Donna, I heard DJ is not cane hardy for zone 6a, I planted one from Aldi in early May, got a beautiful bloom last week, I have to move it to a different spot not facing the wind.

Oh, no, summer. There is so much conflicting information online about zone hardiness in roses. If I have to remove them and plant something else, I will have lost 2 years on this area. I planted Don Juans last year, and this spring removed them because these plants seemed so healthy. I wonder what is cane hardy in this area?

Last year, on another forum, a rose lover who helps out in the Nassau County Extension service rose test garden on Long Island, recommended a red Kordes climber to me. I forget what the name was. I remember pricing it, and it was only available online at a few growers. I didn't want to spend the money at the time, so I never ordered them. Instead, I chose Don Juan on my own. Bad choice, maybe. In my neck of the woods, you need cane hardy climbers, or you will never have a tall arbor covered like most of us want. (I just found the old post of the forum, she suggested Amadeus climbing rose)

Here are some photos of my struggling Don Juans:

Roses & Beech · More Info

Roses & Beech · More Info

Roses & Beech · More Info

Roses & Beech · More Info

Second photo is sideways, sorry. They only have 6-8" on the canes that are alive.

I might add that this area is in sunlight from 10-6 every day the sun shines here.

Inexpensive roses can take longer to get started because they have small root systems.

What Zack said plus climbers take a lot of time to get established. They may not really get going for another 3 years. They have to spend time building big root balls so they can send food and water up those long canes. They don't start putting the canes out until they have that root ball established. I've also heard that climbers need to know there is support for them before they push their growth. Put a small trellis behind them and start training them to it as soon as possible to encourage them.

You do have to be patient with climbers, especially body bags. They will take a long time to get to a really good size. Some can take 2 years. A better quality rose would do better. However, Don Juan is not very cane hardy. I am in zone 7 and have lost 2 DJs. I have a third one because I really love it. You will want to give this one some winter protection, but if we have a really cold winter you may lose a lot of growth.

Oh, no. I should have gone with Amadeus, like my friend suggested. I believe the Amadeus was around $20 each-plus shippding-I needed 6 for the 3 arbors, and I didn't want to spend that much. I wonder if they ever get big, if I can wrap them in something. It wouldn't look too attractive, but it might be something I should do. I wish that stores would stop selling rose varieties that are not hardy to the region in which they are being sold. Grrrrrr……….. very irritating.

Wrapping probably won't help much. There are lots of hardier red climbers including Quadra (especially), Ramblin' Red, Dublin Bay, and another Kordes one that I can't think of right now.

The Don Juan I bought in a 3 gal pot around Valentines Day this year is taller than our house roof line now. It is in a 10 gallon pot but needs a bigger one soon lol. I have only fertilized it a few times. I suspect since it can't grow a huge root system it is growing up first and blooming like a fool.

I love don juans, but I'm just not sure how well they are doing in my zone 5B, staten island ny.. They do amazingly in the summer, and then in the brutal winters we've been having, 3/4 of the bush seems to die

Don Juan is not your usual climber. It starts blooming right away. Its kind of like a pillar rose in that it blooms all over, not just on lateral canes, so you can train it up a pillar and it will still bloom. It will bloom even more however if you "peg" it (train it as horizontal as possible).
I don't know how cold hardy it is, because I live in South Florida, but I do know that it is one of the best performers for our heat, so that makes me believe that it does not like the cold. I once asked the owner of a local nursery why she didn't sell roses and she said it was because it was just a "slow death" for them here in SoFl (my rose garden would beg to differ) and that the only rose she knew that did well here was Don Juan. Well, there are many roses that do well here, but Don Juan does not only do well here, it thrives. But many others just perish in our heat or succumb to disease no matter how much to fuss over them.
Save yourself alot of heart ache and get yourself a rose that is KNOWN to do well in your area. It will be worth your time and money for many years of beautiful blooms and alot less work to get them. You don't want to be fighting an uphill battle, especially when there are SO many great roses that will do will in your area. :)

Root knot nematodes are serious pest in SoFl
Rose Pests and Diseases in Florida1

You might have the option of growing DJ as a shrub roses if they bloom enough for you--I plan to do that with Candy Land--as it has shown no sign of climbing in all the years I've had it. I move roses all the time when dormant--on average every rose gets moved once in my yard.

Root knot nematodes are a huge pest but they don't like roses on fortuniana which is how I grow them.

The OP could plant a hardy red climber on one side of the arbor and leave a DJ on the other side. The hardy climber will easily cover the top. DJ will be a productive shrub on the other side, or maybe a short climber following mild winters.

That's a great idea Michael. That's what I would do. That way if DJ dies back from cold, you're still covered. And if the new hardy climber is red, the two will blend nicely.

I'd give them some extra water. And agree with Michael's idea.