Don Juan is too winter tender for most Z6 climates.

Red climbers is a good idea... try Henry Kelsey and it's child Ramblin' Red, Quadra, Laguna (fragrant!). Most climbers for zone 6 where you want cane hardiness won't be fragrant at all. I've done extensive research into this over the last three months as I planned for plants to use to cover up my 10 x 10 pergola. You can look into Dublin Bay, it may be cane hardy in zone 6 and has flowers that look pretty like Don Juan's.

braverichard, Thanks for the great suggestions! Henry Kelsey and Ramblin' Red look like contenders. Fragrance would be nice, but it's really the visual impact that I'm going for so I can sacrifice scent if need be.

Please note that William Baffin is pretty much a one time bloomer. After reading about these roses extensively here, it seems that even after 8, 10 years William Baffin experiences a huge spring flush and then puts out a bloom or so here and there the rest of the summer.

nippstress, how the heck do you have all those huge plants together there? My own Ramblin' Red was a two gallon plant last year in October when I planted it yet today it is over 12 feet wide (trained on a handrail) and is starting to climb onto my house!

Brave Richard is correct about Dublin Bay. It is totally hardy, and the blooms are a pure deep red. It really, really looks good with a deep purple clematis climbing through it. The Kordes rose, Crimson Sky, is another beautiful pure red climber that is hardy and clean.

If you want something that can be spectacular, I would suggest the bright scarlet Too Hot to Handle. It can be grown as a shrub or a climber. It repeats well and can have large sprays of single, scarlet to vermilion flowers. Unfortunately I lost mine to rose rosette. I would have another one if I had the space.

Braverichard - some of fitting those huge plants in together is that I like "rose chaos". I figure these are between houses so they can fill in the space at will. Also in the mix are JP Connell, Folksinger, and Baronne Prevost (that you can see), with Teasing Georgia and Hope for Humanity that are monsters around the corner. Quadra is by far the largest of these, but it's climbing on a free-standing arch, so it doesn't take up much floor space. My Ramblin' Red isn't actually that big, but it's peeking out from under some substantial lilacs, so that may keep it a bit contained.

Still, Alexander Mackenzie and John Cabot are already duking it out for wall space, totally crowding out What a Peach (not a problem- that's a wimpy rose) and Ginger Syllabub (never done much yet). I agree that these are heaviest bloomers in the spring, though for the first time both of the climbers above have been putting out some regular blooms in July and even August. The picture above is from June though, and that's where they're at best.

I agree that Dublin Bay is a good climber and much more red than these climbers, though it mostly dies to the ground for me in zone 5. Too Hot to Handle sounds like fun too!

Cynthia

Cynthia, I'm all for "rose chaos." Your roses are beautiful.

I think I have it narrowed down to Henry Kelsey and/or Ramblin Red due primarily to their tolerance for shade, which is a factor for me (unfortunately). The spot I have picked out gets only 5 to 6 hours of morning/early afternoon sun, if that. I can't seem to find Ramblin Red for sale anywhere, though.

Dublin Bay was completely cane hardy for me but it tends to get very bare at the bottom with all the growth and bloom at the top. I decided to try and get it to thicken up at the bottom by cutting it way down. Mistake, it died. It was also a bit black spot prone here. Otherwise, it was a beautiful clear red rose and bloomed well all season. Maybe you could plant something shorter at the base to hide the bare knees?

Seil, thank you for chiming in re: Dublin Bay because I think I saw your photo on Help me Find and was wondering how it was doing for you. (photo at link http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.167816)

I would give a call to High Country Roses. They used to carry Ramblin' Red. HCR: 1-800-552-2082

John

Buy either Henry Kelsey OR Ramblin' Red, the two are quite similar but thanks to Radler's awesome hybridizing, Ramblin' Red's repeat puts that of Henry Kelsey's to shame. My Ramblin' Red is in the middle of a heavy flush now, its second, even heavier than the spring one as the bush is much bigger than it was in spring, I"m very impressed, and considering I still have 10-12 weeks before frost it means I will get a third [fall] flush which makes it on par with most hybrid teas, etc in terms of repeat, something which from what I've been reading here is uncommon for climbers.

I got mine exactly from here last year as a two gallon plant:
http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/plant/rose-ramblin-red-climbing/

It isn't cheap but in our zone you don't want to be planting tiny bands at this time if you can help it.

nippstress, your rose chaos is beautiful... those thorns can't be fun to handle in that chaoits

Glad you like the rose chaos - wading through them to deadhead isn't fun in shorts, but I've developed my "karate kid" crane walk to minimize the damage.

Arlene - FWIW, all of mine are in no more than 5-6 hours of sun, since they're between two houses. The main effect of less than 8 hours of sun is somewhat reduced bloom or cycles. For instance, my Queen of Sweden in this spot doesn't bloom as much or often as the one on the sunny side of the house, but like you say, if that's what you have to work with, you don't have a choice. Particularly with climbing roses, they are able to stretch up a bit for the sun, so you have to make sure to stretch them horizontally as much as possible to keep them from having little tufts of bloom in the sunniest spots and bare legs. High Country Roses is where I got my Ramblin' Red from, and they have very healthy plants.

Cynthia

Thanks to all who pointed me to High Country Roses. I sent them a note and they did have a few Ramblin Reds in stock and it is now back available to order on their website. I think I will start my "wall" with RR and see if I can fit more in there after it matures a bit. The key will be finding shade tolerant climbers that look good together I think. I also need to heavily amend the bed where it will go. Oh, how the to-do list grows...

Arlene, I'm wondering how you fared with your "wall of red roses", specifically Ramblin' Red? I'm considering it for an arbor here in Cincinnati. Thank you for any insight.

Hey good job on following up on these posts with folks. It was good to give the update on my pergola. As for Ramblin' Red, boy, do I wish I had enough space to plant more of that beast. It is always in bloom, all season, once it starts in spring, it never quits and I get a fall flush that is about 80% of the spring flush. Its mother, Razzle Dazzle, is a floribunda and it shows, because daddy Henry Kelsey does not repeat here just 30 feet from its ever blooming offspring Ramblin'! Here's mine, planted October 2014 as I stated above; this is the spring 2017 flush!

Now, not shared much around here but very important too. The date on this pic is August 24, 2017. How many climbing roses look this good at that time of the year?

Brave Richard, thanks for the those outstanding pictures! I really like seeing them at different times of the year. Your yard must look amazing! I think I'm going to get this one. I don't know why I'm getting so many red roses, but it should keep DH happy! Is it at all fragrant? P. S. I hope you meant to write August 2017 or I'm really messed up with my dates!

Wow! That's one heckuva climber, Braverichard! Do you get any scent? HMF says 'mild' which sometimes means none. Is Ramblin' Red more of a freestanding climber, likes support, or a pillar-able rose? Do you ever use it for cut roses?

LOL yep, meant August 2017, just corrected it, thanks.

There is actually a strong scent amazing but only in the early spring mornings. It is quite nice and strong, a pleasant citrus scent. As we all know, fragrance in roses can be quite complex and this one never has a scent after spring!

Cut roses? Yes! I planted this one coincidentally right outside the kitchen window and it is my wife's favorite. I often go out and cut a long limb with a giant spray and put it in vase on her kitchen island. It will last a good 5 days. I think I have actually kept the beast in check this way because I cut its flowers quite often.

Rambin' Red is more of just a giant, sprawling bush. Not a pure climber as it has some strong, thick stems but it definitely needs support because it just likes to grow in a very "all over the place" way and you need to rein it in a bit with some control.

Yep, yard looks awesome in my opinion (and that of many others lol).

Ramblin' Red grew the most in 2016 (remember, planted in October 2014). It grew some in 2015 but clearly was mostly putting down roots that year.

Take a look - Spring 2016: (pay attention to all those shoots going up), I think I got 3 basal breaks in this one year!

Thanks Braverichard! I wish I had the space for such a lovely monster. Your patio (?) garden looks great! I wish I could make edges look that nice, lol! Do you trade the mums out for annuals, or are you growing them?

vaporvac, Sorry, I just saw this! My wall of red roses concept has evolved to become a wall of Reine des Violettes, Buff Beauty, and Darcey Bussell...so I deviated a bit from my original plan. I moved Ramblin Red to another bed last spring, and it has grown so much in one season that I should be able to start training it along the top of a 6 foot fence that adjoins an alley. It is quite vigorous. To compare to braverichard's RR last August, This picture is from last August also and even though mine is still relatively small after cutting back and transplanting in the spring, it had fresh blooms when very few other roses did in my garden. I am looking forward to ripping out all the weeds, nightshade, etc. on the back fence there and weaving it along the top as a bit of a security feature. It put on several more feet after this picture was taken and I expect it to eventually take over this entire area. Braverichard, thanks for sharing your pictures! Your RR looks amazing as does the rest of your garden. Unlike your experience, unfortunately I haven't noticed any fragrance on my RR which is another reason why I moved it to a more out of the way area. I'll make a point to see if I can detect anything in the early spring.

edit: haha, I just noticed what I said about fragrance a couple years ago. BOY have my values changed when it comes to roses. Fragrance is a top criterion for me now!

Look at that cleome! At least I think it's cleome. Arlene, that's a beautiful plant, cleome or not. Looks like your RR came back quite well after the move.

Yes, cleome, thanks! It all mildewed terribly and I will be pulling any seedlings this year.

Thanks to seeing this thread this morning I went out and cleared a heap of vinca that was taking over this bed and RR is doing great! I cut off one horrible looking cane but it has mostly come through winter without a scratch.

I too have a dream of wall of roses...lol but most of the roses I have grown does not really climb. It looks like I need to look for Ramblin' Red to achieve that dream. I also have my eye on Florentina and Quadra to achive my wall of red roses. I've read that japanese beetles ignore Ramblin' Red. Can anyone attest if this is true?

They seem to love Quadra, but Ramblin' Red not so much. They also ignore Florentina.

Yes Japanese beetles ignore Ramblin' Red and do indeed love Quadra in my yard.

Thanks for the yard compliments. I dig a good 5 to 6 inch trench at the edge of my flower beds and the mulch really does stay and lasts for a while. I re-mulch every other year and that keeps my beds looking good.

The mums were planted, all my annuals are in the front yard beds where they get watered daily, perennials like roses don't get watered unless it gets very dry as it so often does around August-September. Those mums came from an end of season sale, it was pretty late to be planting mums as per general advice but I enjoy going against the grain and I kept hose mums watered through winter and they all survived. They are now about 3 to 4 times the size in those pics!

Bella Rose, what is the purple clematis in your picture? I love the contrast with 'Ramblin Red'.

Thanks for the answer. I will definitely look for Ramblin' Red and Florentina. Not only are they beautiful and healthy but not a japanese beetles magnet is a winner in my book.

Mcnastarana, it's Jackmanaii.