Dombeya wallichii
| Lifespan: | ⌛ | [[Lifespan::Perennial]] |
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| Origin: | ✈ | E Africa, Madagascar |
| Exposure: | ☼ | Full or part sun"Full or part sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property. |
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| Water: | ◍ | Regular/High"Regular/High" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property. |
| Features: | ✓ | Flowers, fragrance, leaves"Leaves" is not in the list (evergreen, deciduous, flowers, fragrance, edible, fruit, naturalizes, invasive, foliage, birds, ...) of allowed values for the "Features" property. |
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Dombeya > |
Dombeya wallichii, Benth. & Hook. (Astrapaea Wallichii, Lindl.) is a fast growing shrub or small tree with a very showy bloom that can be grown as a large shrub as well. As a tree it can grow to 8 m in height but can be kept smaller by trimming. The velvety leaves are evergreen, 16-20 cm long and 15-25 cm broad, with a 7-17 cm petiole. It looses its leaves in the winter only if the temperature falls below freezing. The pink flowers are fragrant and come at the beginning of the year, lasting for over 1 month. The flowers are about 3 cm across and can have bracts up to 6 cm long and 5 cm broad. They have drooping umbels, with the peduncles long and hairyCH.
Cultivation
It likes full sun, plenty of water and fertilizer during the growing season. It is a strong grower and even though it is possible to grow it in a container for many years, it will perform better in the ground.
Old flowers remain a long time, and should be removed to keep a neat appearance. Trimming should be done after the flowers are gone in the spring until mid September. It can be trimmed as far back as necessary without harming the tree.
Propagation
Dombeya wallichii can benefit from being divided as the plant develops multiple canes that have a better chance of success than those that grow out of a single trunk as with a tree.
