I bought 10 of these plants from a local market on the weekend and planted them out to form a hedge behind a picket fence. They look great! They were $2 for each 30cm plant so I was happy.
But when I looked in my local garden book it said they're sensitive to frost. And searches on the net seem to have mixed reports. Apparently they're a tropical/sub tropical plant? But my mum swears they do well where she lives (very hot and dry). So now I'm confused!
At that price I'm prepared to dig them up and give them to my mum to save wasting water on them over the summer only to have them die when winter comes.
I live in the Adelaide Hills and we get mild frosts. Heavy frosts are rare. It is VERY cold and wet in winter though. Think Canberra but not as cold.
WDYT? Are these plants a mistake? I think I liked the price more so than how suitable they are. Another option I'd considered was choysia and escallonia. We just require a small amount of hedging, 2m high, to contrast and add privacy to a picket fence. And we have 30+ metres of photinia robusta already so I wanted to plant something in contrast.