Loropetalum Chinensis ‘Black Pearl’ - doing well, but can I keep it compact?

Nollie

I have had this (currently small) shrub for six months in a pot. It has a nice weeping/sprawling habit, has kept its lovely purple foliage in semi-shade, has startlingly deep fuschia flowers and so far survived persistent frosts (to -7c) with no leaf damage. Its passed the test!

I am thinking of planting it in a sunny border but want to keep it bushy and compact by regular pruning. Will it be ok with this treatment and will it take full-on sun so long as I keep it well watered?

Borderline

They should do fine in full sun in the ground. But keep an eye on it during the hotter months, they may need additional watering if there are prolonged dry spells. It's also fine to prune them back in late spring time to control/shape your shrub.

Nollie

Thanks, Borderline, I will make sure its well watered.

Nollie

Just a quick update on this plant, As well as persistent frosts in my mountain climate it  also survived a 6” snowfall and the searingly hot summer. It’s still in flower now. I’m so pleased with it I just bought another one.

It’s fairly exposed to winds, but not normally extremely cold ones. It’s still in it’s terracotta pot as I haven’t got round to planting it out yet, so will probably plant out the younger one instead.

It grown well but kept it’s compact shape, apart from one wayward branch I will prune back in spring.

It does say on the label it’s hardy down to -10, and although it only gets to -7 here (-8 one day) I would be cautiously optimistic that it would be.

So @Posy if you, or anyone else, wants to try a Loropetalum, I can recommend this one, so long as your climate isn’t too severe!

Posy

Thanks, Nollie. I'm a bit worried about fierce salty winds. Waxy evergreens like holly can tough it out but otherwise, we are usually safest with deciduous trees and shrubs. This year our trees have been really badly burnt - even the sycamore (sp?) only limped into autumn. But it does look so pretty....

Nollie

Hmm, that does sound pretty challenging conditions! 

amancalledgeorge

Thanks for the inspiration @Nollie may look out for one...my kind of colouring. How's the fragrance of the flowers?

Nollie

I’m probably the wrong person to ask @amancalledgeorge, my sense of smell is not the best, shall we say! I didn’t really detect any scent, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t got any...

amancalledgeorge

ha!ha! All the references mentioned a scent, I suppose like Hamamelis it could be subtle. But lovely colouring @Nollie