Thanks for the advice, all. As gardengal mentions, there are not many evergreen choices available for hedge purposes where we live. About 8-10 years ago, we tried blue prince/blue princess holly in this particular location, but it seemed like it would take forever to grow. Half of the shrubs died after the first winter, and those that survived lost many leaves. I ended up digging them all out after a few years of inconsistent growth. We have considered Hick's yew, but I fear it would ultimately get too wide. I have had poor luck with mahonia (Oregon grape) As well, an arborvitae hedge would likely get attacked by deer. We tried deciduous privet grown from cuttings in this location a few years ago. They came on well, but developed powdery mildew fungus in the second year. I ended up digging them all out as well. I reseeded the area with grass, but would still like to try planting a hedge there. There is a local nursery with several red Lil' Kim Rose of Sharon shrubs that are deeply discounted. If we decided to go for it, I wonder if we could get away with planting them 30" apart on center, or if it would be wiser to buy a few more and plant them closer together? What are your thoughts?

It didnt leaf out until late July. I got it on clearance at Lowe’s last year, it was in rough shape. ==>>> if you know that.. then why are you confused that it did not perform to expectations this year??? i would simply hope it survived.. and if it had ANY flowers.. it would be a bonus for this year ... and it did. so you should be doing the happy dance.. not trying to figure out what went wrong.. and worst of all. if you think you need to fix something.. that isnt really broken ... it was severely stressed last year.. it appears to be over it.. so dont worry about it .. ken

It can be very aggressive, but as gadengal says, technically it isn't an invasive. By definition, an invasive is an introduced species from outside of the native ecosystem. That doesn't prevent some natives from being downright nasty in the right (wrong!) situation. But I've managed to kill a quite extensive, purposely planted patch of Oenothera speciosa with kindness. They DON'T need extra water or fertilizer. They will grow lushly, bloom like freaks of nature, and promptly... die. They prefer good drainage and a lean soil, which my red clay substrate doesn't supply.

Katob...Thanks for sharing your personal experiences with the Rose of Sharon seedlings I love learning about plants from actual gardeners, and it's always so magical to grow a seed and see what it becomes, and I had no idea what a wild card Rose of Sharon seedlings were until now, learning from others here on this garden forum. And yes! I'd love to see your photos for sure, I hope you can find them to share here. Also thanks for your observations on the invasion of the Pyrus calleryana tree seedlings in North Eastern PA, this is all so new to me, because in Pittsburgh (and we do have woodlands and parks even though I'm in a city neighborhood) I've never seen seedlings grow (since 1984). I realize I seem a bit dense (and even described as arrogant as I humbly try to understand the details) but I'm just asking questions and trying to understand why the ban is being described as being only on the Bradford Pear cultivar of the Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana). So I kept googling and found a trusted source of info: The Culley Lab website https://culleylab.com/home-page/research/invasive-pears/callery-pear-cultivars/ The Culley Lab aexplains that the ban is actually on all of cultivars of the Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana). and that over time people casually began to refer to the Pyrus Calleryana ban as the Bradford Pear Ban: "Pyrus calleryana (often indicated as just “Bradford pear”) began to appear on watch lists and invasive plant lists in several eastern and southern states." "So which cultivars are the cause? This is exactly what my lab has been studying. We have been conducting hand-pollinations between various cultivars and we also have a way to identify the parents of wild plants using their DNA. " And if I understand The Culley Lab, in studying the DNA of Pyrus calleryana seedlings - seems to indicate that it's seedlings are not like the parent plant....kind of like the Rose of Sharon seedlings are different colors. They also explain Starlings & American Robins eat the fruit and tend to eat the seeds and distribute them. https://culleylab.com/home-page/research/invasive-pears/ ....and more reading on a Harvard website written by the Culley Lab: "Why would a species commonly planted as a ornamental tree for decades without a problem suddenly begin to spread and become invasive? See our paper published in Arnoldia https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ornamental-callery-pear-tree/ for the complete story, or just keep reading here." All very interesting info and history that all started with this guy, a plant hunter named Frank N. Meyer back around 1908. The Mysterious Life and Death of Frank Meyer, the Man Behind Meyer Lemons (and Callery Pear) https://www.vice.com/en/article/59je4d/the-mysterious-life-and-death-of-frank-meyer-the-man-behind-meyer-lemons