It would help if you posted where you are. If there are sources for fifteen gallon climbing roses near you, it may be easily possible for you to find what you are looking for. If you were here in Los Angeles, you'd probably be able to find two Don Juan climbers in fifteen gallon cans which could be close to the height you want them. I don't know of any climber you're going to be able to grow from any size smaller (or bare root) than fifteen gallon, and get it to anything near the seven foot height AND have it in flower in five months.

My suggestion is to contact all the major nurseries in your area and ask them what they may have in large, over grown climbers in the color range you desire. Blaze CAN be anything from dark pink to red depending upon a variety of factors. I personally wouldn't suggest it for such a small arch or trellis because it is a larger plant than that and should quickly out grow the space. Sure, you can whack the devil out of it, but you'll have very few (if any) flowers. Don Juan is a dark red and not that large of a climber. It can eventually out grow that size space, but probably not nearly as quickly as Blaze, and should be easier to keep within bounds and have color.

What you might consider is finding something suitable in as large a container as you can handle, then set it on either side of the trellis, temporarily tie it in and then decorate the pots until after the ceremony. That way, you can pick up the added height of the containers, giving you a more established appearance. Once the festivities are over, plant them there or anywhere else you desire.

Another suggestion would be to obtain two large vines with sufficient foliage cover, tie them in to simulate the appearance of what you want, then purchase the color rose blooms you want. It's easy to then put them in vials of water and tie them into the foliage for the ceremony to give the appearance of what you want. No, they won't be climbing red roses, BUT they can easily give that appearance for the event without having to settle for something potentially unsuitable due to the time pressure. Once the event is completed, find homes for the climbers (perhaps your local garden center will rent them to you for the weekend?), clean up the cut flowers and take your time deciding what you really want to live with on your trellis. Think "Hollywood" and how they create the illusion of lush landscaping on the spur of the moment. You can probably reduce your stress and being pushed into something you probably won't want in the long run by just exercising a little creativity. Kim

Kim, the wedding is in a year and a half (June 23, 2012), so to my mind that should open up the possibilities quite a bit.

I don't grow any climbing reds, but I did happen to see a wedding party take pictures under a pergola (at the Norfolk Botanical Garden's rose garden) that was covered with Blaze and it was truly beautiful. It was a misty day and past peak for many of the roses in the garden, so the conditions were less than ideal, but the Blaze blooms were abundant and very resistant to balling.

I grow Dublin Bay a nice red. Mine gets no spray and also no blackspot. I start cuttings and they grow quickly. In your longer growing season Dublin Bay could get large enough to do what you want if you get a nice sized potted one this spring. I keep mine cut back some as it grows against a fence and I don't tie it to the fence. What you see in the picture has had half the growth removed as it was growing into the yard and walkway.
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Thanks, foreoki12, I guess my next New Year's Resolution is to learn to read, huh? LOL!

Dublin Bay is a nice rose, but still too large, in my opinion, for a 2' wide, 7' tall trellis. 24" is not a lot of room to spread out a climber of any size and get a lot of lateral growth to flower. I still say a smaller, shorter climber would be more appropriate. A larger plant is going to out grow that space and result in lots of thicker wood with fewer flowers. It should only take one climber to cover that width of trellis. You see the size of Karl's beautiful Dublin Bay above. Imagine that in a 24" wide space!

It's asking a lot to plant a rose, any rose, and expect it to be blooming and beautiful on a given day a year and a half from now. If it were me, I wouldn't want the stress. (we have a wedding here in June 2011, so I know about wedding plans and the anxiety that comes from trying to put all of the pieces together for The Big Day.)

Here's an alternate idea for you. Would you consider growing a fast-covering vine on your trellis, and decorating it with red roses, in exactly the shade you're looking for, and ribbons. This puts you more in control of the result ... we must work with what Mother Nature gives us, and sometimes it's not at all what we planned.

Connie

Even eighteen months is young for a climbing rose. My climbers usually take 3 or 4 years to look good.

Yes, Kathy, and you're in a favorable zone for them to perform. Imagine what they'd look like somewhere less favorable. That's why I suggested finding something already larger in a fifteen gallon can or using some other climbing plant then putting the red roses in vials of water to decorate it.

White Flower Farms raves about Dublin Bay. I suspect if I was planning on growing a crimson climbing rose I'd choose that one, but given that this is for a wedding, I think Connie (hartwood 7 VA) has the best advice.

(My parents grew Blaze/Blaze Improved/whatever when I was a young boy & I learned then to hate it. I have no plans to ever grow it under any circumstances. I find it boring, ugly, scentless, and VERY prone to black spot and Japanese beetles. Having said that, I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania and now live in the Boston area. It may well be that Blaze (however so named) is a much better crimson flowered climbing rose in other regions of the USA.)

It is truly red, not pink, but it isn't dark crimson. In the Northeast it is a very good, true medium red shade/tone/color.

To my nose it's also utterly scentless (& that's a very big fault for me). It's also quite susceptible to black spot and DEVOURED by Japanese beetles.

I like Connie's idea. My daughter's wedding was last June. I think I would have gone crazy depending on a climber growing the right size and blooming at the right time. I decorated a pergola for the ceremony that turned out beautifully. I used ivy(not growing)roses and other flowers. I kept the roses fresh by inserting them into flower foam.
Here's a photo.
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Here's another of a swing. This I decorated with silk flowers but you could do it with fresh flowers.
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