I couldn't get lupines to grow if you paid me, so I go look at the wild ones. Thanks, guys!

I had Wild Blue Yonder in a rather prominent spot in the front yard but got rid of it because the thick canes and awkward growth became an eyesore. I don't know Fragrant Plum but because of its unlovely growth (at least in my garden) I would put WBY on a trellis. However, I live in a zone very different from yours and my advice may not be worth much. I hope you have responses from someone closer to your zone to give you more accurate information for your conditions.

I don't think Ebb Tide or Rhapsody in Blue work in a vase. Ebb Tide blooms in sprays and has a vase life of less than a day for me. Rhapsody in Blue also blooms in sprays and only lasts about a day or two on the bush. I haven't managed to cut one yet as mine hasn't bloomed much. Instead I'll recommend The Prince. It is darker than WS2K and lasts a couple of days in a vase. I'm also trying Fragrant Plum which is a very nice lavender but I bought it in the summer and it hasn't bloomed very much yet. I'm getting Blackberry Nip from Wisconsin roses next year which looks like it should be a very good cut flower. Beth has some pictures on the gallery of it.

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