I am all for discussing a point and I think it is a great habit to get into to check what someone tells you. But, making a point, shouldn't be at the expense of courtesy and consideration of people and their different views and experience. It is a common understanding online that using capital letters is considered shouting, which you did in your first post addressed to me, which I didn't appreciate. And you sarcastically suggested that the concern over the roof is exaggerated, because you don't think he will allow the vine to lift the 'entire roof'. That is misleading. It doesn't take lifting the entire roof to cause moisture to get under the shingles. And you made my point exactly when you say...'you can't blame the vine for wanting to grow.' That was exactly my point. If it wants to grow where it wants to and you only want it to grow where you want it, then it's a job, a responsibility. And failure to do this gardening job has consequences to your house, not just the garden. I was bringing that to the attention of the OP in case he was not aware of that. I was not telling him that I thought he shouldn't grow it. For me personally, it is about risk. Roof repairs, water damage, replacing siding, are all expensive jobs. You see it as a small risk, a manageable risk, but for me, it has to be no risk. To me it is just not worth the risk and I would rather grow my vines on trellis and other support than on my house. That's just one person's opinion.

Personally, I find roses to be high maintenance plants. Though beautiful when grown well, they are subject to numerous diseases and bugs. And like most perennials/shrubs, yes they will look scruffy if dead flowers and leaves are not removed. (Which then brings you to the "fun" of dealing with the thorns.) This is simply what one accepts with any flowering shrub. Have you considered Hibiscus syriacus, aka Rose of Sharon? If you are unfamiliar with them, it is a specie of winter hardy hibiscus. Without trimming, and depending on the cultivar they can get 6-10feet tall and most of the ones I've seen get about 3 or 4 ft wide. (The one at my folks' place in northern Michigan has never gotten over 7 ft and they have never trimmed it.) They come in whites, pinks, reds, lavenders, "blues" (which really aren't) and bullseyes (white or pink with a red bullseye in the middle). My sis has a beautiful pure white one which also has never gotten over 7ft tall. Neither she nor my folks have found it to be at all bug or disease prone, and hummingbirds like them. (If you'd really like to do this on the cheap, and if you don't mind waiting a few years, you can grow them from seed. The one at my folks' is one I started from seed. It's been a long time, but if memory serves, it reached 4 or 5 ft by its 3rd or 4th year.) Flowers only last a day or two but healthy happy plants produce new flowers most of the summer into fall.

I have a climbing hydrangea that is 3 years old and almost 6 ft tall, with several laterals. I have trained mine through a trellis--here's a pic: Mine also tries to spread across the ground--I just cut them off--I figure keeping them just diverts the plant's energy from growing taller and spreading farther. Since trimming them again this year, I've noticed the laterals are putting on new growth. The lack of growth of your plant may be due to placement or watering or both. My vine gets morning sun and afternoon shade and I water very frequently (every other day at the least.) I recently removed several roses from that trellis--while there, the roses were fertilized regularly, so the vine benefitted from proximity to them. Hope this helps!

Hi Dingo! Wow you must be my neighbor, thanks for the local insight!! We are in Hinsdale. Yes, I am aware of the alkalinity.. actually I am getting a neutral reading on my soil here, using one of those metal shaft ph things that look like a meat thermometer. 7.0. so, my plan was that since the roses also prefer a slightly acidic soil, that I would add Aluminum Sulfate to the soil to try to get it between 6.0-6.5, for the roses to be happy and also for the hydrangeas to grow more blue. I already bought about 5 endless summer hydrangeas (3 of the original, 2 Bloomstruck). with the idea that the original ones would be in the middle as they can grow about a foot higher than the 2 others. The bloom struck may look a little more purple and could go on either side of the originals. I think the slight height difference and adding some of that purple to either end of the row of blue may look nice.. but we will see. I hadn't heard of the Nantucket blue but that sounds like exactly what I'm looking for since I got on this hydrangea kick after visiting Nantucket this past summer! All of the homes with their blue hydrangeas was just stunning!! Thanks for the tip, I will go to Meinke's!! Maybe I'll get lucky and come home with roses for the front this season after all! Yes, I thought about clematis. that is an option, but I so have my heart set on this cottage look with the old English looking garden roses and hydrangeas. It's going to be a challenge but worth it if I figure this out.