Hi Warrengk-
I don't live in Cali so I can't help you there, but I have found a great recipe for a homemade spray to repel and smother spider mites and aphids-
In a small sauce pan,
boil 2 cups of water:
2 aspirin ( kills viruses that especially affect doubles, and helps boost plant immunities against them)
2 tsps of grated garlic (the stuff in the jar is fine)

Strain the garlic / aspirin mixture and pour into a 1 quart spray bottle.
Then add-

1 tbl of Canola oil ( or any veg. oil)
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of Dawn dish liquid
1/8 cup of alcohol
a few drops of Super thrive.
Add water to make 1 quart.
Shake well as you use it.

Water plants well first, then spray in the evening.
Personally, I wouldn't use Malathion- I think pests tend to build up a resistance / tolerance to chemicals after a while. Remember to raise the humidity by spraying your brugs- spider mites thrive in a dry environment. Best wishes for a beautiful garden. PS- many of us do share cuttings of many varieties in the fall. Check back then!
kasha77

There's more double pink varieties available then double yellows. It just depends what you like. Take a look at what's available. I'd think that pretty much almost any brug would do well in your area. You can check Country Garden and the brug registry to see different varieties.

As for spider mites I'm surprised that you are having problems with outside plants. I get infestations on plants that are wintered over in the greenhouse and inside but easily get rid of them by just regularly spraying water with a hose once they are outside. Broad mites are the exception and I have to use chemical controls for those.

ABADS no longer exists but you can still browse the registry for names and descriptions. http://www.abads.org/abads/Registry/namelist/
You can also look at pics on the forum posted by members and there's other brug sites as well. I'm sure that you'll find plenty of varieties that you'll like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Country Garden

Thank you all! I ordered, harrenhauser garten, and daydream. I also bought a new sprayer and the bayer 3 in 1. So i sprayed and then i sprayed again a few days later and it seems to be working, i havent seen any spider mites that were alive. So i hope this will help. My local garden center said it was the top selling systemic, for spider mites and two spotted mites. So we will see how it works in the long run. And the bayer does not have any smell to it. so it worked out perfect!