Cherry Parfait (which is bush, not climbing) has been living year-round successfully in a 26" pot of plastifoam. It has spent the past 5 years beside a side-entrance stairway, on asphalt with no shade or other protection. Facing south with brick wall at its back; this must be a rose's version of the climate from Hades. Amazingly, it has thrived with little care other than a weekly dousing of milk-water, and a monthly spring-summer mild fertilizer-- and not nearly enough water during periods of low rainfall. In spite of the neglect, it blooms from late March through November (through December sometimes). While this is NOT how a rose should be treated, it does show that *some* roses can tolerate an amazing amount of neglect including being unprotected in zone 6b winters.

I'd suggest going to the Rose Forum and asking for suggestions of which variety of climber is considered the sturdiest in zone 6 (that allows you an extra-cold winter), and choose from those recommendations.

Is the pergola sturdy enough for attaching the canes, or will you need to consider an additional trellis-work? Some roses are much heavier than others, so you may want to keep that in mind, as well. Also consider the variety's tendency to blackspot: unless you have fallen totally in love with one, there is no reason to grow any rose that has a tendency to blackspot or other fungal diseases.

Thanks for your reply Meldy, lots to consider. The pergola will be pretty sturdy, made out of redwood. I would like something that climbs pretty far up into it...
I am very interested in organic gardening as well, trying to get started. I've recently made my own 2 bin compost system and try to avoid chemicals in the garden as much as possible (2 little kids!) I saw you mention milk-water, what is that?

Milk-water is an old-fashioned method of preventing blackspot (roses are notorious for getting blackspot which makes them ugly, and can even kill the plant) which uses about a 1/4 cup of milk mixed into a gallon of water. Several years ago, official studies began to be published showing that (wow!) it really does prevent blackspot (if I remember correctly: Tex Ag, Univ of Ill, as well as non-USA). While the studied percentages differ, they were in agreement that any kind of milk including non-fat, can be mixed into water -from 5% up to a max of 25% milk into the water- and drenched over the plant, does indeed prevent the formation of certain fungi and mildews including blackspot. In real-life, when the milk jug looks empty I fill it with water, shake, and pour the cloudy water over the rose bush. It won't erase the spots if your plant already has blackspot, but it does seem to prevent the spread. If you are troubled with mosquitos, add a dash of garlic juice to the mix; the rose doesn't care and garlic helps keep the skeeters away.

Some time ago, over in the Garden Experiments Forum, there was a string regarding sprinkling (in the springtime) everyday-type corn meal around the base of susceptible plants to prevent blackspot. I do that if/when I remember, but I rely more on the milk-water. BTW, DH has been spraying some of his grapevines with a 5% milk solution, and -IF he continues a weekly spray- they do not get blackspot! But I will say, spraying a grapevine is a LOT more work than dumping a gallon of water over a rosebush or two.

Wow, I'll have to give that a try, thanks for the tip!