deereyebrow, my zone 3 summers generally are not overly hot, though there are exceptions. In my experience, if kept well watered, the large flowered types take the heat in stride and I believe it's no different for the sieboldii's As for other top favorites of mine, here's some in no particular order: Perle d'Azur Marie Cornelia ... a very nice small flowered white, though blooms on this one can be rather easily damaged Romantika ... a beautiful variety, though mildew prone Viola Barbara Harrington Prince Charles Victoria Jackmanii Superba Semu Princess Diana nhbabs ... snowfall in my region is rather reliable with constant coverage being commonplace, this is very beneficial when bitter cold descends. Other than being deeply planted (4 inches down and about 8 inches away from the cement foundation) the plants are not given any extra winter protection other than what snow might fall upon them. I do not hill them up with soil for winter, as the root zone is warm and this would cause tender new growth to push up through the mound of soil. As a side note, I've been growing clematis for nearly 35 years and have never noticed any problem associated with being planting near to a cement foundation, at least that's been my experience. Terrance

West Coast online rose venders include Heirloom in Portland and Rogue Valley Roses in Southern Oregon. Just north of you in Petaluma is Garden Valley Ranch, the rose farm formerly owned by Ray Reddell and later bought by Ron Robinson (formerly on Gardenweb as, if I remember correctly, lemecduc, or something of the sort). Have you tried calling around to various Bay area nurseries? Most of your choices are recent introductions which are still in commerce.

I haven't bought them for a long time but here is the link to the commercial directory at the Amer. Iris Society. http://www.irises.org/Resources/Commercial_Ref.html I have used Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden for Louisianas, Japanese and beardeds. The Japanese root bundles were so big I divided them. Never a mis-label. Love Aitken's. http://aitken-garden.goodsie.com/louisiana-iris

I would be going off of reviews and recommendations and I know that isn’t ideal. However, I‘m only looking to buy one sofa so I would rather cut out the middleman if possible.