Aimee, yes -- the climber, 'Sombreuil' IS a thorny devil.
But we've grown it for years, over two arbors that we pass through almost daily, with no problem.
Few roses make a lovelier show on an arbot -- Our neighbors appreciate both the appearance and the fragrance.

It does need to be deadheaded for best repeat.

Jeri

Sombreuil has lots of thorns but the canes are easy to work with, they stay fairly flexible for years, and there are plenty of them for arranging however you wish. Give it a few years before rebloom becomes really good and yes deadhead as fanatically as you can.

Eden: so beautiful, also quite easy to work with, but a serious ruster here. Huge show in the spring, not so much after that.

Gloire de Dijon, a little stiffer of cane and a little mildew, but lovely lovely lovely.

I think your original combination would be terrific.
Sombreuil is stunning on an arbor and with a bit of pruning the thorns won't be too big of a hassle. I left a 10 year old one at my last house that was spectacular.
You've also got room for a Clematis or two. How about planting the President with Soumbreuil. It is an awesome combination.

thanks you guys! I'm going to stick with my original then! My brother got me some gloves for Christmas Wow, the President is gorgeous, and I'm totally enthused about doing purples to contrast with the roses (I'm going to have a lot of lavender, too).

So... with clematis and roses, do I really not have to worry about them getting all mixed together?

What happens when you need to prune (when you have a clematis mixed with a climbing rose), is it difficult?

Aimeekitty- I know I'm nowhere near your zone, but I did see something very interesting in a magazine about Eden roses. A gal in Mission Viejo, Southern California wanted an English cottage garden in her yard. She planted lots of trees to get the shade she needed for her flowers and she had lots of arbors with roses and clematis. One was covered with Gartendirecktor Otto linne- a pink rose with blooms about 1" across. She also had three arbors covered with Eden roses that are beautiful! She calls that area her rose walk with benches under the arbors, so she can sit in the shade.

This article is in the Country Almanac, Flower Gardens magazine, Spring 2008. I don't know if you can look it up, but the pictures are wonderful. I keep the magazine for ideas, even though some of the flowers won't grow in my area. Good luck with your garden. I'm sure whatever you choose will be beautiful :)

lavenderlass, I did a failed google search for them... do they have a website or phone number I could call to get a backissue with?

thanks you guys!

I have Sombreuil. It is thorny and in my zone will loose most of it's leaves to BS. It's huge (about 15'high x 10' wide) and vigorous. I have mine growing between a shed and a trellis so I don't actually have to do much work attaching canes. Mine is grafted.

I fertilize in spring, spray as much of as I can and let it "do it's thing" the rest of the time. It blooms really well in the spring, good in the fall (it started in sept and bloomed until a hard freeze in November), sporadically in between.

If you have a good trellis system I don't think you are asking for trouble, but definitely keep the canes out of harm's way.

It's a keeper for the forseeable future, but if it ever dies I might try Madam Alfred Carrier(sp?) which is similar but thornless. I didn't do MAC because of it's reported size, but I'm not sure it's likely to get bigger than what I have now.

Aimeekitty- The only thing listed is Editorial and Advertising offices. The phone number is (212) 807-7100. The address is 1115 Broadway New York, NY 10010. It's Counry Almanac #107 Spring 2008, but the large title on the cover of the magazine is "Flower Gardens".

The cover picture is the Eden Rose on the arbor, with the article on p. 40-43, called "English Rose Splendor" by Charlotte Safavi, photos by Mark Lohman. I can't find a website listed.

You should be able to get a copy, but if not, let me know. It's a fairly short article with gorgeous photos. I'd be happy to color copy the article and send it to you, if nothing else :)

Also, you were asking about arbors on another thread. Most of the arbors in the article are metal, while the front arbor/gate look like white painted wood.

In mildew-prone parts of Southern CA, MAC can and will mildew at a low-level, much of the time.

Sombreuil, OTOH, mildews only when it's somewhat stressed, and conditions are extreme.
And in Southern CA, it does not blackspot.

Jeri