Define exactly what you mean. The tallest freestanding shrub, or the rambler with the longest canes. Something like Baltimore Belle can grow 20 ft canes, but won't achieve much altitude without support.

For big roses, there are also the Chinese yellows, like R. hugonis and Moyessi like Eddie's Jewel. I wasn't going to mention them because I didn't think I knew how hardy they were. Then I remembered that my Hugonis was from a mother plant that was around for the Winters of Great Coldness where we hit -30.

I think I'm mainly wondering if anyone has experience with shrubs or old garden roses that consistently freestand at 6' minimum in zone 4, or if not freestand, then reach 6'+ against, say, a 4' fence? Roses take so long to get tall, I was hoping someone might have some testimony. .

I'm asking because I like roses best, and I've found that height is what I like best in flowers - hollyhocks, apple blossoms, lilacs, and such. I have some of my grandma's old roses starting to grow from suckers that I dug up from around dead tops. I remember them being quite tall; I think maybe it was some kind of pink Alba.

Thanks mad_gallica, for all that, ^ for the clarification and recommendations ~ ETA: I was just looking at other threads about ramblers, and see you made a comment about multifloras and acid soil: the soil where I'll be planting is fairly alkaline, am wondering about that, growing roses in cold areas in soil with a lot of limestone in it...

The pH doesn't matter with ramblers so long as you stick with setigera hybrids. Multiflora really, really prefers a pH under about 6.5, and a lot of the wichurana hybrids are really wichurana-multiflora hybrids. And the ones that aren't are wichurana-tea, which gets colder places exactly nowhere.

A lot of the once blooming, hardy OGRs will get big if you let them. I also like my roses big, and relatively few of mine are under 5 ft. Ispahan wants to be 6 ft, Jacques Cartier wants to be 6 ft. The big Explorers need support, but are 8-10 ft tall if they get it. I grow John Cabot, Capt. Samuel Holland, Quadra, and John Davis as climbers on supports. If you are worried about waiting for them to grow, get them grafted.

the 6 footers I have are Heritage Viking Queen ,and Cape diamond.

Thank you so much, I see there are other threads about this. I've got a lot of rail fences and can't help thinking about having roses all over them!

I have seen 'Nevada' in zone 3, Brooks, AB that was close to 15' wide by 12' tall.....amazing rose that I wish I could source easily here.

SCG

Rosa Glauca 6' (blue leaves), Rosa Alba Semi-plena (blue grey leaves, grafted, 6' in one year though sparse branches) , John Davis 6'

Most Explorers and Albas can become really big, (if you can find them, Albas, i.e.)

There was an 8 feet tall John Cabot close my home, and equally gigantic Quadra).

Species, like Rosa Eglanteria, have the benefit of having scented foliage.

As MG said get them grafted, they will grow much faster, but not much in the first year.

^ Thank you for the examples ~

I'm confused about grafting - in a cold area and with somewhat alkaline soil, should I avoid ramblers descended from multiflora, and yet be fine with having some roses rooted on multiflora? For example, I see Palatine has the setigera Baltimore Belle in stock, rooted on multiflora.

Call and ask them.

Pickering used to claim that all of their roses were grafted onto multiflora, but in reality, almost all of the hardy roses were on R. laxa - a canina relative.

I'm a zone warmer than you, but I have a zone 4 pocket in the yard that's my test case for cold hardiness. Tall roses that shrug off the cold, but are fairly floppy free-standing roses include: Teasing Georgia, Folksinger, Heaven on Earth, Alexander Mackenzie, Quadra (a monster huge thorny thing when freestanding). Bonica is a good solid round 5' tall and a year-round bloomer, and she's a tough trouble-free plant for many situations. Several Austins like Queen of Sweden or Scepter'd Isle are tall pillar-like pink fluffy blooms if you like that look.

Cynthia

^ Thanks, Nippstress -- for me, all of my Austins die to the ground or a foot above that, and then grow stems exactly to the height they're listed at in English Austin catalogues, so ~2-5' tall, with the odd 6' green leg. I didn't buy them for height, but the flowers. But I find I enjoy roses the most when they're tall, even if the flowers aren't as nice.

I'll try calling Palatine, just to see.

I'm not worried about how slowly they grow (I mean, obviously I'd like instant roses), I more meant that it takes so long to see how different test roses grow, that it's nice to ask and have people say how they ended up working for them! Hopefully I'll have something useful to add in a few years :)

Reliable 6 ft and over in my Z5 yard.. John Cabot, Prairie Joy, Celestial, Great Maidens Blush, Queen of Danemark, Jens Munk, Quadra. I use to grow Alex Mckenzie it was around 6' Henry Hudson is around 5' x 5' nice round shape always in bloom. Mme. Legras de St. Germaine was a 6 footer as well. Its been crowded out. It was kinda black spotty anyway...My Gallicas are 4 to 5 feet they seem pretty hardy.They all made it threw our extremly cold winter last yr. This yr seems like its colder so we will see what makes it threw..I'm in Chatham Ont. I forgot to mention these roses have been growing in my yard 10-17 yrs.

^ perfect, thorngrower - good to know all that!

Yes Henry Hudson is a great big round tough cold hardy shrub with white flowers all over. The canes are they and tough , the leaves are tough like leathery Canadian explorer rugosa shrub , which contrast the delicate red white pink buds which turn white. What a great rose for my area. It is good to grow a rose that is at home in local soil. The soil is the key. Good compost and rocks and bacteria fungus and manure with roses proven to grow in your local area.

Champlain is another blooming machine where I live which is minutes from lake Champlain and a statue of Samuel de Champlain. It has red flowers so many. I have 2 different local OGR roses that are pink also that grow naturally without effort as growing roses should be.

There are some beautiful free standing roses for your zone. I like to use garden arches to support them and add some zing to my garden but the ones I am about to list could be grown free standing or on an arch or support. Good luck with your search.

Wasagaming, Magnificia, Sympathie, William Baffin, New Dawn, John Cabot, Laguna, Viking Queen, Bonica, Teasing Georgia, Quadra. I think there are lots others but those are the only ones I can think of right now. With the earth covered in several feet of snow it is hard to imagine the garden in bloom.

Valerie

Bump this up for reference. Bunnies don't eat tall roses like Lady of Shalott in my garden, but they devour the band-size own-root roses or the short ones like A. Shropshire lad.