loropetalum chinensis mature size

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michelleinAL Madison, AL Apr 10, 2011

I've just bought my first permanent home in over 30 years and FINALLY get to have a real (in the ground) garden :-)! I live in Northern AL and love loropetalum chinensis. I would like to plant two or three in the front of my house in the foundation garden, but cannot find a standard answer for how large it gets. Most sites say 5 ft, but some of the plants in my current neighborhood are10 ft - much to the homeowners chagrine. It's been my experience with some plants that what may only grow as a small plant in some zones can be substantially larger in a different zone (and vis versa). Is this the case with loropetalum? And how large does it really get? Any cultivars that remain under five feet (without cutting them to that size)?
Oh, and off subject of size - is this plant invasive or harmful in any way? I am trying to stick with plants that are beneficial in some way (habitat plants) but don't mind planting a few non-habitat plants sprinkled in between so long as they are not invasive or poisonous (I have small chidren)

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Lily_love Central, AL(Zone 7b) Apr 10, 2011

MichelleinAl,
I can only relate my own observation. I've seen perhaps the species loropetalum can be grown up to 8-10' tall around here. Some are beautifully landscaped in a nearby local church. Those with pink frilly-flowers. There at this location I also saw them interplanted a white cultivar which is/appears slightly shorter than the pink. I personally have a garden variety in the backyard in semi-shade area, it's roughly 8-9 feet tall. I planted this one as a small one-gallon container plant. It gradually took off without much attention given to it.
KiminAl.

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kittriana Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a) Apr 11, 2011

This plant can be trimmed to be a hedge, not my personal favorite, will grow from runner roots-stuff for swaps, :), I THINK they may have a dwarf cultivar, comes in various shades from pink, burgundy, etc. do best as understory plants for color, but can handle sun, 10' is normal here, but we do trim them to maintain grow patterns pleasing to us. a very forgiving plant, blooms several times a summer under proper conditions...

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plantfreak78 Rolesville, NC(Zone 7b) Apr 16, 2011

There are many different cultivars, most of which grow over 5 feet tall. There is one super-dwarf type called 'Purple Pixie' which only grows 18" tall (so far mine is only 10" tall, after three years in ground). And one of my favorites is 'Daruma' which can grow larger over time but is easy to keep at 4 feet tall. I prune out the tallest branches each spring (I never shear it) and that's all I do to keep mine in check:

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