I don't know about Florida, but the Kristin I obtained from Nor'East does not need spraying for mildew in my California garden like all the rest of my minis. It is labeled as a mini, not a mini flora, but it's character is like that of a mini flora. Deep green leaves, a white pedal with deep pink edges, and the bloom stays in a perfect bud stage for a very long time before opening. Also my Rockin' Robin Shrublet rose (a little bigger plant but not by much) has not needed any spraying for mildew. It is a white with light and dark pink stripes. It has abundant blooms. These two roses look very well together along with Child's Play, a white with lighter pink edges. Child's Play does need to be sprayed for mildew though. A bouquet with these three are very striking. Elegant, with Rockin' Robin being a little bit of an impudent standout.

Putting in my plug for a little research before you buy. There are "sterile" varieties now that will save you a lifetime of weeding the all buggering babies they make. It is either the Chiffon or Satin series. You have no idea how prolific the fertile ones and how time consuming it is pulling the thousands of seedlings. The sterile ones are as lovely as any of the other ones. I'm going to look them up now so I can be more assertive in the next recommendation I make. Not the ones I was thinkiing of but here's a start: "Four of them are U.S. National Arboretum introductions: 'Diana' (white), 'Aphrodite' (pink with a red eye), 'Minerva' (pale lavender) and 'Helena' (white with a red eye). You might also run across a new Proven Winners variety called 'Sugar Tip,' which is pale pink with variegated leaves. That one doesn't produce seed." and "Blue Satin" (from Mobot), there is also Rose, Azure, Culture "Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best flowering occurs in full sun. Prefers moist, organically rich soils, but tolerates poor soils and some drought. Very tolerant of summer heat and humidity. Generally tolerant of urban conditions. Flowers appear on new growth, so plants may be pruned to shape in late winter to early spring. Pruning back to 2-3 buds may produce larger blooms. Easily propagated by stem cuttings. This is a sterile cultivar that does not produce viable seed."

WEDDING BELLSSSSSSS! (Imaging that sung out like a happy and fat opera singer). I love love love this rose and I know you will to. I think it may be the perfect rose. I told Chris from New Flora that it should be added to the Sunbelt collection along with Beverly since both performed so well for me here in South Florida, but I'm sure there is more to it than just Florida heat. My Savannah is still small and has only bloomed twice. Its not in the most perfect location. Right now it doesn't get much sun and will only start getting ideal sun once it grows a little taller. It had pretty good disease resistance however and the bloom is very pretty. Its only been in the ground a couple of months though. I love Plum Perfect. Cream Veranda is also a wonderful rose you may want to try. It stays very compact and the blooms are quite large considering the plant stays so small. Solero Vigorosa is in the same boat as Cream Veranda. Its not quite as disease resistant, but its not bad and it too has large blooms in comparison to its size. I really like Roxy vigorosa. Its pretty much a miniature though. But the little blooms look like miniature versions of Fallstaff or Rouge Royal blooms and its just too cute. It blooms a bunch. I also really like Lavendar Veranda. Its a little taller than Cream Veranda growing to about 2.5 feet and a very prolific bloomer. Not quite as deep in color as Plum Perfect. One that has not done well for me is Summer Romance. No blooms. None! Its been there for 2 years without a single bloom. Just lots and lots and lots of healthy foliage. Another one that's still up in the air is Raspberry Vigorosa. Its extremely resistant to disease and has bloomed some. But so far its much more plant than flower. I havent given up on it yet though because its only been in the garden about 6 months. One that puzzles me is Earth Angel. Its first few months it gave me about 6 gorgeous blooms that were to die for. Then it stopped blooming and had just shot out new shoot after shoot after shoot. I've never seen such a vigorous rose. Its the bushiest thing ever, but no buds. Its not tall per say, just really really bushy. Its about 2x2. I cut it back about 2 months ago, hoping to git it to bloom but I think I just angered it because it shot out 7 (count em, 7!) new basal canes after i pruned it, and still no buds. Again, I'm not giving up on it, because it was just a little one gallon thing when I planted it last fall but if it sends out any more shoots, I don't know where its gonna put them. Its so friggin' bushy! I'm so impressed with many of my new Kordes that I just put in an order for a bunch more. I'm getting: Florentina, Jasmina, Honeymoon, (all climbers) from Edmunds. Then, Lemon Fizz Kolorscape, Rose of hope, Dark Desire, Soul Sister and Poseidon.

Could you be a little more specific as to your general location? County and State would suffice. This could help with responses. Not an expert, but I have renovated many homes and built two. I have lived and owned homes in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Virginia. Like everyone in the South, I have allergies. I've also lived in Utah, Illinois and New York, but they aren't in the South and HVAC answers would be different. Anyhow, I've lived pretty much everywhere. I also have the world's best HVAC guy. He taught at Carrier's Southeastern training facility. He puts theory together with field practice. He's worked on and redesigned three systems for me at this point. Because your home is not a new build, a lot of choices are eliminated for your application. Proper encapsulation of the attic spaces as an after thought will be difficult to do. With new construction, you biggest bang for your buck is passive insulation. In your case, it just depends on the scope of the renovation to determine their effectiveness. Carrier is currently the best manufacturer of HVAC. In most of the South, if I had the choice, I would install a heat pump. The technology is amazing. The Infinity Units will heat successfully down to 26F. While you can back it up a basic air-conditioner with a gas furnace, unless there is one already onsite, I would simply go with all electric. Heat pumps are more expensive upfront, but save money through their operational costs. The Infinity line is the top of the line. If I were starting from scratch, I'd select the two stage variable speed units. Lots of controversy regarding spending the extra for 20 SEER versus 18 SEER and payback. Your contractor should have those figures. The mid unit is a really good choice, too. I just installed their base a/c unit as a replacement last week. I'm selling the house in five years and upgrading further wouldn't provide a reasonable payback. Thus, my choice. My guy installed April Aire dehumidifiers on all 3 of my homes. Controlling humidity is the key to a healthy house envelope. This is where I spend my extra money. Last, in my last three homes I have installed a GPS or Global Plasma Solutions unit. It acts as an air scrubber inside my systems to kill molds, dust mites and pathogens. It's generally found in commercial applications, but with my allergies it has been a huge success. Since I have installed these in my systems, my seasonal allergies are well controlled. Don't waste your money on ultra violet light systems. They aren't effective due to the volume of air that passes through the system. The GPS unit will do the trick. Most installers won't know what these are, but look it up on line and read about it. Global Plasma Solutions. We bought our previous home with a roof leak and knowledge that there was some mold. We did the repairs and removed all of the moldy material. Still, we suspected that we would never get the mold out of the ventwork. My husband is sensitive to mold. After we installed the GPS and let it do it's work for a month, his reactions to mold disappeared. These gadgets work. Last, encapsulate your basement or crawlspace. It's a good use of renovation dollars. Lots of homes in the South are not encapsulated. Do that and you will reduce a significant amount of humidity being introduced into your home. Reduce the humidity to below 45% and you make any mold inert. That's your goal. This is my 2 cents from a homeowner and not a HVAC guy.