You're unlikely to have any bamboo in pots that will approach 40'...20' is a more reasonable expectation. I grow a lot of kinds of bamboo in the ground, and none of mine are at even the 30' level. The only time I saw bamboo in containers where the culms were 40' high was inside a shopping mall where the plants were in massive concrete containers 6' high and quite wide and deep. As you are in Los Angeles, there are a lot of bamboo that will grow well for you; your main problem will be keeping them well-watered in pots. I am not going to recommend a species as there are so many that can be grown in containers in your area. Instead, you should go to a local bamboo nursery to see what various kinds look like and to get recommendations on what will do well in your situation. Below is a link with a little more info on growing bamboo Here is a link that might be useful: Container bamboo

Thanks so much for this information, needtoseegreen. "The three species you mentioned", is that the newsletter you're quoting? I have been concerned about planting non native milkweed so I'm very glad for this post. I grow the milkweed that is native to where I live in So. Cal., if was growing in the yard for decades and I didn't know what it was until 2 years ago. Luckily the roots survived my weedings. It makes sense not to fool around with mother nature and grow non native milkweed. I'm not surprised with the findings you listed from the newsletter. I have read about the toxicity of the "milk" varying and that So. Cal Monarchs aren't used to the toxicity level of tropical or other non native MW's, but I have no opinion because I don't know for sure. I would trust what Monarch Watch says on it. The Monarchs that visited my yard last year when I tried a small plant of tropical in addition to the native (A. fascicularis) didn't lay eggs on the tropical. The tropical didn't do well in my heavy clay soil either. Could you please forward the newsletter to me? I'd be very interested. Do you think they would mind if you mentioned them here? I don't recommend using anything but water on the milkweed, because even a tiny amount of bleach in water will kill the caterpillars on contact. I found this out in my cat raising indoors for the first time starting a few weeks ago. The newly hatched Monarch cats are way too small for anyone to notice, they are extremely small and are hidden under leaves, or can be embedded in the tender growth at the top of the stem. Insecticidal soap would kill them and leave a toxic residue (to them). I recommend crushing the aphids, and wearing latex gloves, they stain the skin. Hosing them off would be hard on the new cats and would likely wash them off too. May I ask what MW species you grow? since you're in the same growing zone and area as myself. Any way to find out if the other species you listed (other than A. fascicularis) are native to the L.A. area? Any So. Calif. milkweed and Monarch breeders who read this, could you share what species of native MW you grow? I am battling black mildew on my A. fascicularis leaves, and pulling off the affected leaves daily. It's a huge task. I need to keep a clean food supply for all the tiny cats I have brought in. Today I picked about 5 stem tops and found 4 more tiny cats, and the nights are getting too cold for them. Just the problem that the newsletter addressed; tiny cats hatching in weather that is too cold due to abnormal breeding spans encouraged by the non native MW species. (I get the impression that tropical MW to a Monarch is like catnip to a cat) Sadly all the nurseries, even Home Depot carry these non-native MW's, and I think they have helped create the OE problem. The cats I raised last December-January all emerged as OE infected butterflies. The reason for this (according to what I've read) is because since the plants have been visited all season by butterflies, all that "foot traffic" has raised the probability of contamination of the plants and egg by the microscopic OE spores. The unnaturally long breeding season puts Monarchs in a perilous position not just weather wise, but disease wise. Sorry this got too lengthy. This fall I'm dipping the milkweed used for feeding (clear of eggs or tiny cats), in water with a few drops of bleach for 10 seconds, and rinse it well. The 2 Monarchs I released today had questionable looking thoraxes (possibly OE infected), I was torn about releasing them. They were not raised entirely indoors. I need to get an inexpensive lighted microscope to check for OE, any suggestions where to get one, anyone? Thanks. It didn't work for me to raise the eggs on the narrow leaves, the larvae all got black death or NPV (or?) at various stages. Now it's the cut MW in water, tons of work and I can't disinfect the MW that have eggs on them. I'm worn out! It's a full time job. Feels like changing baby's diapers all day long. :)

Thanks for the response, zippyhvac. Nobody has done a load calculation - just based it on the 4 ton furnace. Not death valley (thankfully), but we do get direct sun from the west afternoon/evening. I will definitely ask for the TXV. I liked the third installer. He's the owner of a small company, very down to earth, been doing it for over 10 years, came highly recommended by a friend. He suggested a York or Tempstar, but I'm not sure how I feel about those brands. He said he'll put in whatever brand we want, but in his opinion the name companies (Lennox, Trane) spend a lot of money on advertising, and you get other brands that are just as good. He actually looked at the entire system, the furnace, etc., so I'm feeling he might be a good choice for installer. Now I'm just not sure about brand! Maybe I'll do another post asking about brands (probably opening a can of worms there!)

We went with Milgards Ultra (Fiberglass line) I came across a reputable Milgard Dealer in Long Beach. They were on the Milgard website. http://www.1stwindows.com/ Spoke to the owner Doug Lopez and he is very knowledgable and helpful. We needed the windows installed north of Los angeles so they couldn't provide installation. They had the best prices I could find. Goodluck!