I also live in zone 5 and have an Alchymist growing on a west-facing trellis. The rose is very slow growing, which is good if your trellis is 5 ft. high. I planted my Alchymist in 1997 and it's just now about 5 feet high. I remember the catalog description: "Worth the wait" and tell it that every spring when it displays its beautiful blooms!

I suggest you dont train alchymist in a southern exposure without winter protection as it will have a tendency to sunscald. At Yonder Garden we trained an alchymist with a western exposure onto a 6 foot palisade fence. within 3 years (and a lot of fertilizer) we had it growing to 9 feet. At Azalea House in Voorheesville we have one with a western exposure that with no spray at all has yet to display blackspot or mildew. This in spite of its reputation of getting blackspot in rainy weather. I might suggest if your going for the southern exposure you try for a hardier rose perhaps zone 3 or 4.

I have two Alchymist Roses. One in Voorheesville, NY at Azalea House. One at Yonder Garden in Colonie, NY. Both are zone 5 though Voorheesville is cooler. Both Roses are exposed to the west, west and north being the best exposure to avoid sunscald and the dieback associated with it. The rose at Azalea House (which is never sprayed) has never exibited blackspot or mildew. The one at Yonder Garden which is sprayed weekly gets blackspot during periods of excess rain. Alchymist has a reputation for blackspot in rainy weather but otherwise good disease resistance. My suggestion is if your going for the southern exposure find a rose with greater hardiness than zone 5. I believe William Baffin is zone 3. Use alchymist facing a western exposure.