am not a rose breeder...just a grower of open pollinated rose seeds. Timber's Rose Sometimes you get colors you weren't expecting. A seedling of Midnight Blue Land of the Free