William Baffin is a bullet proof rose in zone MN zone 4a. However it is not really suitable for an arbor unless you wish to dedicate a lot of time to training it. He is very vigorous and two year old canes can be thicker than a broom stick.

John Davis and John Cabot are very suitable for arbors in our climate. They do not normally die back and will build from year to year. Both have pliable canes that can be trained and tied to the arbor.

Neither JC nor JD need their main canes to be horizontal for spectacular spring bloom.

Almost all other climbers need to be taken down for winter and covered or, in the case of semi hardy varieties like Quadra and Ramblin' Red, will die back enough that they do not build from year to year. They will make nice pillars with 4 to 7 feet of new cane growth over the growing season.

I am in Rochester. Our temperatures are just a little colder, but it is a lot more windy here. Your climate is a little better, but nowhere near mild enough for roses like Climbing America to grow on an arbor without more work than most will do.

Regards,

Charles

Charles - thanks for the quick reply! I have a few questions -

William Baffin - I get that it would overwhelm an arbor - what would be a good place to support it? Option 1 would be a 6 foot chainlink fence with east/west exposure - about 10 to 20 feet of length available. Or we could train on our house, which faces west and gets HOT in the afternoon. We don't love the idea of fixing things to our house to support the vine - old cedar shingles, difficult to replace, etc. Also, does William Baffin rebloom? How often?

For John Davis and John Cabot - how is their blooming? Only once? Repeat? Continuous?

That's been the problem with my neighbor's Ramblin Red - dieback. The first 2 years he had it, it didn't die back, so he will wistfully wish for those years back every year it sounds like!

And as for your last comment 'without a lot more work'.... (for america and jospehs robe) what sort of work do you think it would take? I'm game, not crazy. I DO have some tender roses that need burying, tipping, etc. And a lot of shrubs that don't!

Thanks again, Patty

I totally agree with Charle's advice. John Davis will do the trick for you. John Davis reblooms very well and will grow to cover your arbour easily, over time.

I have two, one is two years older than the other. I find that all of the explorers are much slower to grow than the modern climbers. The older JD I have is well over 8 feet and really well branched, I'm going to have to tie down some of the long latterals that are well above the 5 foot fence I grow it on this year. The younger one, this will be its 3rd year, is only about 5 feet tall so far, but looks like it is going to take off this year. JD throws long laterals and responds very well to pruning and training, but you will need patience.

There is a light spicy fragrance to my nose, but nothing to right home about. Unfortunately, reblooming, cane hardy climbers are extremely rare for we cold climate folk.

Cheers,

RRR

It is only a slight exaggeration to say that supporting William Baffin is like supporting a lilac bush. The first year you would need some support such as a fence post to keep the canes upright. After that you would only need to tie new cane growth to keep it from whipping around in the wind. It needs plenty of room to spread.

I originally had WB planted a good 3 feet plus from the house and that was not enough room and it had to be moved.

It is rumored that WB will repeat. All I ever get is a tease of a few blooms on a late growing new cane once in an odd year or so.

I have an arbor with John Cabot on one side and John Davis on the other. They are a pretty good match for that purpose. JD is, overall the better rose if you have only one. You probably ought to have both. JD has a slightly better repeat, but a slightly less spring flush.

JD's blooms are fuller and a clear pink with a pleasant, but light perfume to my nose.

JC is more vigorous and will reach the top of the arbor a year or two sooner. JC has a denser spring flush, but a more sporadic repeat. JC's perfume is faint, but very interesting, it smells like a cold cream my mother used. JC's bloom is a fuchsia pink and smaller than JD.

Both JD and JC have fairly healthy foliage. JC will sometimes get a minor case of Fall spots and JD will get a little PM in bad years for PM.

I have not grown Joseph's Robe. Climbing America canes will die if not covered. I used to make a small circle of snow fencing around CA and fill it with leaves after freeze up. Most winters this would save 2.5 to 3 foot of cane.

I now just pour a bag of wood chip mulch on the base of the plant for winter protection. It dies to the ground or lower, but the end result by fall is not much different than when I used the fence. I get a four, maybe five foot pillar.

To save any appreciable amount of CA cane you would have to Minnesota Tip the entire plant. It is not worth that much trouble.

Regards,

Charles