I don't think Heptacodium is at its best in our climate. Dirr says it benefits from pine shade in the South. I've heard raves about it too but they were mostly from other parts of the country.

Never had an issue with mine which is in full sun and has been in for over 7 years except for occasional dieback of some of the branches. You can't fault the tree/shrub for the defoliation done by the deer and if you want it to be fuller perhaps you should cut it back and try growing it as a multistemmed shrub instead of a single stemmed tree. I have severely whacked mine back several times and it comes back fuller each time. I love the fragrance of the flowers and the red colored calyces in the fall.

Cameron you are not supposed to feeding the wildlife so they reproduce.

It's in full sun. If I grew it as a shrub, the deer would have even more food. By pruning into a trunk, I elminated a lot of the deer problems, but they will be able to reach it until it matures.

BT --LOL!

I saw a couple of these at Montrose recently and they were gorgeous, so I think it can look good in our area. (Whether or not I can reproduce that is a totally different question.) Hers were in full sun, so when I plant mine out I'm going to try hard to find a spot with at least a half day of sun. I'll probably wrap mine with hardware cloth until it gets some size on it to discourage deer.

Karen -- if you want mine (and already have fire ants), you are welcome to come get it. We can wash as much soil off as possible to reduce the chance of porting ants. The heptacodium has already flowered and the berries are starting to form on the branches that the deer can't reach.

Cameron, thanks for the offer, but I've got one sitting in a pot waiting already and don't have room for two. As for fire ants, we've been spared so far, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Karen