Not well :-) This is one of those plants that would benefit from hotter summers than the PNW typically enjoys. The lack of heat seems to allow insufficient ripening of the stems to be able to withstand our winters easily. Best results (and these come with NO guarantee!) will be obtained from siting the plant in very well-draining soil and where it receives some reflected heat -- against a south or west facing wall, adjacent to a concrete walkway, etc.

FWIW, the longest I've heard of a loropetalum surviving here is about 2 winters :-) YMMV

I thought the question was about Chinonanthus retusus. Yes, the Loropetalum is a hot climate thing that dies back in our area. Other posters, from the southeast US have claimed it was hardy in USDA 7. Hotter summers ripening growth might account for this, but I wonder if such claims were ever based on long-term observation.

Commercial sources, of course, wanting to sell as much stock over as wide an area as possible have also designated the shrub as hardy to USDA 7. Doubtless this was based on actual hardiness to about 10 degrees F. In other words, more like a USDA 9 plant.

Due to this optimistic zoning problem with nursery stock a good general practice, when and until knowing otherwise is to assume a plant being considered is hardy to the top of the average annual minimum temperature range assigned to a hardiness zone by the USDA. So supposed Zone 7 plants will start to be damaged around 10F, "Zone 8" around 20, and so on. I even see some plants growers call hardy to Zone 6 getting nailed some years here.

"unless and until knowing otherwise"

...I've seen is/was on a sunny slope in Kubota Gardens. Much bigger and older than a 2-year-old specimen. But not without signs of frost injury or other cause for dying back of some small branches.

Have not seen how it fared this past winter.

Chionanthus

Sure would be nice if posts here could be edited after they are put up.

Thanks. Just saw the replies today � for some reason I didn't get any email notifications!