Loropetalum
I planted this Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum ‘Chinese Pizzazz’ in 2005 to hide a length of chain-link fence. It is just beginning to flower. The leaves will become more burgundy-colored as the season progresses.
The National Arboretum calls this the “neon lights of the witchhazel family.” I like the fact that it blooms for a long time, is a cheerful color, forms a dense hedge, and has small leaves, so that it is easily pruned by shearing.
What most people fail to realize is that loropetalum is fast-growing and gets VERY LARGE–meaning about 10 feet in all directions in only a few years. There are several places on our little island where it has been planted recently to landscape a parking lot and within a few years will completely block the entrance to a shop or sidewalk.
p.s. I planted the pimientos seeds on December 26 and they are doing fine. Heirloom seeds are a burden, but Beezoo said pepper seeds would germinate when two years old and it appears she is right.
