I'm in rural, northeast Kansas. Tough growing conditions for everything. Very hot summers, very cold winters. Lots of freezing and thawing. Lots of wind. And around my house, lots of shade.

Truly, it seems everything I plant always ends up smaller than I expect.

Where are you located? My experience is just the opposite......shrubs will invariably exceed the commonly listed size, given time and adequate care.

OTOH, disanthus has a reputation for being difficult to establish But once it does, it could easily exceed 10' in my climate/location, although is a slow grower and will take some to get there. Can get as wide as tall as well.

I thought disanthus wanted acid soil. Is there acid soil in Kansas?

I didn’t know about it wanting acid soil. Our soil isn’t very acidic.

Prefers it but doesn't require it. Most literature suggests a pH of 5.0 to 7.4 as being suitable

You will probably find it too big and too delicate for your purposes. Definitely you will not be wanting to lop it back, that won't be likely to produce an attractive result.

I think I've ruled it out. Thanks, all.