They normally do not mind the 20s for extended periods but I prepare them by watering deeply on the night before the cold (cold = 32F or less) fronts arrive and by making sure the y are well mulched with 2-4" of organic mulch to or past the drip line. One set is on the north of the house and the other on the south side (protected by the house from northern winds and protected from the sun). We got down to low-mid teens this winter twice and had no issues other than some flower buds that browned out in the japonicas. No bud drop as a result of the cold so I am happy. They basically stop blooming (if they are blooming) or delay blooming for later. The first time that we dropped to the teens last year, the sasanquas were finishing their blooming so they stopped blooming and restarted blooming with a handful of flower buds two weeks ago. The second time that we dropped to the teens in January, the mid-season blooming japonicas were not blooming yet so the japonicas delayed blooming & started blooming about two weeks ago. Then a late blooming japonica began to bloom last week; not sure if it cared about the cold as it normally blooms late. Flower buds for me can hold on to the mid teens if I water deeply the night before the cold arrives. The plants should be able to carry on even much colder temps. I am in the DFW Metroplex. Hurst is almost touching the western side of the Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport in north-central Texas. Sasanquas and japonicas in the Hill Country and here require amending the soil to acidify it. I amend with garden Sulfur, greensand, iron-chelated liquid compounds, etc in Spring and sometimes again in the Fall if I notice signs of iron chlorosis. The Piney Woods Region is the only location where the soil is typically acidic enough so as not to require amending this way. Areas where you have caliche soil would present the biggest problem to either camellia as the fibrous roots in the top few inches would have difficulty penetrating the soil. Sasanqua leaves suffer less from summer sun than japonicas do here. There is a shopping center that has them growing in full sun at all times of the year and they do fine even thru our daily 100s in the summer. But they will require that their soil be moist as evenly possible (not periods of dry soil, followed by wet and dry soil again). I keep them well mulched and I water deeply so as not to have to worry much about it. If unsure about whether they need water, I insert a finger to a depth of 4" and water if it feels dry or almost dry. Start with 1 gallon of water per watering for a new shrub of the size typically sold locally (2' tall or something like that?) and tweak that as needed. More or more often in the summer & early Fall; less often in winter. But plan to water thru winter as well since dry years may cause the semi-dormant camellias to need water. I almost lost one camellia when I shut off the sprinkler system at the start of a big cold spell and then forgot to restart it after the cold left us a week later. As for planting location, I give them summer sun until about 10am-11am. Dappled sun is also ok. So is bright full-time shade. I have a single japonica that gets sun from 11am-1pm and some (very few) of the leaves get sunburn but usually just a handful... 5 or less say. It is getting big so I cut the leaves off if they look ugly. I am considering putting shade cloth in that area though because of other shrubbery that is more sun sensitive than the camellia. Regarding wind in a planting location, I would choose a location with less winds (or something that blocks wind somehow): light summer winds help dry out the soils and require more watering $$$. ;o) I had a japonica in a location that was subject to wind and it required hand watering in the summer, something that is not fun when it is hot outside. Does that help, jaceymae? Luis

I plant Heavenly Blues every year here at the end of the fence, then by the time the hollyhocks are done the MGs twine along the top of the fence (and sometimes up HH stalks as you can see). So far they aren't as robust as in years past and I have had to encourage vines to grow along the top by entwining them myself to the pickets. The vines on the window have just started to bloom as of last week. Lots of buds behind the leaves. Would you believe I spied two or three dark purple blooms of Grandpa Otts!? I pulled them asap! How many years has it been since I planted GO? 6? Every Spring I watch for seedlings and pull them - handfuls every day. They still manage to evade me.

good additional comments from briosafarm and xtal. In colder climates, new shrubs and trees go in in the spring, because the roots need to get established before the extreme cold which could kill them. But in Texas, the ground is always warm, so the roots have all winter to develop and you get almost an extra year's advantage by planting in the fall. I should have picked up on the crape myrtle thing, too. Light pruning anytime is fine. Maybe there is a stray twig growing the wrong direction that needs to be removed. This is simply tidying up the plants. If a tree-form crape myrtle is wanted, then when it is still fairly small, all but maybe 7 limbs are removed clear to the ground. That leaves enough so that when it gets big enough, you can decide which 3 or 5 will make the nicest, most symmetrical "tree" an you remove the rest, leaving one extra in case one gets damaged and has to be removed. As the plant matures, you will want 3 or 5 main trunks, and the rest will be cut off to the ground. On these trunks, the extreme lower twigs/branches are removed to make the plant look tree-like, but don't make the mistake of stripping any trunk up too far. If you do that, no new branches will ever grow back. All growth takes place at the ends of the growing tips at the top. Lastly, TOPPING crapes is epidemic across the South, for reasons that elude reasonable people. Topping is cutting back the upper limbs severely. It makes no sense, is counterproductive, and when the crapes are bare in the winter, the thick limbs below and the skinny regrowth above is one of the ugliest sights in today's landscapes. Rather than rave on about topping crape myrtles, which some clever horticulturist dubbed CRAPE MURDER, do an internet search on the proper pruning of these plants and read several articles. You might even try entering crape murder and see if that comes up. WHEW! I got on a soapbox. Good luck in your Texas gardening. Actually, I live only a few miles from China Spring. I would suggest that you listen to Neil Sperry on AM radio KRLD 1080 from 8 to 11 on Saturday and Sunday mornings. His book, Texas Gardening, is a very good handbook, although it is becoming outdated, as far as the introduction of new plants since it was published, and some revised recommendations on lawn fertilizing and a few other things here and there. I can suggest some other books if you are the type to read for gardening advice. I also feel the need to warn you that Waco is limited in our choice of nurseries, and some of the leading ones give advice that is often questionable and often plain wrong. It is best to do your research on your own. Texas A&M website has much accurate information. They have a list of SuperStar plants for Texas, which have undergone rigorous testing in order to be given the designation. If you can visit the Dallas Arboretum and the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens, you can also see plants suited for Central Texas. Bonnie's Greenhouse near Bellmead is a great place to shop, and Bonnie knows her stuff. It's fun to visit.

'Edward Goucher' abelia is semi-evergreen with a long bloom cycle. Fairly quick growing to 4ft, then slows towards 6. Often see these and other larger abelias clipped tightly as hedges in older neighborhoods, but think they're much nicer (and flower better) left in a bit more natural form for a hedge. Agree pittosporum or boxwood are also good options. Dwarf yaupon holly also eventually makes 4 to 5 ft - tough and reliable (and fairly inexpensive), but no berries or flowers.