I know that when my brother cleaned his deck before staining it, he used a dilute Clorox solution, on the painter's advice. He sprayed the plants around the deck with water before hand, so they were damp, and then washed them down after. At that dilution (which I THINK was a cup per 3 gal., but I may be wrong. Following the recommendations on the bottle would probably do as well?), there was no damage to the plantings. He did cover the more valued plants, but even so, I think that may have been overkill. Using a spray bottle with dilute Clorox, and maybe a bit of vinegar mixed in, scrubbing with a good brush, and then rinsing well, would probably get the green algae. The same would probably work for the dirt, etc., where people and dogs have been walking, although there you might need to use some detergent.... You would just have to be sure that it was all very dry before you started paining, or it would soon flake. (Yes, I know, Grandmothers and eggs, sorry....) As far as replacing the lattice with something that doesn't need to be painted, unless you go with a cedar lattice and let it weather naturally, you will probably still get algae in the shady areas of vinyl or other plastic lattices, and have to scrub it. No painting, I grant, but.... If you can improve the air circulation in those areas, you will have less algae. Not none, but less, so you could go longer between cleanings. No guarantees, esp. since a lot of how much grows how fast where depends on the weather, and if you can control that, I can only say you've been doing a VERY poor job!!!

Thanks Kate--I guess I've been very much on the fence about whether they'll tolerate the cold here, will just have to see I think. The flowers look so gorgeous I think I have to try anyway, so I was going to put in 4-5 and see. I'm essentially zone 6 in the backyard, so maybe I'll have success with them if you have. Do you winter protect? My neighbor did lose some HTs from year to year but he planted the bud union above ground and didn't winter protect. My Austins always seem significantly hardier and I was hoping these, although marketed as HTs, were more mixed lineage and would be hardier too. The beds are a bit elevated, which hurts cold-tolerance but helps keep things well-drained. But I can bury the bud unions and throw on some bark mulch or leaves in the fall, which may help. Okay, Peter is officially on the list, and I think I MUST have Liv and Yves Piaget--the flowers look too wonderful to pass up. Every weekend the ground stays workable I keep fixing up the beds to accommodate more roses...so now I have room for another order from Roses Unlimited!

Hi Annie! Yes, I think I see buds already! I am in heaven. Shoukd I take a pic so you can tell me? Oh, I can't wait for this one to bloom! Robert, privately e-mail. Let me work something out to send you:-) You WON this contest. Rosey, trust me when I tell you, I didn't kill any plants because I had no room? What I have never killed off any plumeria because of a lack of room, in fcat they require no room, except that is if you want to bring them into bloom by starting early and leafing them out. I got tired of all the work to get them to bloom and the bugs associated with them. I never had enough HOT sun to do them justice and if I started them early in the spring, I was always scared to put them anywhere near my other plants because they would infect them with bad pests. In fact, one year, I had put them in my greenhouse, the only place for warmth, and they infected all my plants with Thrips, Spider mites, and other maggots all at once. Never again. Now,if I can't put certain trouble plants in my grenhouse, or plant rooms and be safe, then I avoid certian ones. I do have just teh special ones given to me that sit on a heat mat under lights far away from the rest of my plants. Now, I play it safe.:-) Mike

bnicebkind, I am sure you are suspect about my advice. However, I have an exact replica of OP's MIL. MIL is the most overbearing, rude, miserable, critical (and those are the nice descriptions) individual I know. I found that once I stopped taking her comments to heart and let it go in one ear and out the other (rather than engaging her and allowing her to make me feel insecure), I was able to straighten my back, listen to her comments, consider the source, respond politely and wait for her to leave. My MIL is a person who's thoughts never process in her brain, they come straight out of her mouth without thought that one or another comment may be offensive, hurtful, critical, etc. If you don't allow someone to hurt you, you take the power away from them. Fake it at first if you have to, and eventually you will actually feel it. I spent years crying to my husband when I would have to be in her presence and she belittled me. DH gave me good advice. Call her on it. When she says something that you don't like, tell her. I do now. I never raise my voice, I never get worked up, I just tell her straight up what I don't like. I do not let her ruffle my feathers. It works better to disagree with her in the moment and then there aren't residual feelings of hurt or insecurity. It actually works like a charm. The incidents are fewer and further between. I also realized that I did not want my husband to fight my battles and I certainly did not want my husband to insist his mother like me. If she doesn't like me, I no longer care. When I started realizing that my life was none of her business, I did have the backbone to tell her so when she asked an improper financial question or a question I felt was too personal. Everyone has to go with their own comfort zone. I hated that she got to me regularly. I was feeling insecure, which I hated since that is not me. MIL knew she was pushing my buttons and worse, I was letting her. I have now diffused her and she no longer has that power to aggravate, hurt or insult me. I posted about just taking a seat in another room rather than ruin the whole family dynamic. That is what I do. I don't want to be the cause of everyone not being able to celebrate a holiday together. If MIL has pi$$ed me off recently, I just say hello when I walk in and go on my way to a different room. Of course, we will have to sit at the same table for dinner, but there are usually other family members and actually, they all know how she is. It isn't just me she unleashes this behavior on. She is rude to everyone at times, including strangers in public. We joke in the family that she has Turrets. Who would be hurt if I refused to go to family functions that she was attending. My DD wouldn't see her cousins, I love my SIL and the other family members. Actually, I'd be spiting myself. When I came into DH family, the dynamic was different, I was younger. I soon had a baby with many health problems which were not expected. MIL found a place to be critical and be overbearing in the advice department. I finally just told her that I was following what my DD's doctors wanted me to do and that when she completed her medical degree I would take her advice. Now, I don't feel insecure at all, I ignore her, come back at her, listen and let it go in one ear and out the other, or whatever it takes so as not to give her the satisfaction of upsetting, insulting me. I think as I grew older I also got alot wiser and realized that in the whole scheme of things, MIL was a blip on the radar. Example - new floor laid recently in kitchen, laundry and my office. MIL comes over unannounced/uninvited. Comments how nice the floor looks but the color really isn't right, such and such color would have been much better. Response: This is the color I chose because DH and I like it. End of subject, diffused her. Do I hate that she is the way she is, yes indeed. Will I allow her to abuse me the way she did for years, never again, nor will I have my husband fight my battles for me. Example: I attend a family (DH relatives) shower. Arrive with MIL & SIL. We sit down to eat at a very long table full of women. MIL stands up and introduces SIL to several women SIL did not know. I knew a few, but not many. She did not even acknowledge that I was seated in the room. When she was finished her introductions, I stood up and introduced myself as my DH's wife. It got the point across that I am worthy, whether she thinks so or not. I think she also looked badly to the relatives whom I did know who were watching her intentionally ignore me. I am sorry if my examples seem pollyanna, but they have worked for me. I don't feel badly, insecure, hurt or any other adjective that I formerly felt when MIL would descend on my home or when I had to interact with her. I also have never asked my husband to choose to one of us. That would be wrong in my opinion. As much as dislike her, she is his mother, the only mother he will ever have. I wouldn't want to have to choose my husband or my mother, why would I ask DH to do so? The way I deal with this situation is not for everyone. You need to have alot of self-esteem and a bullet proof vest over your heart. It starts with mostly false bravado, which eventually becomes actual bravery.