Jennifer, I find that most brom's need good light to bring out the best foliage colour. The best plants I have found for shady areas are Nidulariums; they grow well and there is a good variety of different coloured foliage even variegated ones as well. The coloured bracts last for ages, but alas they won't satisfy the height requirement you seek. I guess you just can't have the best of both worlds.

All the best, Nev.

I haven't visited since my last post and have only just seen your question chinchette, however my friend HDD seems to have answered you question anyway.

Generally speaking I have found where I live here in Australian that there is a brom for every situation; from plants such as Ae. Recurvata which will tolerate full summer sun without burning right through to Nidulariums which do well in shady areas. As HDD says, morning sun is good; this is because you have sufficient light to promote the colour without the heat which causes burning in some of the more heat sensitive plants.

The Recurvata plants in the pic below get full uninterrupted sun from about 11.00am in the morning right through to 4.30 in the afternoon which is the hottest part of the day. As well as this they have the reflection from a white weatherboard house as well as the heat reflected from the surrounding paving, and still suffer no heat damage. So I guess it's just a matter of selecting the correct plant for the particular area.

On the other hand these plants are growing in a shadier area of the yard beneath 75% green shade cloth. This picture was taken during winter and the colour isn't as good as it is later in the year, but they still do well under these conditions as well.

All the best, Nev.