Yes, I asked these questions in my Viburnum thread, but figured I'd make a new one...

I would plant them about 5ft in front of the fence, never plant any ligustrum. Privet and callery pears may seem commonly used, but they are all crap plants

look at pix at the link .. and decide first.. if they fit ...

and second.. how much work you are signing up for.. keeping them within the realm of your minds eye ...

proper SPECIMEN planting.. looks to be 15 to 20 feet from anything ...

after that.. its more a pruning issue .. rather than what is good for the plant ... not that pruning is bad for the plant.. its just heavy future labor .. one thing is clear.. short of hiring out the job.. i had lots of brilliant ideas 15 years ago ... now i wishing i made better choices.. or knew better then ....

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=Zhu+Zhou+Loropetalum&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9_s-E3_3NAhVm1oMKHT0dBZEQ_AUICCgB&biw=968&bih=745&dpr=0.9

Thanks Ken. I do know how to use google images. ;) I also read they can be 10 feet apart on center, just not sure how far to put them from the wall. I was hoping to put them more like 4 feet off the wall but I guess it is what it is. :)

A S, I mistakenly used Zhu Zhou in a planting many years ago and soon realized that it was determined to be a small tree in spite of my frequent ministrations. That was not what I wanted in that particular location and I ended up moving it.

Is that what you're looking for? By the way, your spacing (ten ft. centers) sounds great. Not so sure about your distance from the fence.

if they tell you that they should be 10 feet apart .. meaning they grow out 5 feet from center both ways.. then logic would dictate.. if you dont want them hitting the fence anytime soon.. they should be at least 5 feet from the fence ...

what rhiz said.. and it cracked me up.. read 'my frequent ministrations' as ... A LOT OF HARD WORK ... lol.. as i alluded to ...

images is easy to find.. i was trying to get you .. and others... to look deeper into the pix and really see what the pix are telling you ...

ken

ps: and if they fence is wood that will need painting.. then add a feet feet to allow access for that project ...

Zhu Zhou grows quickly, but will need a lot of pruning to maintain a neat, dense appearance, if that is what you are after. Had you considered Laurus nobilis?

Since so many growers can't ship to Calif, consider finding a grower in Calif., there should be several.

How far from the building are they? They look close. Are they too close?

Dave, I don't mind it's froo froo look (I don't know what else to call it). I really don't want something that's formal English garden-like.

So I get that it gets taller than what I read... But what about width. Is 8-10' about accurate? The width is what I care most about.

On another hand, how easy is it to train it to a tree? Is that a decently easy job for a newbie?

Easy to limb up, yes. Train to one or multiple trunks early on, as it prefers to grow as a (very large) bush with lots of low branching. It probably gets as wide as tall.

Fuzzy leaves are kind of itchy though.

Laurus nobilis is more Mediterranean than English.

I just don't know how else to say that I don't need the perfectly shaped/rounded/formal look. :)

I saw pics with them with multiple "trunks" and one that literally looked like a tree trunk. Is there a technique to get the one trunk style? Or you just choose a central leader and go with it? Guess knowing it's something that I could tackle is good enough for now... Need to figure out what to put next to it. Just in case our landscaper can't get it though his supplier I did find an online place that will ship here from Oregon. :)

Any suggestions of other tall shrubs that would look nice next to it???

What about Black Stem Pittosporum? I think my nursery has those in a Std form. If they do, I could put the Loropetalum in the area where I want a full shrub and put the Black Stem Pittosporum where I'd prefer a Std form (so I can plant smaller shrubs under/in front of it).

This is where I have trouble...because I can't see the Loropetalum in person, I feel like I just have to wing it with finding something nice for next to it. I would prefer something that comes in a Std form...so that limits my choices. Purple Hopseed, Photinia (UH NO...lol), Black Stem Pittosporum, Ceanothus Ray Hartman (nursery says that is NOT a long living species), Ligustrum Texanum...

Bump. Any suggestions of what looks nice next to it, that also gets tall??? Thanks!!!

If you are in California here on the west coast at least that is where loropetalums are grown and shipped from - you shouldn't have to be bothering about having any shipped to there.

Call some independent garden centers to see if they have 'Zhuzhou Fuchsia'. Or maybe settle for one of the other multiple selections on the market, if you can't wait for that cultivar to reappear (it would probably be a lot easier to get them established if you weren't planting in August anyway). If you buy locally you can inspect what is being offered in person before purchasing, not pay for additional shipping (although you will have to pay for driving your car or taking public transportation, of course).

http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/search/?view_all=1&query=loropetalum

If you click open Detail on the Monrovia 'Zhuzhou Fuchsia' page it suggests planting it with

"Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina); Lilyturf (Liriope); Kohuhu (Pittosporum); Juniper (Juniperus); Camellia (Camellia)"

I read those already. Love camellias but they don't do full sun. Don't think Nandina gets tall. No Juniper. That leaves pittosporum.

Oops, meant to add...

Surely there are things that look nice next to it (that get tall also) that Monrovia does not list.

Height of Nandina varies with the selection. The low mound-like ones are dwarf cultivars.

I think the zhuzhu loropetalum would be best paired with forsythia. You can keep forsythia in a formal hedge, train it into a tree, or leave it natural. These both start blooming at the same time and are great paired together.

forsythia

forsythia hedge form

forsythia tree form (couldn't find much on this but I am training one of mine to be a tree)

I know they are not evergreen, however forsythia is a large and dense growing plant. I have seen them take up whole yards before. It is the perfect thing for a privacy hedge.

See photo: forsythia and loropetalum paired

We need evergreen, but I do love the yellow with the color of the Loropetalum. Looks great! There is lots of yellow in the Euonymous, but I've never seen one of those pruned to a tree form. I had thought about Thuja Forever Goldy, which is yellow, narrow enough I could plant in front of it, and available at our nursery. I found out on the conifers forum that it likely wouldn't withstand the heat in full sun. There is a yellow Italian Cypress...hubby likes that look, I hate it, so I'm debating on that one too. I'm thinking I need to find something yellow or chartreuse...or light green at the very least.

If I find something green and taller to plant in front of, I can always use one of the medium size forsythia to plant in front of it, but still next to the Loropetulum. I LOVE the forsythia.

Whatever you do, dont use golden eunymous! Forsythia is very dense, I don't think you can see through them during winter (outdoor privacy might not be a big issue when it is 32 degrees outside) but you may also like chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'yvonne'

Why? What's the problem with that one? See this is why my head spins every time I think I've found something...I find out it has issues. LOL.

Scale and Mildew will bring it to it's knees. Sometimes it's foliage reverts to green losing the variegation, I really think they look cheap. It is also on grumpy gardener's list of five awful plants for the front of your house.

I'll take a look at that. Thanks.

Ha! Even photinia is on there.

it is, but photinia isn't that common around here. I would get tired of photinia as well if it was planted everywhere.

So I went to the nursery today and spotted this...it has me second guessing ruling out photinia. I really like the shape of this with the foliage all at the top and the branches clean like this. It would buy me more space underneath. Oh boy........

(It was in a big wood box so I couldn't pull it out to take better pics. They have some smaller ones that are lending themselves to this shape that I'd be interested in getting if we end up going this route...)

I don't know what that kind of pruning is called or if anything else can be pruned that way...

It is called crown raising, also referred to as "limbing up".

Can Black Stem Pittosporum in tree form be pruned to look like that too?

Oh, and for clarity's sake, I didn't mean just making it a tree, but the branches are trimmed up too, so that the foliage is all at the top...hope that makes sense. Is that still called limbing up?

yes, basically. Most shrubs can be done this way, remove the lower growth as it gets taller and you will have tree form, then even out (shape/round off) branches at the top to make it fuller.

Did you not like chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'yvonne'? I think Golden Hinoki Cypress would look good as well.

A number of these suggestions are just not well suited with a California climate and its summer heat and drought. The forsythia, Lawson cypress and Hinoki will not fair well in that environment if in full sun and the watering required to keep them happy may be prohibitive.

The pittosporum is a good choice and would offer a nice contrast with the loropetalum if you go with a cultivar like 'Silver Sheen'. Taller growing pitts like these can be trimmed/pruned pretty much as you like :-)

I am not familiar with california, but then again we haven't had a day below 95 here in NC for the month of July. My forsythia is looking great (and I just planted it this spring!).

garden gal, the nursery here claims that, even though they say full sun, most cultivars of pittosporum need dappled sun, except for black stem pittosporum. I guess I could always try silver sheen...I do like it better...the worst that could happen is that they don't make it. :)

Pittopsorum tenuifolium IS "black stem" pittosporum so hopefully the 'Silver Sheen' (just a culitvar with silvery foliage) should work out for you. I know this isn't Sacramento by a long shot but all pitts do fine in full sun here and they are common full sun plantings in coastal SoCal. May need some extra water in your heat, especially to get going.

How hot does it get there? I think their reasoning is that they do better in dappled sun during our heat waves.

Just stopped by the nursery. I think I'll just use the black stem pittosporum because it already comes in standard tree form. That convenience will get me moving with the next phase of the planting.

Dave in NoVa, I owe you big time. I really appreciate you urging me to look at the loropetalum more... you're the only one that's made that suggestion... and I've been to a handful of different nurseries trying to seek out unique suggestions. It's perfect! Love it's color and frilly-ness. :) Now I just gotta get my landscaper to get moving with planting things.