Fetterbush, Shiny Lyonia

This is a truly gorgeous shrub, with a nice weeping habit in its branches, yet strongly upright overall growth. If you had never seen it...Read More and someone presented it to you, you'd think it was some rare species endemic to a quaint Pacific island or African jungle, but nope, it's native to the forests of the good ol' Southeastern U.S. I believe I once read that it's related to the genera Vaccinium (blueberry / cranberry) and Agarista (hobblebush), hence the similar leaves and white / pink, bell-like flowers. I'm giving this plant a positive rating here even though my first one (obtained and planted 3 years ago) died. I think it did so because I had it in deep shade. So I just got another (these are extremely hard to find for sale, by the way) and planted it under the same Live Oak, but in a position where it will get full morning sun, followed by shade the rest of the day. If you want the one and only place in the southeastern quadrant of Louisiana that I know of to buy a Lyonia lucida, contact me privately, as I don't think I'm allowed to say it publicly in a review. But it's a place that starts with H. It's criminal that every nursery in the state doesn't sell it.

Note: The photo by LGramlich looks the most like mine.

P.S. I also have fellow Southeastern native Lyonia ferruginea, but that's a less beautiful shrub with rough leaves, and it needs full sun and relatively dry soil.