If you buy in bloom you can examine the flowers and check their bits for gender. Otherwise you could order smaller, cheaper specimens through the male. Or there might be a native plant specialist within driving distance that has younger specimens. Discounted potted stock at retail outlets here may not have been fertilized since being received by the grower in spring. Plants can be fairly severely nutrient deficient yet look OK to the unwary. Specimens planted in diminished condition do not establish nearly as readily as those that are in fine fettle, may even dwindle and die after planting instead. Plants that have been in the same pots for a long time may also be rootbound. This is very common in stock sold in my area, although often the worse problems are due to careless handling by growers years before the finished specimens are sent out to retailers. Tightly bound roots near the base of the stem(s) dating from when the once-small plant was left trapped in a liner, band or other small container are often pretty much impossible to rectify once the tree or shrub has grown much larger.

Good for you, except for scarcity of the replacement pump. Did you check eBay for new or used pumps? The Fisher & Paykel toploader that I bought in 1999 carried on for 22 years until it went dead a few months ago, apparently due to a water leak of some ilk that zapped the controller board. My nephew had been using it for several years after it had passed through two other family members after myself, with one repair in 2011 (pump replacement). They live 2-1/4 hrs away and have a new baby so it wasn't a viable scenario for me to investigate it. They bought a used LG, a couple years old from someone who was moving and couldn't take it along. Anyway, appliance longevity statistics are a moving target. A machine that went for 10 years until a failure today was bought 10 years ago so is not as much relevant to expectations for one bought new next week.

Just to reinforce the idea of making your home more user-friendly, the ''trend'' is called Universal Design. It's described in Wikipedia this way: ''Universal design refers to a broad-spectrum solution that produces buildings, products and environments that are usable and effective for everyone, not just people with disabilities.'' We did this in 2005-2007 in the kitchen and bathroom. Along with those UD principals like raising electrical outlets, light switches and lever handles, we added some distinct architectural elements to the rooms like picture rails with rope lighting, a coffered ceiling, transom windows, etc. Also very nice are things that add comfort like heated floors, extra lighting (whether you think you'll use it or not, because you will), and organizational infrastructure. One of things I like most in my bathroom is the no threshold, open curved shower. With no glass door to clean, my small bathroom is much more open, not to mention easier to use. The heated floor goes into the shower which dries it quickly so no mold issues makes a nicer space. Regarding stainless steel appliances, I agree they are fingerprint magnets. Ugh. Paneled appliances seemed ''ultimate'' to me, which I knew was the right way to go when I caught an old movie one night called ''Broadcast News''. Charles Grodin had a paneled fridge in his kitchen, which still seemed current for the 1980's. We added our space to the kitchen, and kept the bathroom and garage the same...very small by today's standards. What was ''green'' about it was making one large(r) bathroom more luxurious for the whole house (instead of adding another). As far as the garage goes, we just downsized a car, for More Space, and Better Gas Mileage!

Sharifa Asma So awesome lol. I have Sharifa that I got as a small band last year. It smells so good.Its a really pretty light pink here fades to white quickly in extreme heat but definitely worth growing. My Olivia is new last summer grafted and already trying to be a monster. Hasnt bloomed a ton yet but is pretty so far. My Young Lycidas is smaller than many of my other 3 yr old grafted Austins. Really pretty flowers. Gets a little black spot here. The branches are more substantial this year and right now it has about 8 buds on it. I am anxiously awaiting these to open. Its its biggest flush thus far. YL needs a few years to get going, I think. Abe Darby...probably everyone knows Im totally in love with this rose lol. I could go on all day about him. The only problem I have with him is that I only have one :p Strawberry Hill is on my list this year. Its so pretty! Abe Darby