It’s an ability to spring pleasant surprises that makes Loropetalum ‘China Pink’ such an appealing small shrub. The foliage is a classy, burgundy wine shade, made all the more appealing by the brighter, lighter colouring of the new leaves. In spring there are small flowers on the tips of the dainty branches. They are a pretty pink colour - hence the name, ‘China Pink’.
The habit of growth is another very appealing characteristic of this great little shrub. It grows in a tiered manner, so each layer of fan shaped branches builds up on top of the other. In time it reaches a height of up to a metre, but this takes a while and it can be kept lower if required by a little light trimming.
This cold hardy shrub is easy to grow providing it has a reasonably good soil. It grows happily in partial shade, say a few hours of sunshine at most, or in an open, sunny spot. Its dense growth will smother most weeds and when planted in a bold group of at least three plants it makes a most effective low maintenance planting as well as a stunning, all year round visual feature.
It also makes a memorable container subject, the growth spreading wide over the edge of a large pot in dramatic style.
In the garden, Loropetalum ‘China Pink’ is a delight either on its own or combined with other wine or chocolate coloured foliage plants such as Cordyline ‘Red Fountain’, a most impressive NZ cabbage tree with slender, burgundy-red, weeping foliage, or the hardy perennial Ligularia ‘Britt Marie Crawford’, the big leaves of which look as if they have been sculpted from bronze.
Try it with golds and greens too. Just imagine how appealing it is with the new, dwarf Euphorbia ‘Kea’, which is a mixture of lime and emerald green tonings over most of the year. Another intriguing combination is with low growing native Coprosmas, including the very new ‘Autumn Haze’, which has yellow and green foliage with hints of orange, .
Or for something a little different, mix it with blue flowers such as ground covering Lithodora ‘Grace Ward’ or the long flowering little kingfisher daisy, Felicia ‘Blue Jay’.
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Schemes & Themes
using Liddle Wonder Plants