I agree with Ann in regards to poor clones. Nur Mahal is a rose that has to be a good clone as the main bloodline is a very old hybrid tea which would also mean it appreciates richer conditions. Also it is a bit of a myth that all Hybrid Musks will do well in the shade. Penelope is considered the best one for shade, then Buff Beauty, Prosperity, Cornelia, and Francesca. But if the clone is a poor one you are asking a lot of the rose. If a nursery doesn't know the difference between a good example and a poor one when it comes to propagating, you won't get the beauties or strengths of the rose. Even using a tired bud in budding will make for a poor performer. If I have a rose that does poorly for three years, it is replaced with the same and so many times the new one performs much better. Don't put up with a rose that annoys you. You wouldn't tolerate a person who irritated you!

If you want to grow a palm garden in the Central Valley, I highly recommend you start by building a canopy first. Both phoenix rupicola and king palms will sustain frost damage every year unless you can get that overhead canopy going. There are a lot of great very tropical looking hardy canopy palms that won't get frost damage such as livistona and brahea. Livistona nitida, decora and australis and brahea clara are excellent palms to start with that have droopy tropical foliage. Parajubaea torallyi is a coconut look alike that is hardy to 20F and will also grow quickly to give you canopy under which you can grow more tender palms. Sabal uresana is another spectacular palm that thrives in the Central Valley. Also, if you want to succeed with dypsis decipiens, try to spend a little more on a larger specimen that already has a well defined heel. That way you will know how deep to plant it, i.e. heel above ground so that it won't rot on you during the damp and cold rainy part of the year when the thule fog chills the valley. Also, those little guys might get fried in the Summer heat, but a bigger specimen has a better chance.

A lot of different answers and good thoughts, with the exception of boiling water I would think. In your soil there is organic matter that is vital to your soils health and excessive heat and commercially made chemicals kill those microorganisms off depleting your soil of much needed inoculation against things like fungal infections and pest infestations. Even watering with most city waters affect soil health(chlorines and flourides kill off a lot of the beneficial organisms in your soil) So the answer to your question is yes you can, with the proper care. Insects do not generally attack healthy plants, they attack plants that are unhealthy. Plants become unhealthy as a result of unhealthy soils. Kind of God's way of telling you that you have a problem. But my plant produces beautiful tomatoes every year.So what if I have a few bugs and a little Verticillium Wilt? And I say yes with regular fertilization you are feeding your plants which is great, but most home gardeners do not realize that while they are getting the nutrients to produce fruit, the soil beneath isn't really all that healthy, it leaches a lot of the nutrients it needs but once it is used up then what? Yes you feed each plant the minimum however you aren't improving the soils health. For long term plantings and to avoid pests and fungal problems, try this in the same spot; After this years harvest pull up your plants, rake your bed,integrate,lime, diatomaceous earth,bone meal,kelp,and blood meal, plant some hairy vetch at 1lb per 1000 sq feet of garden. Let it winter over and in spring after it blooms, take a soil knife and cut the vetch at the soil line(leaving the roots in the soil) and roll up like a carpet until you get to the end of your bed. Once you have done so roll it open back over your bed and cover it(this will help keep weeds out,help retain moisture,solarize your soil, and add green manure into your bed.) When your transplants are ready in the spring, pull back the mulch and plant your tomatoes. Water in very well, then once a week make a good batch of compost tea with liquid kelp,compost(vermicompost is the best),and fish emulsion. Once a month side dress with a good organic compost(dry)In addition to your weekly spraying of compost tea. And water properly using aged city water,rain water or pond water(which works really well). If you do this, you will rebuild your soils health and create healthier plants for yourself and then it really won't matter where you plant. Bugs will attack stressed plants. Plants that are stressed convert their starches to sugars and sugar attracts pests. Get your soil healthy and you will do great!

Sally, I had the opposite experience. Most of the ferns I planted, even the ostrich fern died. 100% of the hosta I planted lived, even the one I whacked because I mistook it for a weed. Even the ostrich fern lived in the same spot for 3 years before spreading. There may be some factors in my area that favors the hosta. May be hosta do better than fern in alkaline soil. May be hosta have lower water requirements than ferns. I notice the death usually come when there is high heat and little water. Both the fern and hosta take it in the chin, but the hosta seems to take it better. Paul