I would recommend Rosette Delizy, a tea rose from 1922 (not a Hybrid Tea). You can see pics of it by looking it up on Help Me Find/roses. It has gorgeous blooms, and is good for zones 7-9, so it should do well in your garden.

HMF says it gets up to 6 feet tall, but that is incorrect. In my garden (where it is standing alone among a bunch of other bushes) it is at least 9 feet tall, and I think would go taller if it had something to climb on. It is a very "vertical" tea rose, most of which are much more spreading.

Here is a pic of the top half of mine, which by the way I do not spray, and which has always been quite healthy.

Jackie

On the Crepe, you can prune it back pretty heavily to cause it to grow back. If it has hollow trunks you need to remove them. Not aware of any damage that should cause it not to bloom. It should be shooting up shoots like crazy.

My advise would be Lady Hillingdon Cl. Its a tea rose. May grow a little bigger then you want depending on the overall size of the crepe. Don Juan might also work well for you. If you want , you could go with Rosarium Utersen or maybe to take a chance on rebloom with Zepheren Drouhin, I just got both of these and don't have a lot of experience, but here on the Upper Texas Gulf Coast I have seen some beautiful examples of them as climbers.

I know it doesn't repeat bloom, but as far as growing on trees, I have always thought Wisteria was much prettier in a tree then a rose.

Given your login name, I have to recommend Jeanne LaJoie - it's a mini climber but it grows at least 12 feet for me in zone 5 and is virtually constantly blooming. The blooms are smallish, hence the mini title - maybe half dollar size, but it's a pretty prolific bloom and should continue to be a good bloomer under the conditions you describe in zone 8. It's a nice medium pink that plays nicely with other colors.

Cynthia

If you can cut the crepe back to rejuvenate it, I would do it. Most ramblers/climbers that do well in your zone will eat a crepe and swallow it in a few years. I would not trust a diseased plant, if the crepe died from disease, to destroy a nice rose and give it fungus, etc.

Galway Bay (Hortico)

Handel

Thanks for the input, everyone.

I think the Jeanne LaJoie is exactly what I have been looking for! This project was actually inspired by a tree at a relative's farmhouse that is covered in roses. Looking at some photos, I think they may be Jeanne LaJoie. The flowers are small and pink, and absolutely covering the tree. Sadly there is no one alive that could tell me firsthand what was planted, but the Jeanne LaJoie is the closest I've seen.

Besides the ant damage, I think the crepe is suffering more from neglect and old age than anything. It doesn't look sick it just looks...tired and worn out. No shoots, nothing, but I would guess it hasn't been pruned properly in 5 years due to the previous owner being disabled. I probably could nurse back to decent shape, but if I'm going to be completely honest I just don't care to. Crepe myrtles are a dime a dozen around here (we have two others in our yard), and I would just as soon 'sacrifice' it as a trellis.

I have considered putting in some wisteria, as well. I love the stuff, and it grows pretty much wild around here. We have a nice space in the back corner of the lot, along the fence, where I think one would do nicely!

Might also look at Viking Queen, Pinkie, Climbing and Renae. Reports all grow 10+ feet tall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Viking Queen

I still think it would be a good idea to clean the crepe myrtle up a bit before putting in a rose.It would be so messy if the tree dies and gets knocked down once the rose is nice and big and mature. I think I'd prune and fertilize it ,not so much with the idea of nursing it back into shape for it's own sake, but with the concept that I'd want to create a valid support for my rose. Just my 2 cents....bart

I second Viking queen
I have a ten year old one that I keep around ten feet tall.