Blue (Tequilla) Agaves seem to do well here too. I had a tiny one 12 yrs ago. It has become huge and makes tons of babies. Agaves generally do well here, better than Aloes. The Aloes do ok as long as you can keep them under the eaves or something where they still get some sun but dont get too much water during our rainy season. Opuntia seem to do well. I got tons of prickly pear fruit this year. I froze a bunch to make jelly later when I have more time and am gonna water bath and can some other stuff. Of course, Dragonfruit, epiphyllums and other more tropical cacti also do well here.

I think you made the right choice with Fireglow based on what you are looking for. I share your frustration about the mixed information on the sizes of Japanese maples, but most sources say that Fireglow will be much smaller in size than Bloodgood, Emperor and other upright reds. If you find that the tree is growing faster or larger than you want, you can always root-prune it. I live in Raleigh. The nurseries with the best selections of Japanese maples here seem to be Homewood on Hunnicutt Road, Atlantic Avenue Garden Center, and Logans downtown (sometimes). The Japanese Maple farm on NC 98 (just east of Six Forks Road intersection) has very good prices for larger trees, but their selection in the past has been limited. Some other nurseries in the Triangle that I haven't visited but supposedly carry lots of JMs include Architectural Trees off Bahama Road and Unique Plants in Chapel Hill/Durham area. Sometimes the big box stores (Lowes and Home Depot) carry varieties such as Fireglow, but it's hit-or-miss and their plants are often poor quality unless they just received a shipment. Also, it might be worth a trip out to the wholesale nurseries off Old Stage Road near Angier. It's a fair drive out there but their prices are really cheap for high quality plants. Finally, it's worth checking the State Farmer's Market off Lake Wheeler Drive as some of the vendors in the past had nice JMs for sale. Home Depot had some very nice Fireglows in one-gallon pots a couple years ago for about $25-30 and I could kick myself for not buying one then, as I've never them there again.

Me again...We have sweetspire (itea) cultivar 'Little Henry', some from Musser, some from Lowes. The oldest are 4-5 years, about 3' x 3'. They do sucker, and also will self-layer, but I don't think their behavior is invasive. I WANT mine to increase, because I need to cover another area. They are also pretty easy to start from cuttings.

For central Ohio, Ive got one that has been in the ground 3 years. It put on about 1 foot this year. Ive got two that have been in the ground 2 years. One (full sun) put up a 10” or so leader this year(first pic, pic was taken late in the day when it does see shade). The other (largely shaded) lost its leader and now looks like it will have a “kink”. Shown are the ones planted 2 falls ago. Pics taken Sept. 8.