I have one in the front of the house, in the shade and very close to an irrigation head. It's been in the ground for at least three years and is doing well.

If yours is wilting, it might not be getting enough water, but I honestly haven't planted enough of them to give you a definite answer.

Thanks Ricky, are you giving it any special fertilizer or anything like that? I thought my 3 were getting enough water. But I'll try giving it more water and see what happens.

None of the shrubs in my garden get fertilzer any more. Only the palms and tall trees and only once a year. It is planted near three large Queen Palms, so it's getting some fertilizer from them, but that's it.

I have(had) 2 medinillas growing and blooming happily under oak trees for several years, until all the rain we had with Faye. The leaves of one plant went all limp, fell off and the plant has died. I think it was from too much water around the roots when the ground was saturated. The other plant is OK so I presume it was in a better draining spot. I think that as semi-epiphytes they don't like to sit in water and they don't like to completely dry out either. By planting them in the garden, it is hard to control the water in torrential long - lasting downpours. I only use Milorganite for fertilizer and they seem to grow well with that.
If the leaves go limp due to a lack of water you may be able save it with regular irrigation but if the leaves go limp from too much water I think it will likely die.
The good news is that I have lots of little seedlings from those purple berries and am thinking of trying some other methods of culture.

Thanks Vireyafl,our lot slopes down hill to a canal so I don't think it was too much water even with all the rain. It is very fast draining. There is a sprinkler head close by but maybe two times a week was just not enough in this heat, it was planted in the spring and maybe not established enough yet.

Katkin,

Have you given it a lot of fertilizer lately? I killed one with over-fertilizeration. I read somewhere they are fertilizer sensitive.

Susan

Hi Susan, no it hasn't been fertilize in a long time, I was thinking maybe some might help. It seems like a virus or something. Starts with wilting leaves and just continues to die back to nothing. I have one stem left alive at ground level with die back at the top of that stem. Do you have it in the ground? or a pot? I was thinking nematodes?

I still have mine in a pot. I do not have the guts to put it in the ground yet.

Same here - afraid to plant it - and Katkin's experience is not encouraging. It's blooming this week. Yippee!

Thanks D'Ann and Irma, maybe I should have kept it in a pot. I have a different one that is more rare and I will keep it in a pot for sure.