It won't grow to that point and then stop, so then you'll have to deal with trying to contain it without spoiling the shape - when Loropetalum is not damaged by winter cold (see description in Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK (2007, Sunset Publishing, Menlo Park). The biggest one I've seen here, in a sheltered, sunny (but low-lying) location gets nipped periodically by cold. About the time these were starting to become common in local outlets the 1990 winter hit and took out recent plantings. A friend had a new, small one live by flattening down under the snow, so that part of it was out of the wind.

I'd only try this in a warm, windless corner, where it had enough room to grow to some size. In the right climate it gets pretty big.

There are many other broad-leaved evergreen shrubs that grow here besides rhododendrons and azaleas. Visit some big independent garden centers and have a look at that they have. One I grow instead of Loropetalum for purple, ~evergreen leaves is the 'Red Jewel' barberry. Spiny and without 100% leaf retention but pleasingly glossy and arching.

Thank you! Thinking...I heard that in the PNW it might not get to full height-?? Around 4' would be perfect for in front of the raised porch... The retaining wall "containers" are on either side of the stairway to our front porch, so it is a sort of "corner" there I guess. It's the east facing side of the house that gets sun until about 1 or 2 pm.
I could put them in the more tropical garden area on the west side that gets hot afternoon sun and is right up against the house for a bit of winter radiant warmth. Would that be better?? I like the soft texture of the loropetalum foliage, the color echoing the japanese maple at the corner of the house. Just seems like a nice looking up-close entryway shrub for that container...but I want to make the best decision.
There are some pretty azaleas too I guess that might not get too big...or a taller Euonymus...or I could go with a dwarf loropetalum. I saw a red-tipped boxleaf honeysuckle that was pretty too...I'd like to avoid the spiny barberry. I am so glad someone replied who knows something about these plants!
I am landscaping for the first time from zero, and around our whole house (we are finishing building it now), so it's a lot of decisions on plant placement all at once! Thank you :)

Full east exposures unsuitable for marginal broadleaf evergreens due to bursting of frozen tissues when these are hit by sun while still frozen. West exposure probably about perfect, due to shading in morning but with plenty of sun and heat the rest of the time. The hotter the better for Loropetalum in this climate region - as long as it is kept well watered.

'Red Tip' nipped back a little by colder weather here but otherwise a more interesting form of box honeysuckle. Purplish appearance strong only on newest shoot ends.

In 1990 just about all box honeysuckle in this area hammered by low temperatures. I think some older hedges may have died or become so shabby they were removed. Apparently there was a bit of a vogue for this plant at one time, with a gap in interest of quite some years until more recently - where we now have multiple cultivars on the market.

Hmmm...what about Nandina and hosta? If not, then maybe I should stick with the Ivory Jade Eounymus (which I have a couple of) and add some flowers like penstemon/delphinium/phlox/lilies etc. for the taller color interest behind and a cascading somethin' in front...? Then I'll put the Loropetalum on the West side where it'll have a better chance at surviving.
Thanks for taking the time to help me think through this- I am learning so much!

Nandina is fine most of the time but some forms at least can go down during low temperatures in this region, I have had this happen with two plantings - one in Everett (north of Seattle) in 1990 (coldest winter in 30 years) and one on Camano Island (near Everett) in 2008 (one friend calls this "coldest winter since 1990). Perhaps worse than this occasional bother is a foliage mildew that seems to be becoming prevalent in my area.

Many others will be bothered by the tendency of tall selections and unselected seedlings to flop. This can be avoided by planting compact or dwarf selections, although the most dwarf forms do not have the normal general appearance (and, of course, the normal height).

Hosta is an herbaceous perennial that does not retain any foliage at all during the winter, so it is not really analogous to a Loropetalum or any other shrub, evergreen or otherwise. The euonymus is probably fairly soon going to be too tall for use in front of herbaceous perennials. There are penstemons that form tufts or persistent foliage, even a group of them that are evergreen shrubs or sub-shrubs.

Okay, all very helpful. I am glad I learned about these things before planting (and maybe losing) the plants. Thanks a bunch! I need to get this stuff in the ground...

Oh! I meant to ask, if you have any recommendations for those perfect-sounding penstemons I would love to hear more about them. Hopefully you enjoy this :) Thanks a bunch!

Maybe try 'Andenken an Freidrich Hahn', likely to be encountered at outlets as 'Garnet'.

I planted a Ruby Loropetalum here in Hinesville, Georgia (zone 8( and all the leave fell off. For the past 2 years, only a few leaves appear on the branches and then once in a while we get pretty pinkish flowers. But, they do not last long and then we just have the few leaves until about December. Why do I get few leaves and blossoms on my Loropetalum bush? I fertilize it about every three months but to no avail...what am I doing wrong? Sigh...

I've taken the advice of a landscaping specialist and also that of my local nursery, my Loropetalum Ruby is starting to come alive. It's beginning to bloom new leaves.

I'm hopeful that new shoots will sprout from the roots or along the trunk. After performing the scratch test and discovering that most of the branches that never sprouted leaves were completely dead, I cut them all off at an angle near the the trunk. I amended the soil with cow compost, peat moss and a root stimulant with vitamin b1.

Also, we've been having lots and lots of rain here in southeast Georgia and my Loropetalum is truly benefiting from it. Oh, I plucked all of the leaves that had holes in them or white power looking rings on them. That treatment for shrub and tree insect control stuff seem to be working as well too:-)

Hopefully, my Loropetalum Ruby will be around for a long time now that I learned why it was looking so pitifully.

>I amended the soil with cow compost, peat moss and a root stimulant with vitamin b1None of these are beneficial, except when applying the compost or peat as top dressing or mulch. But even then such fine textured material is not as useful as coarser mulch like wood chips.

If the soil is too wet in that spot your shrub will have more trouble in future. In USDA 8 it is also apt to get frozen back at some point.

Thanks (bboy)for the update, I'll keep watch but I've had more growth in the past few weeks than I did over the past couple of years. Its so hot here in GA that after watering, the sandy soil here seems to dry out pretty quickly so mixing some soil with the peat moss and cow compost seem to keep me from watering it every other day (except when it rains because I water it less). But, I did add both as top dressing with a little mulch as well just forgot to mention it:-)

Chronic drying of the soil is best addressed by applying and maintaining a substantial mulch layer.

What's a substantial amount of mulch...I was under the impression that 2 inches of mulch is enough? What do you suggest? Thanks!