I've found it a lot easier transplanting large roses since I started thinking of them as like new bare root plants. You won't be able to get a decent root ball, so I'd say don't even try. Get as much fleshy root as you can. I would cut back the canes to a manageable size (2'-4') and strip all the foliage to reduce moisture loss. Then spray the canes with Wilt Pruf or another antitranspirant. With this treatment, you don't have to worry about providing shade or having the plants wilt themselves to death. They will grow out in a few weeks after fine roots have established themselves in the soil. There are other approaches that may or may not produce a large plant sooner.

I don't know where you are in Zone 7, so I'll answer based on my location. Zephirine Drouhin is VERY prone to defoliation from blackspot here. (The first time I saw it in person was in a no-spray display garden in August years ago -- it was leafless.) This is the reason I waited till just last year to add her to my own garden ... I didn't know whether I could handle it or not. Bayer fungicide, applied every two weeks or so, has kept the blackspot to a level that I can accept. I have ZD paired on an arch with her 'sister' Kathleen Harrop. If you're in the East, your mildew may be more a function of weather than plant maturity. This year, with it's unusually cooler and wetter weather so far this summer (until Monday, that is), has been great for mildew. Connie

I feel your pain, Rehka! Houston is a challenging rose climate. Hot and humid punctuated by surprise attacks of hail, Blue Northerns, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes! I grew up in Dallas but visited Houston off and on...(dramatic music)...in the summer. I also feel your husband's pain: Asian jasmine and trumpet vine in TX. A patch of neglected Asian jasmine once ripped off the bathroom window screen at my sister's house in Dallas! I think the hardy jasmine you mentioned might be Trachelospermum jasminoides, star jasmine? If so, I applaud you 100%! That's a great go-to fragrant vine for much of TX. I sent my mom a rooted cutting of Zeph for her Dallas garden, and it grew well there. I think Mom's rose lost about 50%-60% of its leaves during the hottest part of the year, but Zeph was pretty darn healthy (no spray except Safer fungicide) and grew fresh leaves when the temps cooled. Mom planted her Zeph in half day sun and grew a vine through the canes. Zeph rests for a longer summer stretch without blooming in TX, and your climate is getting hotter, so I agree that selecting a cultivar with more continuous bloom and foliage cover might be a wise choice for your preferences.. With training, Blush Noisette makes a charming, continuously blooming climber up to about 8' or so. It works well on an arch when 2 are planted, one on each side. The fragrance positively WAFTS in the evening. Humidity contributes to wafting so maybe BN is worth considering for Houston? For a large pergola, I'd plant a BN on one side and a yellow or white Lady Banks on the other. I'd train the Lady Banks up one side and across the top for a magnificent spring show with BN to carry on later in the season. Antique Rose Emporium sells both, but sometimes you have to jump in at the starting gate of restocking. They're popular! I'd call ARE and ask about blackspot tendencies in your area, and check on BN's resistance as well as inquiring about other Noisette possibilities. I'm a big fan of the fragrant, glorious Noisettes but only grow BN and MAC here in Portland. I've never grown Renae but have heard great things about it. I have a couple of baby Annie Laurie McDowells in my driveway pot nursery and am super excited about their inclusion in my garden! If you can get a ALM, and Kim Rupert gives it a thumbs up for your area and pergola, I'd absolutely hold out for her. The photos I've seen are breathtaking! Pure romance. Carol

Roseseek, It definitely has a beautiful bourbon scent, although not strong at all. literally had to shove the rose up my nose to smell it. And YES, not a thorn in sight. I read from someone else in my zone that because of our heat and humidity the smell is definitely much more milder. Shes been in the ground about 1.5 months. came as a bare root.