what kind of tree ... one favorable to growing a plant under???

and how much sunlight will it get ... most roses will not thrive in too much shade ...

ken

I have a 25 year old honeylocust tree that allows early morning sun and late afternoon sun and some filter sun during the day. Is this a good spot for a climbing rose or clematis or both?

The problem with trees and roses is not 100% the shade. A significant issue is the tree roots. Have you dug around to see what the soil is like? Is it a mass of tree roots? Roses and clematis do not compete well with tree roots. The tree roots win. I am not familiar with Honey Locust.

Besides the roots, with shade, be prepared for less flowers. Flowers take energy, and the energy that produces them comes from the sun.

Ramblers work well with trees; most are once-blooming, however,but so prolific when in bloom that they can be truly,incredibly spectacular. Paul's Himalayan Musk gets huge,and when in bloom will perfume the whole garden; it's only drawback is that it's flowering period is very brief. You could plant the rose more or less at the drip line of the tree,so the tree acts as a support for the rose but doesn't shade it too much...

Here is a close up of Apple Blossom's blooms

Thank you all for your responses.

Hoovb, your advice is excellent and practical as always. I will dig a small hole to see what the soil is like. Right now, grass is growing well in this area. But I am afraid that you are right that the soil will be filled with tree roots.

Bart, PHM is huge and gorgeous! But I am hoping to get maybe two flush of blooms if possible. Thus, its short blooming period maybe a drawback.

Jackie, I would love to have a rose like Apple Blossom doing what it is doing with your tree. My honeylocust tree is about 3 stories high with high canopy so that some sun does get through at various times of the day. From your pic, it does look like your rose bush is planted a bit farther away from your tree. Can I ask how many feet is the rose planted away from your tree? Karen

Trees and roses aren't really a cold climate thing. The trees are too big, and the roses too small. It can be done with small trees like apples. I used to have a wild multiflora climbing a wild sumac, until the whole thing collapsed after a snow storm. Currently setigera is trying to overwhelm a dogwood and an eastern red cedar. The cedar is losing. However, the idea is that a 15-20 ft rose climbs a 15-20 ft tree.

What does climb up the big trees is climbing hydrangea. It is slow, but it will get there. Then there is always Virginia creeper. It pretty much has to be a vine that can go up a straight trunk.

Karen, the picture of AB climbing up our crab apple tree is a bit confusing, because right behind the crab apple tree is a huge Scarlet Oak. You can see the oak's large main limbs in the picture, but it is actually not the tree the rose is climbing up.

To answer your question, AB is rooted about 5-6 feet away from the trunk of the crab apple.

Jackie

mad_gallica, thanks for bringing this to my attention. The weight of the snow will definitely can cause pretty serious damage if the vine is heavy enough. I sometimes forget the conditions where I live (our area does get significant snow in some years) differ from the pics that I have seen of climbing vines growing up on trees. I believe all of these pics are from gardeners down south or CA.

Perhaps climbing rose is not such a good idea for this spot although I really appreciate everyone's suggestions. I will look into the climbing hydrangea and Jackie's advice to grow the plants on a raised bed will definitely help them. Thanks,
Karen