This is an easy enough to grow plant if you give it woodland conditions and don't expect it to do well where it will get blasted by hot sun and wind. It also gets deceptively large and very wide with age, and is too often planted into too small spaces where it will have to be butchered to make it fit. If you don't have at least 6 feet across in all directions for this shrub, and it won't have some mid day dappled shade, I would suggest that you look at other reddish foliaged shrubs instead. Had you considered something like Purple Smoke Bush/Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'? This is abit slower in growth, and lends itself to training up as a small tree or multi-trunk shrub which can be limbed up, and is also much more open in habit than the Loropetalum, which is very dense. The Smoke Bush is deciduous in winter, however, but is also more tolerant of hot sun and needs much less water.

You might also consider one of the Dwarf Weeping Red Japanese Maples for this spot, as they are also slower to get too big, and with good irrigation in summer and some protection from hot winds, can look very nice as a specimen shrub accent.

If you can get past the issues stated above, I have to say that this plant, grown by my mom up in the Redding area, is one of my favorites. She has hers situated in all-day dappled sun, with regular water, of course. It was slow to take off, but it has really widened in the last year or 2. She has one of the pink-flowered varieties, but I think I would prefer the contrast of the white blooms on the species plant.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Brenda

Thanks to both of you!
Laura