Maybe it was the weather this year. I live in SE Michigan. My apple and pear trees had about 10 bloosoms each, my mulberry trees had a handful of puny berries, my wild grapes have nothing, huge autumn olives had about 10 berries total. My climbing rose barely flowered, the hybrid rose that last year was covered in huge blooms all summer had no blooms. Not one. Flowering was suppressed or delayed. I can only guess it was the continuous rain, lack of sun. Other people in my area told me similar stories. Neighbors who planted vegetable gardens with plants from the store all got yields though. Blossoming is just getting going here when it should be winding down

Both are great trees. I'm assuming you are talking about the native American fringe tree, chionanthus virginicus. I wouldn't be scared away from fringetree unless you live in an area with active EAB infestation. Whether fringetrees can support the life cycle of EAB is still uncertain. It was found on trees in a limited area with a great many infected dead ash trees nearby. It is also possible to protect against infestation. Autumn Brilliance is regarded as very disease and insect resistant, but all serviceberries are in the rose family, apple/pear subdivision, and are subject to pests and diseases common to apples. If you live in an area with lots of old neglected apple trees, this might be a concern. As NHBabs noted, some shrubs and trees noted for their autumn color routinely get zapped by frost too early, so I wouldn't make fall color your number 1 priority. Seviceberry is marginally hardier, earlier to bloom and produces edible fruit. Fringetree is fragrant and showier/longer lasting/later in bloom. You can't go wrong with either. Despite some claims to the contrary, all plants have specific environmental and nutritional needs. Labeling anything you can't pop into the ground and walk away from as if it were a Norway maple as "foo foo" is inaccurate and would deprive gardeners of many, many wonderful plants.

Loropetalum is a very popular species with bonsai enthusiasts; I had a gorgeous one for twenty years. So I'm going to say "yes" to container growing with enthusiasm but with certain caveats. You can't plop your tree in a container and forget about it. The most important aspect of long term container growing is what's going on within the confines of that pot. A potting medium needs to be chosen with care and not from the bags of houseplant soil on the shelf. A good woody plant mix should be extremely coarse textured, bark based, and fast draining. In such a mix, the roots will develop rapidly into a well-branched, vigorous system capable of supporting a healthy woody plant. However, you still can't ignore it. For any container grown plant to remain healthy for years, the potting mix needs to be replaced with new medium periodically and the roots should be pruned in order to rejuvenate them, especially if you'd like to keep the plant in the same container for many years. All container plants can benefit from top pruning, too. Your loropetalum can be trained into a stunning work of natural art with a tiny bit of time and a good eye. Loropetalum is prone to nutrient deficiency decline, so choose a product carefully. You must provide a good micro nutrient mixture.

What is a Japanese "fringe" maple? Do you mean a dissectum type? They are doable but not the easiest to keep going in your heat. Metro Maples (located in Fort Worth) is going to be your best resource.