I am not trying to be argumentative, Mark. I have been a novice trader and so have you, and have been lead to believe a plant was 'easy', when it wasn't - I was out a plant AND money. I was just being honest with my experiences in trying to root these cuttings, so a newby wouldn't be upset if he/she traded for the cutting and it did rot. I was merely mentioning that this cutting is not as easy as it sounds to root. You are turning this into a negative when it is meant to be a positive. WHY would this information NOT be relevant? Are you telling me you wouldn't want to know if the possibility existed that it could rot instead of root?

It would help to know the orientation of the wall in order to recommend substitutes for the Photinia. Photinia fraseri grows too fast and gets too big to be a best choice for a spot where you don't really want to have to prune on a regular basis. I'd suggest you look at slower growing shrubs that have some architectural qualities to the structure, but won't overwhelm the spot. If water quality issues aren't a concern, a Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Leucadendron 'Blush' is more manageable size wise, or one of the similar reddish foliage cultivars could look good there. Isopogon formosus is another upright shrubby protea family member with very showy flowers in spring, as well as ornamental foliage. One of the Adenanthos such as A. sericia could also look good here, or some tree type Aloes such as A. marlothii or A. ferox, or A. speciosa. Alyogyne huegelii and Prostanthera ovalifolia would be other upright shrub choices with seasonal flowering. If you like the idea of foliage color, things like Astelia chathamica of one of the upright growing Phormiums such as P. 'Guardsman' might be good choices. Not all of these shrubs will do equally well in full sun or more shade, and some have issues with needing good quality irrigation water in southern California gardens. For my money, Photinia fraseri is just too commonly planted and somewhat boring to use as a feature shrub in a front yard garden, and I would never recommend it for such a setting, aside from the pruning issues. Some of the dwarfer growing Pittosporum tenuifolium cultivars such as as 'Marjorie Channon' or 'Silver Sheen' are quite popular for slower growing foundation shrubs here in coastal northern California, and have soft billowy foliage characteristics that lend themselves easily to being kept sheared but with a softer look.

Think equally bold colors to complement or contrast, and give the Calandrinia the space it wants; they can easily get 4~5' across and have 100's of those waving stems full of fuchsia blooms for most of the year. In my view, play off that with bold colors or forms. Phormiums such as Guardsman or Jester or Yellow Wave, coarse foliage plants with stiff upright foliage such as Anigozanthus flavidus, Neomarica caerulea, Chasmanthe floribunda v ducktii, Aristea major or Watsonias work well. Other vivid perennials such as Salvia involucrata, Verbena bonariensis, Alstroemeria 'Ligtu hybrids' or A. aurantiaca, Kniphofia uvaria, etc will stand up to the color, or lower growing ground cover types of things such as Plectranthus neochilus, Kalanchoe pumila, Setcreasia pallida, Lampranthus spectabilis, etc. Or you could go with a backdrop of cooling silver foliage of Cotyledon orbiculata, Astelia chathamica, Centaurea gymnocarpa or Lavandula intermediate. Succulents such as Senecio mandraliscae, Aeoniums such as Swartzkop or others, agaves and aloes also work well. Agaves with blue or silver foliage can work particularly well, Agave attenuata Nova is a particular favorite, but smaller tougher sorts such as Agave parryi combine well also. If you are looking for larger flowering shrubs/perennials that can bounce some of the same magenta/fuchsia color around, consider using Isopogon formosus, Fuchsia paniculata, Salvia iodantha, Salvia chiapensis, or deep purple blue things such as Salvia 'Indigo Spires' or some of the vivid Ceanothus such as Concha/Julia Phelps/Dark Star. Other equally bold flowering plants/shrubs that have the "umpff " to compete might include things like Echoing wildprettii or E. gentianioides, Erythrina x bidwillii or Chamaerops humiliating v cerifera or Dasylrion wheelwright. Pale blue foliage of grasses such as Leymus condensatus 'Canyon Prince' contrast nicely with the Calandrinia as well, or deeper greens of something like Foxtail Asparagus.

Karyn, You see a small number of Echium candicans/fastuosum, aka "Pride of Madeira". Even that you see many more on the coast and in San Francisco. Its a heavily branched bush and a perennial, unlike E. wildpretii, which is monocarpic and frequently biennial. I'm wondering whether the unbloomed multibranched E. wildpretii, if it doesn't bloom all at once, might turn out to be a short-lived perennial. I always thought "wildpretii" was such a great name for the plant. Then I found out it was named after Dr. Wildpret, and is not a descriptive name. I just looked it up--Wildpret's full name is Dr. Wolfredo Wildpret de la Torre. They picked an appropriate plant to name after him with a full last name like that (torre = tower). The common name for the plant is "tower of jewels". Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of Echium candicans on Flickr