Go visit Hartwood roses in Fredericksburg. Connie has a great show garden, so you can see what things will look like when they grow up and she is one of the most knowledgeable people around. And, obviously, she is her place in is in your neighborhood, so there's no guessing about differences in growing conditions. Call/email her and check out her site: www.hartwoodroses.com.

It might take two to three years for climbers to really climb, espeically if they are on own roots. You might have quicker results with grafted ones, but I mostly grow ORRs and think it is worth the wait. A compromise might be to plant grafted to have "instant" gratification, and root the plant yourself if it is not under patent and if you need more than one.

Have you considered New Dawn? I used to live in Fairfax County, VA, and I think I saw a HUGE climber that might have been New Dawn near where we used to live. New Dawn is moderately fragrant, has reliable repeat, comparatively shade tolerant, and the flower is quite elegant(or at least to my eyes). I planted a grafted ND last year, and it is VERY thorny and definitely a house eater. New Dawn so far has been very disease resistant for me, with zero or little blackspot. I understand that the same goes with Awarkening, a sport of New Dawn.

I love my ND so much I planted an Awakening several weeks ago. The plant was on own root ordered from a Texas nursery. It had blackspot all over TWO WEEKS ago, and it is not even blackspot season here in NJ yet. Go figure. I have two dozens roses in my garden, and every rose other than Awakening is spotless. I am afraid that I have spent good money to "import" a super strain of the blackspot from Texas that attacks earlier than what I have here. Will never, ever order from that nursery again.

If the concern is that your climbers might "tresspass" onto your neighbor' yard, maybe Zepherine Droulin? It will get blackspot where you live. But it is thornless, and very fragrant. I planted two band sized ZDs last fall: one in half shade near my deck, and one in full sun. The one in half shade had far worse blackspot than the one in full sun, but it is growing very well in size so I think that I should be able to get some blooms this year or next, although it probably won't bloom as much as the one in full sun.

My recommendations will be Aloha, Quadra, Laguna, Darlow's Enigma, New Dawn, Awakening. With the exception of DE and Quadra they all will get some BS and some cercospora, but still will look mostly good and bloom well. These would be my choices if you want repeat bloom. For once bloomers there are plenty to choose from
Connie's BS pressure is bad, but we in MD have it worse, I believe:(
Olga

I totally suggest a Kordes rose available from Roses Unlimited called Amaretto. This rose is similar to Autins and Romanticas -- exactly my kind of flower form! It is extremely disease-resistant and blooms better than any climber I have. The colors are very much like Colette.

The only thing is that the canes get thick fast, and it shot up quite tall in the couple of years I've had it. It is listed as an 8' rose, but that's not gonna happen here! The stiff, thorny canes won't be the easiest to train, but it's not a monster, either.

New Dawn is awesome, too, and takes very much shade. It's kind of a monster, imho. Terribly thorny. I still use her many places, because her blooms are really gorgeous in person. They are more HT-shaped than Ameretto. Amaretto blooms more, but my New Dawns are in a lot of shade :)

I'd recommend Renee as my favorite easy-to-train rose, and she's thornless! I don't know if she's hardy past my zone (7), and her flowers are much simpler than the other two. She has the best fragrance, though. And her leaves are especially pretty. Her blooms are prettier in person than pics, but they'll always be less full than Austins, etc. She's not as vigorous (each year) as the others, although she can get quite long :)

Thanks for the suggestions ladies! Amaretto does not seem to be available at Roses Unlimited. I didn't call yet, i just checked the website. Is there anywhere else i can get the Amaretto Rose own root?

Oh, no! I hope they still grow it, but it has been a while since I got mine there. I haven't seen it offered anywhere else.

It's a Kordes rose if anyone can think of who has a big selection of those.

Olga, are you suggesting Aloha Hawaii or Aloha 1949? How do you ladies feel about Polka and Perpetually Yours? Its crazy how its taking so long for me to make a decision...

Again, you need to visit Hartwood. She is in your neighborhood and the best source of info, same growing conditions ad you can see how all these recommendations work. Personnally, I'd go for Crepuscle. It has smaller blooms, but is nearly thornles, always blooming, very shade tolerant. And I'd stay away from New Dawn. Too thorny for a small space.

Thank you Olga.

Catrose, Hartwood Roses is not horribly far (considering the distance of other rose nurseries) but it is still an 1.5 hour drive for me, one way, without traffic. I have a small space and i would not be buying that many roses to offset the expense in getting there. I am checking out her website, her picture gallery on HMF and her blog for information and suggestions. It appears that she ships roses too! Thats great news!

I use this forum to gather tips from a multitude of Rosarians in my area; however, if i am ever closer to the Hartwood Nursery location I will be sure to stop by.