Callistemon, Weeping Bottle Brush 'Hannah Ray'

I bought this BB from a garden center in Columbia, SC, where I was told it was a good selection for the SC midlands. I planted it back in...Read More June, and I also noticed a lot of leaf drop a few weeks ago. I thought it was sick, but it's currently growing new leaves. Now that I've researched it's cold hardiness, I don't expect it to survive a SE US
zone 8a winter.

Update: May 1, 2013. Both plants sailed through a mild winter with very little damage. Temps in Jan and Feb were above normal, which produced new growth that was burnt by very cold temps with a little ice/snow in March. Still it survived 2 nights @20f and 1 night @19f. I think this plant is cold hardy to zone 8b, at least.

I have this plant in a large container because it's not hardy in my area. I love the blooms on this plant, but every year after it bloom...Read Mores, it has a serious issue with leaves dropping off. The year before last, it was so barren, I gave it a major pruning, and I had some great foliage (but no flowers) the next year. This year, I had blooms, but the poor plant lost 65% of its leaves and looks very sad indeed. The "leaf bleeding" seems to have stoppped. We'll see if it recovers!