Nova Zembla is an island off the northernmost part of Russia, in the arctic regions. I think it has a colloquial meaning of "the end of the world" -- like Siberia. So the rose is very hardy. It is a rugosa hybrid and has beautiful blush (whitish pink) flowers, something like New Dawn, and with a heavenly clove-like scent, inherited from its rugosa parent. It is a sport of Conrad F. Meyer which is slightly darker pink. There used to be several specimens of it in the old Brooklyn Botanic Rose Garden, pruned to within an inch of their lives.

To say it is a climber is a pleasant fiction. The truth is less attractive, for Nova Zembla and its parent have some severe drawbacks in their manner of growth. I used to grow this rose, so I know. 1) Even with excellent culture at the BBG, it was not all that floriferous. 2) It has tall stout canes, about the diameter of your fist, armed with thickly-set, truly vicious thorns from top to bottom. The foliage (as I grew it) was not especially attractive, profuse, nor healthy. 3) It blooms only at the very tippy tips of those tree-trunk-like canes.

The head of the BBG rose garden in the 1980s was a devote of pruning and he kept his plants to five feet, and fairly presentable. Also, if you live in zone 4 it might not grow as tall. The scent is delicious. So why not try it. If you don't like it you can do what I did and get rid of it. I thought it was a hazard in my small city back yard, after accidentally cutting myself on it more than once.

Some of the pics. on Helpmefind also reveal its manner of bloom. The attached one shows the thorns.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nova Zembla showing thorns

Thank you, Monarda. That is very interesting. Sometimes I feel like we live at "the end of the world" so, maybe it's a perfect fit. I have considered Conrad F. Meyer for other areas in my yard but never as a climber. The rugosas I've had and, all the ones I've seen, are way too bushy. Is Nova Zembla any less bushy? I'm looking to plant a climber up our deck/pergola. I guess, if the foliage isn't attractive, I should continue searching.
Thank you,
Kitty

I no longer grow it. I agree with Monarda's description except for the unattractive foliage comment. I grew many rugosa hybrids, and I never thought of the foliage of Nova Zembla as being unattractive.

Interesting enough from Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
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I've never seen it with more than 3 or 4 blooms on it at once & this was spring flush. this bush stood about 8 ft it does have re bloom again all I ever saw was a bloom here or there through the summer.

The foliage on my bush was unattractive because ridden by blackspot.

It is not bushy but grows huge, ten-foot-and-up canes with sparse blooms at the top, where they are too high to see or smell. I was fragrance mad at the time I planted it, and I had read in what was then my bible, Leonie Bell and Helen Van Pelt Wilson's The Fragrant Year (which I memorized), that it was worth growing if only for the scent (or maybe "only for the scent"). Also, we were urban pioneers and wanted the equivalent of barbed wire to protect our garden, having had stuff stolen by intruders (teenagers who didn't live in the neighborhood).

Well, that was very misguided, I discovered. It's never a good idea to resort to lethal force. Blowback is inevitable in the form of injuring self and family. And besides, just before my very-first-ever roses bloomed I got a virus and (thank God temporarily) completely lost my sense of smell.

I still think that such a historic rose should be preserved. But not by me -- maybe by you. But I have to say, I have read that the rose John Davis is a super hardy fragrant climber for cold climates. There may be others.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Labrea, The flowers are very pretty but, if they are sparse, even in their spring flush, I'll probably pass.

Although, maybe it would be a good choice for out lot line. I would heed your warning, Monarda, about the blowback. However, we live (kind of in the country) and neighbor kids like to fill ice cream buckets with our fruit without asking.

I wish John Davis were a tiny bit lighter but, it seems to be the best option for us.
Thank you,
Kitty

Ask about the hardiness of Karl Forster. It sounds like that is pretty much what you are looking for, but I can't vouch for it below -15F. It needs a lot of water for good repeat, but the potential is there, and the first flush is good.

Here it is from last year.
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I planted Polareis (also called Ritausma) at my cousin's in the country and we are very happy with it. It is a rugosa, not a climber but very tall and covered with exquisite blossoms -- not too large, and beautifully cupped in the old-fashioned manner. The bush is extremely graceful, leafy, and it flowers super abundantly in spring. It is not all that fragrant but it is so beautiful that you don't care. It makes the garden picture -- a fairyland. It is probably just as thorny as Nova Zembla, too, in the rugosa fashion, and it doesn't rebloom -- because where it is planted gets too shady. But I would never get rid of it. I bet the alba roses might have something to offer also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ritausma (Polareis)

I saw Karl Forster listed as a zone 6 at HMF and a zone 4 on another website. I wonder how KF and Polareis would be as climbers. I suppose if none of the roses I've checked repeat well, I might as well check out Albas.
Thank you,
Kitty