Miniature roses are just that. They are small all over, flowers, leaves and stems. They would be well nigh invisible beside a pergola. Good news is that most climbing roses can be grown in a container. Google or go over to the rose forum for suggested cultivars for your area.

Oh yes. I totally forgot the freezing issue. Just not on my radar.

Morning glories?

Hi Chey, how are you doing? I'm surprised you haven't had more replies from those in cold zones, but from what I gather from the Roses forum members who grow them in pots, and this may differ from advice above, is that you should choose roses that are cane hardy to at least one zone lower than yours, and preferably two zones, if growing in containers...

If you look at a rose called 'Above And Beyond' for instance, it's cane hardy to zone 3... others would be the Canadian Explorer roses like 'John Davis' and 'John Cabot'.. and there's 'William Baffin' which I've grown here in England - which is hardy to zone 4 at 8,500 feet altitude apparently... there may be lots of others, but it would be worth looking at these I think as a starter...

I don't know what rootstock they should be grafted on to, or whether they should be own root... you'd have to get that advice from others... but I do feel that it's doable from what I gather, although obviously way beyond my personal experience as we don't have those conditions..

I grow a lot of plants in containers...most of my garden is containerized. And it doesn't make any difference how hardy the plant is if the container soil freezes solid. Container soil is exposed to ambient air temps on all sides and air temperatures can get far colder than inground soils, which never drop much below 32F. And those very low temps will freeze the roots and few plants - even very hardy ones - can survive that!!

Even dwarf Alberta spruce, one of the hardiest plants around - z2 - will die under those conditions. Cane hardiness is not the issue :-)

Well, I think they protect the pots in some way... I know there are people in zone 6 who grow their roses in pots with winter protection, but I'm not sure what methods they use...

Hmmm. Thank you everyone. I thought she might need to bring them indoors. That would not be practical.

I am growing Peggy Martin in a pot and its going crazy climbing.

I strongly disagree about a rose in container not being able to tolerate a freeze or even a ten day or two week freeze. I have lots of container grown roses and I leave the bigger ones outside all winter and even many gallon sized pots. They do freeze solid. Most of them do fine. It's certainly worth a try. I'm in zone 7 but we've had polar vortexes and unusually cold winters for a number of years now. Here's one rose in a pot which I never protect. I leave it on the table in fact, which is not as warm as the ground.

If you put a container grown rose directly on the ground the roots are apt to find their way into the ground. Maybe there is no space for the roots or maybe there is. I find rose roots snaked out underneath the grass for example. The grass gives them no problem. I have had some really big roses in pots. I root cuttings in freezing weather as well. Rhode Island is a lot colder than my zone but I would not give up on the possibility of a rose in a pot without trying it.

The question isn't whether or not a rose can be grown in a container in RI. The question is whether or not you want a thorny, sprawling monster of a rose growing in a container on a patio. Quadra, John Cabot, Billy Baffin - all those can draw a lot of blood if not approached with respect. They also will require something serious in the way of a container. A half barrel would be the absolute smallest that could possibly work, and I'd try to go a lot bigger.

Thinking it over, I'll bet Rhode Island is apt to have much longer freezes than I do in NC. So it might not work. But if you bought a ten or twenty dollar rose I don't see how it's that expensive a trial.

You say there is not any space to plant something in the ground near the pergola. What do you mean? Is there any soil at all surrounding the pergola?

Argh! I wouldn’t want New Dawn on my front gate . . . talk about unwelcoming! They have many large thorns and grow at a rate that will make it difficult to prevent snagging visitors, at least in my garden. The photo is lovely, but I would be likely to replant with something less thorny whether it is an almost thornless rose like Zephirine Drouhin or a honeysuckle or a clematis.

As far as Chey’s original question, annual vines such as scarlet runner beans or black eyed Susan vine could be a good choice As GG 48 suggested or some perennial vines in very large containers if she has a spot like an attached garage or a shed. You would want a spot that stays right around freezing until you could move it outside in March or April to prevent premature sprouting. Hard prune clematis (type 3) could be used since they are pruned to a couple of feet at season’s end.

Or you could post a photo of the site since there may be other options as far as planting such as removing some of the pavement within a few feet of the pergola to allow for planting.

LOL!! jalarse, you cannot reasonably compare container gardening in WA state with that of New England!! I also live just outside of Seattle and it just doesn't get cold enough here for any length of time for containers in winter to freeze. There is a huge difference beween temps that can hover briefly below freezing (ours) and those that plunge below zero and stay there for several days.

I certainly would not discourage the OP from experimenting with a rose in a container but I'd have serious concens about it overwintering successfully. Exposing any plant roots to sub-zero temperatures, as they would be in a container, not to mention freeze/thaw episodes, is a very good recipe for failure, not success!!

I grow a number of climbers in containers here in zone 6 NJ. However, the pots are right next to the house, so pretty sheltered (when we built our new bedroom, they filled in the foundation area with gravel, so I couldn't plant. But I was determined to have roses around our bedroom windows!!!) I grow very hardy ones; Felix LeClerc and Cape Diamond, which are, I believe, zone 3 (but I also grow Weeping China Doll, a lot less hardy I imagine). I have had all these roses for many years, and they've been fine including through winters where we got some sub-zero temps. But again, they ARE right against the house. Also, I typically mound straw around the base of the pots, which is added protection. I'd say, if your sister is really determined to have roses, start with just one pot and one rose that is WAY hardy, I'd go zone 3, I'd recommend Felix LeClerc for beauty, toughness, rebloom, and lack of thorns (though not much scent). She could grow it on over the summer, then in late fall, maybe protect the pot - mound straw, or some people use bubble wrap, etc. And just see what happens. If it doesn't work out, well, not too much of an investment; if it does, she could try some others. Good luck!

If potted climbing roses can’t climb that tall to cover a pergola in zone 6b, she could grow grapes in 2 large pots to cover the structure and have a little Italian style dinning area there, grow something she could eat, how great is that?! And grow 2 Polar Joy rose trees by the other 2 pergola posts in the front entrance ( 4 posts in total?). That would be a pretty sight. It would be lovely to hang an outdoor chandelier or a few string lights above the outdoor dinning area. The sweet grape smell and all the grapes hanging above make the dinning experience priceless.........she and her family would remember forever.........can’t you all smell the sweet grapes now? :-)

She could also grow cl. Jasmine. I grow mine in pots (and in the ground) as a sort of annual, cutting it back and overwintering inside or just taking cuttings to root in water, planting in pots in spring. Some of my Jasmine are quite large now. Many varieties can withstand quite cold temps, but obviously not freezing. Please see if you can get a pic.

What if the roses were on a tall trellis in the pot on wheels pushed up next to it instead of growing directly on the pergola? If you did a square pot and put the trellis on the side of it you wouldn’t really be able to tell. Then push the whole thing into the garage in the winter. You would have to get industrial casters, like a piano mover but square instead of some pretty garden thing.

OT, but jalarse, what size containers are you using?