I would be very leery of buying any Delbard roses if I was in zone 5. Even in an English 8, they are iffy roses, suffering horribly in a cold winter and taking forever to recover lost ground. Confession time - I am most definitely not a fan of them and grow only 1 (Nahema....and that is on the compost list) but my long-suffering neighbour persists in her love affair with unsuitable tea-noisettes and miffy HTs (latest failure - Dioressence). Maybe in a warm and sheltered spot? They are probably great roses for the south but I learned some time ago that it is essential to consider the 'place of origin' so roses bred in Lyon and other warm French locations are not going to be happy with the chill and arid fenland winds of East Anglia (a bit like Kansas, I imagine...without the summer heat). I never order from nurseries where the climate is kinder than mine either and am always curious about Californian orders from Canadian rose nurseries - how does that work out? It would surely be impossible to do this in reverse (Texas to Ontario for example)?

Hi Jbb Nice to hear you're already hooked on roses (smile) and congratulations on clearing out a weedy mess to look particularly nice now, as well as tempting for more plantings. One way to tell if your online retailer is a real nursery is to see if they will reimburse you for the dead roses and replace the mislabeled ones. From what you say, you may be dealing with someone who isn't prepared to stand by their roses, but that doesn't apply to the good rose online companies, who usually aren't any more expensive than the frauds but actually send what they've promised or resolve any differences with discussion. Good companies are being discussed now in other threads, and include Palatine or Regan roses (if you like them grafted), Roses Unlimited, Antique Rose Emporium and Chamblees (if you like own roots in gallon sizes, nice starts for newbies to roses), and Rogue Valley, Heirloom, Long Ago Roses, and a host of others (for some of the more uncommon roses, sent in own root "bands" that are a little slower to get started but grow just fine from there). It sounds like you've gotten some good advice about weeds and mulch from other sources from the look of your patch. Just a heads-up from whatever else you may have heard elsewhere about pest control with roses - whatever you do, don't get talked into any "2 in 1" or "3 in 1" products, that are almost always overkill and can actually harm your rose in some circumstances. By far, the best tools for disease or pest control with roses are three things: a hard spray of water, patience, and picking the right roses for your zone. The water will knock off the immediate creepy crawlies (e.g. aphids, spider mites), the patience will let you hold off with any sprays or anything till the good bugs come to polish off the creepy crawlies, and picking the right rose for your zone takes care of most of the disease as well as hardiness issues. Some of the answer to your final question about if it's better to buy roses for your zone or protect those hardy to zone 6 and hope depends on your expectations and how much work and anguish you want to put into your roses. When you're first reworking your yard, it's often most rewarding to get some reliable color in the area that doesn't take a lot of work, and by all means this is totally reasonable in zone 5 roses. Sam gave the recommendation of roses bred by Buck, and Kordes is another breeder that is usually pretty winter hardy and resistant to the blackspot that we're prone to in this area. Easy Elegance roses (by Ping Lim) are pretty bullet proof for me, and fairly widely available in my local garden centers. Earl May has a few (I think you have those in Iowa), and if you're close to Omaha, Mulhall's has a great selection. Sometimes when people think of roses, they think of the perfectly spiraled Hybrid Tea (HT) roses like the ones in your pictures, and those can be hit and miss for ones that both survive our zone and do well. Just because a HT rose isn't rated for our zone doesn't make it impossible, but just because its ratings include our zone doesn't mean it will necessarily bloom well or often. Some of the winter hardy roses can also have this hybrid tea shape - including many Kordes and some of the Buck roses - but the hardier the rose, the more likely it is to have more of an open shape or a peony-like form that many of the old garden roses have (and most of the David Austin roses have too - they mostly do quite well in our zone too). That isn't necessarily bad, and you may be getting a much more fragrant rose if you move outside the classic rose shape, but it depends on what you're looking for. Bottom line - you get to suit yourself. If you want a reliable rose that will give you nice color without sweating too much, pick a rose that's good in zone 5. There are hundreds, nay thousands, of these and we can give you some help in picking something (but a new thread would be best if you want a lot of responses on that). If you really want that hybrid tea form, you have to either pick a lot more carefully among the zone 5 roses (still quite possible) or be willing to fuss a bit and lose roses periodically to bad winters. Of course, you can do some of both, as I do, since growing roses isn't an either-or of anything. BTW, I have both of the roses you had intended to buy (Cherry Parfait and Lagerfeld) and they both survive for me without too much fussing. Cherry Parfait is actually quite a nice bloomer for me, but Poseidon (from Kordes) is better in the lavender shades than Lagerfeld. As always, things may be different in your yard, YMMV, and you'll want to check out the website helpmefind.com for more information about roses you're considering, as well as checking in with the fine folks here. Don't get discouraged - growing roses doesn't have to be hard and it can be very rewarding! Cynthia

Besides the warranty issue, the other issue is when do you get a "bottom line" price on the equipment + install. Do you have to commit to buying the equipment before the installer comes out? Or do you get an installation estimate before you make the decision to buy equipment? Will an installer come out and take measurements to make sure the air handler will fit prior to you buying the equipment? Or what modifications to the plenum or electric lines might be required? Re-usability of existing lineset and thermostat? Extra refrigerant he might have to supply as part of the install? This seems far more complicated and risky than the conventional installation where an installer comes out, looks at the job and gives you a total bottom line price before you pull out your credit card.

I may try costco, but I am done with the online retailers. Would advise anyone to avoid Nectar. Their website states the shipping date, yet they fail to ship or notify you of a delay and on other sites they say their shipping issues are resolved. Not from my experience. When you try email you get a response that they are very busy and will get back to you at a later time, I was told approximately 3 days yet it has been a week and no response. When you ask for a refund you get directed to a line with a voice mail. Have not had a return call after days of leaving messages. If you call customer service you can immediately get thru for new sales, however when you say you are checking on a order or want a cancellation you are disconnected. Looks like I will end up going thru my credit card to get a refund. Bummer..