I only have Quicksilver. I have 2 own root and 1 grafted. No black spot here. I don't spray. No balling. It has lavender quartered blooms. I love it. I can't help with the cane hardiness question. It froze several times,here and it didn't drop leaves or anything. It doesnt have a lot of fragrance. They are in full sun here.

A vote for Awakening a proven winner. I have three Awakenings and all grow the same and I have no problems with them. This climber produces a lot of flowers. They are not large flowers but you will certainly get a lot of them. A warning, many thorns that are hooked and snag easily. It starts out a rose pink and then fades to a shell pink. If you summer prune Awakening, I have kept one down to 8 feet. It wants to grow sideways not up and then builds up on laterals.

I too vote for Awakening. Mine is in constant bloom 9 months of the year here.

I second Moses and say get both. The more beauty the better!

Oldrosarian, your photos are gorgeous!

I haven't grown Quicksilver, though I plan to. But Awakening is one of my most beautiful climbers. It is less vigorous than New Dawn, but not by much. I think producing the more double blooms takes some energy away from the robust growth ND shows. Still has deadly thorns. Healthy, healthy, healthy for me. Mine does rebloom, but more of flowers here and there until Autumn, then there's another flush, though nothing like the massive show in Spring. But considering the show in Spring is a wonder of Nature, then that's still saying a lot, lol.

John

Well this is both helpful and not helpful—helpful because of all your stories, not helpful because I'm still very stuck! I think I probably will just end up getting both, why not.

Moses, the space I have is about 8' wide and 12' tall (with a window somewhere in the middle I'll need to train around). Will this be enough space for both? It's OK with me if Awakening wants to grow taller than that, I'll just have to get creative about how I attach it to the house, since that's how high the trellis goes.

Kate,

That's a nice, big space for the two of them. Give my idea a try...what have you got to lose?

Here's an idea for a trellis-less support. The wall can be brick or siding.

Starting at 4' from the ground, place hooks with 2.5" shanks (using anchors), 2' apart from edge to edge, left to right, 5 total anchors in a row. Every two feet up the wall repeat what you did for the first row, at 6', 8', and 10' from the ground....a total of 20 anchors.

Purchase aluminum clothes line wire. It is about 3/8" thick. String the wire from hook to hook horizontally. Fasten it at each hook. Do not tighten the wire too much, just a relaxed tension. You will need about 40' of wire. It will seem to disappear as the roses cover it. Fasten the canes to the wire, or run them under the wire.

Moses

My Awakening grows sideways 10 ft into shade and 15 ft into the sun. Then the long laterals go up 10 ft. I also have Quicksilver but it has not bloomed yet since I planted a band last year.

My 2 own root Quicksilvers are growing slowly. I got a grafted QS last month and it is taking off like a house on fire. Its gonna be big.

I have several Awakenings from when I didn't know what I was buying:

Pro: this is a real healthy rose, I don't spray and take the Ivan Drago view of "if he dies, he dies." And still, 3 years later, where Eden still struggles, there is Awakening putting her to shame with his industriousness (I moved two of them in the middle of summer, that took some of the wind from their sails but they were blooming again by fall).

Con: Thornes.

Pro: One year I had blooms in December.

Con: Thornes!

Not what you were asking but have you thought the everblooming variety of Cecile Brunner? Also healthy, sweet fragrance, NO THORNS, real adorable.

of https://www.heirloomroses.com/everblooming-cl-cecile-brunner.html

I'm sorry I can not help. In my climate zone there are no frosts so deep as to kill the branches of the roses. In my garden the problem is not the resistance of the roses, on the contrary my plants suffer a lot with the exaggerated heat (and above all lack of humidity) of the summer.

Quert, do you have the ever blooming climbing Cecil Brunner? I've read some of them rebloom very well, While others don't depending on the source, but I've yet to discover which source has the best bloomer.

vaporvac - Yep, he blooms OK throughout the year, but really more in flushes. But so delicately beautiful when he does.

I'd have to double check but I believe I got this one through Heirloom (back before everything cost $50).

Awakening doesn't complain if you prune it hard. I have three of them, one on a fence and it gets whacked back to the fence yearly. One growing along the deck railing, same hard whacking. And one growing up a dead tree. Done when I had one of my insane periods!! I put wire fencing around the tree to tie it to. Looks arty, but you should see my paws after pruning.

@Oldrosarian the pics of your Awakening are stunning! I’d love to more. Does Awakening respond well to being pruned back during the growing season in order to maintain a more modest size? I don’t have a massive space to grow it... but would to try if possible.

@Ann-SoCalZ10b SunStZ22, Lynnette (oldrosarian) passed away a year ago :( I hope somebody else can answer your questions.

Mine is growing just like New Dawn. You can take pruning at anytime. If you prune the lead growing tips It will send out new canes from that juncture That will then have new lateral. But if you keep cutting them all back you will just get a very full plant. It is a large plant however.