I'm not sure in zone 5 any climbers will be cane hardy. So most of them may just become tall shrubs instead. You have a chance on John Davis and John Cabot climbing because they're very hardy but cane hardiness will depend on the winter. I don't know anything about the others though.

I don't think you can really go wrong on colors. Pink, white and red should all be lovely together. I'd stay away from grape vine though. It may not place nice with the roses and will make it harder to prune. You might try a clematis instead. They're good growers and are lovely in bloom with the roses.

Depending on how large the arbor is you might want to think twice about putting a table in there. Unless you get some thornless roses for it. Otherwise you'll have to keep them well pruned and tied to control them so people don't get scratched.

I've had a terrible time getting John Davis to climb. Mine is own-root, and seems to want to be a 4 x 4 shrub instead of a climber. John Cabot is a fairly typical Explorer climber. Which means it is a stiff 8 ft shrub.

Cecile Brunner died.

If you really want a serious climber, look at the (gasp) once bloomers like Baltimore Belle. It will eat your pergola quite satisfactorily.

Wow that is a beautiful Jon Davis, Twros.

In another post, Chris from Newflora (kordes official distributor to North America) recommended that Hella, Seminole Fire and Laguna does well, especially cane hardy in our zones. Other posters also mentioned they have great success with Quadra and Florentina which are cane hardy. In addition to these roses, I have my eye also on Above and Beyond which is supposed to be cane hardy as well. I remember some posters said that Colette is supposed to be hardy in our zones as well. I don't know how true that is. However, it all depends on the macro and micro climates in our gardens. You won't know what the success rate is until you try.

Thanks for all the feedback, I think jjpeace is correct in that you wont know until you try. (I really wanted a wisteria, but am too afraid it will take over the house). I second the microclimate as well. I had a Norway Spruce (young, 2-3 foot) die completely due to winter burn one winter. Of course, it was exposed and faced NW. That same winter, I forgot to dig up a clump of calla lily and it came back and flowered in the spring. I've also had annual dusty millers live for 2-3 years outside mulched with leaves for me.

Twros, that photo of John Davis is inspiring, I like how it just fills that spot up as you climb the stairs. Do you notice a fragrance? Seil, the gazebo/pergola is 10 x 13 so I think I can get something on at least three of the corners judging how traffic flow is going to be (2 corners are within 2 feet of the house) off the patio. I firmly believe roses will do whatever they hell they want, we just need to be stern with the pruning shears. Mad gallicia, I also have a shrub rose (Golden Celebration) that wants climb and two climbing roses (Gertrude Jekyll) and a clematis (the President) that want to be a shrub/ground-cover, respectively.

My William Baffin does whatever it wants climbs, suckers, cascades, makes a shrub; and whenever I get too close, tries to kill me. I need to prune to urge it to go up, but part of me wants to move it. I also think it's staying because it's such a beast.

Yes, 'John Davis' is very welcoming to all in it's location along the stairway railing, and especially so with being almost thornless. The rose does have a light spicy fragrance, both in flower and foliage, though such is subtle. I also did have 'John Cabot' planted out front of the house, though I later relegated the prickly beast to the back of the garden. Years ago, I spied a massive 'William Baffin' on public grounds and then had second thoughts for planting the behemoth in my own yard.

Do grape vines attract Japanese Beetles?

Wonderful photo of John Davis, Twros, and thanks for the tips about getting it to climb. Like Mad said, mine has struggled to survive and grow beyond knee height for some time now, but it hasn't hit the magic 4 years mark yet for a climber. Good to know that it appreciates feeding.

In my yard, mbrad, I've found that John Cabot is the more reliable and enthusiastic climber, and it's rock solid hardy to the tips in a zone 4 pocket of my yard. For the first 3-4 years, it was mostly a once-bloomer with a few scattered blooms here and there, but now that it's mature it's starting to get some repeat flush blooms on and off in the year. I'd definitely recommend that one as the best climber of the four you list.

Among the others, I agree with Mad that Cecile Brunner is a long shot to survive in zone 5 (I've never overwintered one with several tries), but if it does survive it's likely to be a shrub rather than climber. Give it a protected spot and hope for the best. Laguna will climb well and is mostly cane hardy for me, and it's a dark pink color that will highlight the other colors. All of your roses are in the pink family (Laguna & John Cabot are dark pink, the rest are light pink) so I think any combination of them would look fine.

Next to John Cabot, Colette is the other most reliable climber in zone 5. It takes a while to get established and climb well - give any climber 4 years to get settled in before you judge its characteristics - but it has repeat bloom on and off throughout the summer. I think JC, Colette & Laguna will climb well, and JC is the one most likely to cover your arbor.

For companion plants, I'd be very cautious about a grape vine. You'll notice that on your honeymoon (congratulations by the way) the pergola had only a grape vine on it. My experience has been that grapes don't share real estate well. My neighbors have some inherited vines along a shared fence line, and the grapes TOTALLY invade my vegetable garden and have mostly shaded out my tomatoes. Wouldn't take much, as it's only a part shade situation, but grapes don't play well with others. I'm happy to rein in the grapes and I love those neighbors, so we're discussing strategy for this year.

Instead of grapes, I'd plant a clematis on each end of the pergola. Clematis bloom in the heat of summer when the roses are taking a rest, so it means extending your bloom season. There are some lovely clematis and they tend to be easy and LOVE our midwestern soils. Jackmanii is a common one that's around most places and it's a dark purple that would set off the other colors nicely. Clematis are totally easy care in our zone, and they're more of an instant gratification of something to cover the pergola (but give it a year or two to settle in still), while you're waiting for the roses to mature.

Syri - my experiences with Japanese Beetles is that they'll eat whatever is convenient (like deer do), but they prefer flowers. There are other things that will eat the grapes themselves, including birds, but I haven't found that the grapes are all that interesting to the Japanese beetles if there's something else they like better (like all my roses).

We'll look forward to seeing pictures, mbrad! Good job doing your homework on your roses.

Cynthia

Thanks Cynthia and everyone else for your input. I think I have determined which climbers are going to take "center stage" and be placed with the intention to climb the pergola: Laguna, Colette, and John Cabot. I think John Davis will be "around the corner" from the pergola and wall-trained near the patio door to appreciate the fragrance. I didn't realize Cecile Brunner wasn't as hardy as initially thought. I do have an area that is slightly protected and will be placing that rose there.

As for the clematis, Haha!! that's easy. I have around 20 or so clematis all over the yard. It was a given the roses would be sharing the pergola with at least 4 clematis. Here is good old-fashioned Jackmanii climbing the front porch. In the background is a honeysuckle co-planted with Tess of the de'Urbervilles from David Austin.

My mother in law has a gorgeous arbor with John Cabot, that is hardy to the tips. I just planted my own last spring because I loved hers so much. My roses are small but they survived a winter with no snow coverage to the tips.

I also have Constance Spry and Alchymist that reached the top of their arbor in their second summer and met in the middle. I highly recommend both of these roses. They've both been hardy to the tips for two winters now and grew very quickly.

Henry Kelsey and Quadra are also great and very hardy.

If I could barge in on this old thread....How about Stormy Weather as a climber in zone 5? How tall can it get? I was thinking of growing it up against the east wall of my house, not full sun that is. Any thoughts for this could work will be appreciated. Especially calling on @nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska since from another thread you mention growing this in zone 5.

ANY LUCK WITH LAGUNA CLIMBING ROSE FOR ZONE 5B...HAVE AN 8 FOOT ARBOR

I just saw Stormy Weather in the new introductions from High Country Roses and they list it as growing 8-10 feet tall in zone 5. They are very reliable with their information so I would think that it would do well for you as long as it gets enough sun. That would be my biggest question, you would have to evaluate your location and decide accordingly.

Frozebud, I just found your photos and did a double take. It is the new and improved version of my front porch. I thought mine was looking pretty good until I saw your pics. He's going to get a lot more attention this year.

mbrad. I hear you about Wm. Baffin. A beast for sure. I was going to prune mine, lost my footing and fell into the thing. I had a terrible time disengaging myself from those thorns. Mine have never had a proper pruning in 20 years. I'm scared of them.

This is an old thread, and the OP's questions have been answered, but if anyone new wants to know, Peggy Martin and Lunar Mist actually climb in my climate.

Flowersaremusic, shucks, yes, 'John Davis' had thrived for several years, though now with cercospora having stuck my region with a vengeance, 'JD' has taken a hard hit and no longer have I been feeding or much tending to him and instead he's grown backwards. Why must roses be the most tormented of all plants when it comes to diseases and pests?? gggrrr!