Red Iceberg --- hmm. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Home depot sells plants and planting supplies. They invite vendors to sell their goods through the Home Depot stores. If a vendor is doing something inappropriate, I would let Home Depot know, and here is why. A few years back I became aware of something I felt was inappropriate. I very politely expressed my opinion to several HD associates. They very politely agreed with me, and informed me that I could communicate my feelings to the CEO of Home Depot, Frank Blake. I shrugged this off, knowing it would be a waste of time. But on a whim, I decided to send an email. I was shocked to receive an answer from his assistant within minutes, and even more shocked to see the situation rectified within days. Encouraged by this positive result, I've since done the same with other companies, always to no avail. In addition to this experience with the CEO of Home Depot, I know them to be one of the most progressive companies when it comes to hiring people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and working their schedules around medical treatments, therapy, and surgical procedures. I have worked hand-in-hand with Home Depot managers and associates in building school gardens in impoverished areas, creating gardens for disabled and terminally ill children, and other charitable projects. They are an enthusiastic bunch who dedicate their efforts and materials to these projects in exchange for only hugs and smiles. I'm not saying the company is perfect, and I've seen things I don't agree with, but I've also seen changes for the better over the years, at least at my local stores. I have the greatest respect for the CEO of Home Depot, as well as some awesome managers and associates for the good I've seen them do, and it's been surprisingly worthwhile bringing issues to their attention. But Red Iceberg??? Someone is being shameless.

WOW! Climbing Pinkie sounds very, very nice. I have 2 trellises that have nothing on them right now, because I wasn't sure what would do well in the situation they are located. Maybe you can all help me with that regarding some of these climbers. Both of these structures are in front of my house, but are on the west side, and only about 3 feet out from the house itself. As a result of this, they are shaded by the house until about 1:00 p.m. but then get full sun until sunset. I have Crepuscule in that situation (not knowing any better), and it is growing well with no disease at all. Flowers have been sporadic though, but I just planted it this past spring. I've left the other trellis areas bare because I didn't think any roses would be happy in that situation (not sure if it's enough sun). In the winter months the sunshine is obviously shortened, quite a bit actually, but the rest of the year they would get blasted for several hours. The house is white, so it probably helps reflect some additional light. What do you think? Regarding Martha Gonzales, I've had a couple of them and had the same defoliation cycles. However, she was getting some shaded periods during the day. I have thought about trying her again in a spot that would get sun from sun-up to sunset. I'm wondering if that would make a difference. Sandy

I don't know why I torture myself so, but wading back into this mess of half-truths, mis-statements, and outright misinformation go I. Do you folks, jumping on a simple-minded bandwagon of focus on one pesticide type, really not understand that if not neonics, some other, older and even more nasty chemistry will be employed? Look up organophosphates, and tell me you'd rather it was the choice of pest control in plant production. This world is complex, but much of what I see on this and other boards is extreme simple-mindedness when it comes to this and similar issues. Europe, where neonics were banned a few years ago, continues to suffer horrible bee losses, more so than here in N. america. Australia, where neonics have been and continue to be used, has had no dramatic drop in bee and other pollinator numbers. BTW, not directed at the folks just above, who indeed do have a grasp of the situation, my crankiness being more generally aimed at those who have not done their homework in trying to understand such issues. One way or another, large-scale growers of the plants we enjoy will continue to use whatever methodology works to protect their crops. Do we really want to tie their hands, forcing them to go back to items we're much better off without? Organophosphates are general, wide-spectrum nerve poisons. They work on humans too. Why would you want to push the industry back to those things? Neonics, bashed repeatedly by newbies to the whole topic, were developed precisely to help us get away from those earlier, more harmful chemicals. +oM

^I couldn't agree more. Don't go through a big box store for a sub-contractor. Get bids from roofers in your area. Get referrals. Be picky. No matter which roofer you end up getting, also contract with an independent roofing inspector in addition to your city/town/county inspector. You will get a better roof. Check the posts here. There was one recently where the roof installed looked good from far away and the independent inspector was able to find all the shortcomings on that installation. EDIT: Found the video: https://boingboing.net/2018/03/17/watch-this-whirlwind-tour-of-a.html Here is the thread with the video: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/roofing-how-to-not-do-it-dsvw-vd~5196390?n=13 Just so you know, when you get a "zero interest" financing deal, the price of the financing is added to the sales price so it isn't really zero. The roof cost is presented to you as $X with zero financing for y months. You end up paying much more for your roof, typically double. Not worth it. Another popular trick that is used for deferred financing is to have the monthly payment equal to an amount less than what it would take to pay off the roof within the deferred period so that you trigger all of the deferred interest when you get to the payoff month and still have a balance due. Even if that balance is one dollar, all the deferred interest is added to your account. Don't fall for it. Get your financing from a credit union.