Plant Profile: Chang's Ruby Loropetalum
Loropetalum chinense 'Chang's Ruby'
Species Native Range: Southeastern Asia, including China and Japan
Hardiness: USDA Zones 7-10
Mature Size: 3-5 feet tall and wide
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil: Loose and well-drained
No plant in recent memory has burst on to the landscaping scene as fast as the Loropetalum.
Loropetalums have managed fill a gap that existed in the landscaping world. They are evergreen,
drought resistant, deer resistant, tolerate a wide range of conditions, bloom profusely with either
fuschia-pink or crisp white flowers in mid to late March and come in a wide variety of sizes.
The evergreen leaves can be either green or shades of purple-red.
Chang's Ruby Loropetalum has the three characteristics that I find most appealing when choosing a
Loropetalum: the leaves are a lovely deep purple-red, the flowers are bright pink and the shrub
is a compact 3-5 feet tall and wide.
Loropetalums can be used in a wide variety of gardening situations: as an informal or pruned formal hedge,
as a backdrop to a garden room, to screen an undesirable view or mixed with other shrubs in a border.
Loropetalums are so tolerant of pruning that they can be trained as an espalier (pictured against the
house below) or even pruned into meatballs, which I don't personally like (also pictured below).
Grow Chang's Ruby Loropetalum in full sun (for best color) to partial shade. Good companion plants are
almost any conifer (juniper, hinoki cypress, etc.) that has golden foliage, yellow-flowering roses and
even forsythia (which blooms at the same time).
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