Plant in full sun to part shade and irrigate occasionally. Cold hardy to 20-25° F. This attractive shrub takes a hard pruning if needed and can be kept as narrow espaliered specimen that adds a tropical feel to the garden

Dombeya elegans as described by the French botanist Eugène Jacob de Cordemoy in 1895 hails from the Island of Reunion in the Mascarene Islands but another plant described using thus same name by the German botanist Karl Moritz Schumann in 1900 is considered a nomen illegitimum (illegitimate name) for the South African Dombeya tiliacea. The name for the genus honors Joseph Dombey, an 18th-century French botanist and the specific epithet is the Latin word meaning "elegant", "fine" or "handsome", all fitting descriptions of this plant.

We received this plant as Dombeya elegans San Gabriel Nursery in 2007 and we have grown it under this name since then but note that it is similar to the Dombeya burgessiae cultivar 'Seminole', a USDA introduction in 1973. There is a nice plant of Dombeya elegans in the courtyard at Madame Ganna Walska Lotusland that is planted along a north facing wall and blooms well while only getting mostly indirect sun in winter. 

The information displayed on this page about Dombeya elegans is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.