Ask Alys Fowler: why hasn’t my potted myrtle flowered?

Our gardening expert has the answerI was given a common myrtle bush in a pot about a year ago. It seems to be flourishing, but has not flowered. I put bubble wrap around its base last winter and kept it outside on the steps. Myrtle (Myrtus communis), hails from hot Mediterranean hillsides and woodlands, where it survives droughts and toughs it out over exposed windy winters – or at least that’s my experience of the wild myrtle I’ve seen in Ischia, Naples.Like all Mediterranean