Sheree welcome to ATP!
Okay, I'm in north central Fl. just 35 miles south of the Ga. line. How about Loropetalum? Pretty, pretty, pretty! And TOUGH!!! You never saw anything so tough! They bloom off & on all year long. The take heat that melts your face off & freezes and they are evergreen! The leaves change colors --- they can be deep green & then the leaves change to red, bronze, pink off & on throughout the entire year so the plant is always fascinating. It's like having different plants all the time. Ours face southwest and some face west. They don't get ANY shade from 10 am now but in summer it will be more like 9am until dark @ 9pm. I love these things!!!!! They're amazing! The birds love hanging out in them & we find several nests each year. They make wonderful thick hedges. Oh, BTW, I have sand - Fl. sand. Here's a link for the genus so you can browse them:
http://garden.org/plants/brows...
This is the one I have:
Chinese Witch Hazel (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum)
Those bright blooms just knock your socks off. Oh, and I have never seen any pest problems or disease problems.
