You get several trellis and make as wide an area as possible. Most trellis are way way way too narrow. If you use more than one trellis, like three of them side by side, you get a wider area and can array the canes somewhat horizontally, say at a 45 degree angle, thereby maximizing your flower production. I have better luck with putting climbers on fences, like this:

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Aack! That's gorgeous! Yes, trellises are way too narrow. I will have to improvise. Thanks

Go to home depot and get a roll of wire. Look in the picture hanging section. They have different gauges, depending on how heavy your roses are. You can put eye hooks on the two sides of the house and run the wire between them. Every 12 or 18 inches is good. Then you can attach the canes, once they reach the height you want, horizontally along the wire. This is how it'd done in formal gardens. I did this in the front of my house with QE climber and Iceberg and it looks great. I also just did it on the side of my house with a few singles that I want to climb up the house an a clematis.

buford - that is an excellent idea! I love it! I'm going to do that! They are just little guys now but in 3 years I should have great pics to share of my clematis and climbing roses.
THANKS

I must first say that I really like bufords idea, and wish that I had known about that before this...but here is just another idea for you...I started this last year and add as I need to for New Dawn...

first lattice put up....
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then, two more had to be pust up....
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and this year, a fourth added...
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Most of my climbers are trained to wire ... it's practically invisible, and it's the easiest thing to tie the rose canes to (IMO). I buy my wire at Tractor Supply (or any other feed store that carries fencing supplies). Get a roll of 17 gauge electric fencing wire -- 1/4 mile of it costs about $14.00. This wire is galvanized, and it's already made to be installed outside in the elements.

As soon as I get the gutter above it fixed (snow damage from this winter, and the rain water pours below onto the rose bed area) I will install wire onto the south side of my house and plant my own roses. I had to get a new roll of wire for this project ... used my other one up installing wire on the fences.

Connie

BTW, I meant string a wire across every 12 - 18 inches height wise, not that the length of the wire should be 12 -18 inches :)

Shelly, I had two trellises on either side of a window at first. But the front of my house is stone (that fake stone made out of cement) and it was hard to keep the trellises on and they broke apart. Then I went to Biltmore and saw the roses on wires and decided to do it. I have a small strip of wood on the corner of the house and then one on the other side of the window. So I cut the roses off the trellises, removed the trellises and strung the wire. I had to sacrifice some of the rose, but they grew back gang busters. I love when the roses are flat against the house. I do have to re-do iceberg. We had a big storm and the top came off the wire and it's hanging down. But it's a lot easier than trellises.

Get yourself some of that green wire mesh that is sold at the big box stores. It comes in a 4 foot wide roll. One roll has lasted me several years, several different projects. I use the wire on the side of the house, and along vertical porch rails to help climbers climb. It works great for roses or clematis. I also use it to make wire cages for my less hardy hydrangeas/roses during the winter. I use snap in siding hooks to attach the wire to my vinyl siding on the house. This way it is completely removable and I don't need to put any holes in anything. When I need to add more support, snap in a few more siding hooks and hang another piece of mesh wire.

Here is a climber on one of the mesh panels.

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The thin green wire blends right in with the plants for the most part. For my roses, the wire mesh stays in place all year long, but for some of my clematis that die back to the ground in the winter, I remove the mesh during the winter months. When spring comes around, I just re-hang the mesh on the siding hooks and I'm done.

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Awesome clemmie, matt_in_mi. They grow so spectacular there.

If you want a very clean professional look with the wires, use turnbuckles to get them taut and straight. I saw this at the Chicago Botanical Garden. It made wires look so much better.

Hanging the trellis on posts or hooks on the wall is a good idea. Then when the wall needs painting or maintenance you can gently pull the trellis off the posts and lean it outwards to get behind it without having to remove the rose from the trellis. If it is a wall that does not need maintenance (brick) this is not as important.

Another good idea is to leave at least several inches of space betweent the plant and the wall. This is healthier for both the plant and the wall.

Thanks for the great information! What would be the best thing to use to attach the wire to brick? Is there such a thing as longer eye hooks that would be further out from the brick?

vine eyes are wedge shaped metal strips with a hole in the thicker end - they can be hammered into the cement joints between brick. Or, you can buy them with a screw end and an eye - they are various lengths. IMO, vine eyes and wires are by far the best way of attaching roses to a wall - trellis, even when attached to battens, never allows enough ventilation between the house wall and back of trellis. Anyway, I actually think trellis was always meant to be more free standing and viewed from two sides (treillage). If you use the vine eyes with a threaded end, you will also need rawlplugs to insert into the drilled hole and hole the eye. Don't be tempted to tuck the canes behind the wires - tie the canes with jute or plant clips.

Vine eyes aren't called vine eyes here. :>) Here in the states they are called eye bolts.

If you can't find anything locally, Mcmaster-Carr sells quite a variety of eye bolts in various sizes, lengths, and finishes.

Mordenman - that is fantastic!!! I'm going to get some!!

Carol

turnbuckles! That looks like a great idea. Because sometimes after you string the wire and attack the roses, the wire may sag a bit. It would be wonderful to be able to tighten it up. I will see if I can find some.