Way back in 2014, when this blog was still relatively young and life seemed so much simpler in general, I wrote about my Dombeya rotundifolia that I had purchased on a whim. I loved this tender shrub very much. I looked after it carefully all year and when it flowered I thought my heart would burst with happiness.
Dear Reader, I killed the Dombeya. I bought a special fleecy jacket to keep it protected over the winter but it did not protect it enough. There it was, the following Spring, deader than dead.
oh dear.
Thankfully, as is often my habit, I had successfully taken a contingency cutting so at least I still had the plant.
Fast forward, slowly, year by year to now. Every winter I bring the shrub indoors. It is not a small shrub and I have had to prune it to still get it into the house. It is also a shrub that is very sensitive to getting dry. It droops very quickly and looks quite sad. But it has now become a good sizeable shrub with enormous leaves.
and then a bud developed.
and I watched it and held my breath
and then it was open. The scent from this flower is like vanilla ice cream. It is wonderful.
and yes, I have taken some more contingency cuttings.
