"Elizabeth J" wrote in
message ...

I'm new... I live in Zone 7 in a handmade adobe home. Front door
faces
east with about 6 hrs. of sunshine in the mornings, so the walls
stay
warm for a long time. I want to plant a climbing rose to cover the
front wall. I can remove adobe pavers and plant in the terrible
soil,
which I can amend, or should I plant in a container and cover it in
winter? It can freeze here no more than two or three days running.
Any
suggestions? And which roses can you recommend. I'm looking for
something with color that will show nicely. Thanx

I'm guessing your house is only one storey? That would limit the kind
of climber, since some of them can go up 20' or more.

I wouldn't worry about covering the plant if it freezes only two or
three days. I have potted plants I leave out during what is
laughingly called the winter here, and sometimes we do have temps down
to 20 F, but the plants are next to the house and the "local" temp
means the roses don't need any special protection. I have lost roses
due to the rare freezes we get here, but I plant mostly in raised beds
in fairly light soil, and newer roses (root system not well
established) can be somewhat frail.

Your requirement for "color that will show nicely" pretty much covers
any climber I've seen. Maybe you could visit an online nursery and
check out what's available to decide what color or colors would work
best for you. Some sites that have a fairly good selection (and which
I happen to have bookmarked) include:

http://www.davidaustinroses.com/american/Advanced.asp
http://www.regannursery.com/roses/index.lasso
http://www.vintagegardens.com/rose_index.aspx

You might do a search for rose nurseries in CA and turn up others
online.

I would tend to amend the soil rather than plant in a container.
Climbers, even smaller ones, can get an awfully big root system.
You'd need an awfully big container, IMO.

HTH
Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8 USA