What kind of shrub would be good to plant at my home in South Texas?

The ground is kind of a hard and the back half of the flower bed is always in the shade. I'm looking for something that will not take a long time to grow but is easy to maintain.

What kind of shrub would be good to plant at my home in South Texas?
For hot shade, I would recommend Acuba or SHade-hardy Azaleas (some do need sun), or Nandinas or Camellias. The Camellias are everygreen with rose-like flowers in winter, the Nandinas spread a little over time unless you cut their pretty red berries off in January or February. Acuba has a cool-looking spotted leaf on most varieties. Azaleas do have a pretty spring flowering. You might still be able to grow Loropetalum, which has a blueish leaf and some magenta streamers as flowers in early spring! I am in Zone 7B and all that stuff grows great here in the heat and humidity and our soil is terrible out here too. Any of the hollies seem very robust here in the shade, so look at those, there are round leaf as well as the pointy-leaved types. Hydrangea might do well in your area, too. They do accept some pretty deep shade in our yard and still lose some branches to winter-kill, so they seem to be good for more southern locations than we have. Oh - Gardenias are pretty also - they can grow quite large and have those big jasmine-scented blooms in summer.
Reply:well if your trying to grow cannibus you cant go wrong with schwag its easy to grow however dro is better it all depends on how much u want to put in
Reply:West Texan here. We have found that Hardy hibiscus makes a great looking shrub. You can plant many side by side for a pretty hedge. Make sure they get lots of water. They usually bloom in July so don't prune them until after they bloom. Pruning even just a few inches will help them to bush out. Check with your local nursery and see if they carry this beauty:





http://springhillnursery.com/product.asp...





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Have a look at this pretty larger shrub/tree.


Arapaho Crape Myrtle, click this link:


http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Arapah...