Oleander

Any special care required for Oleanders? How fast do they grow...........know they prefer milder climates. First one, so any info will be appreciated.

"eyes"

Oleanders can grow pretty fast. Not frost-tolerant. Lots of sun, little water once established. The California Dept. of Transportation uses them on median strips plantings that divide freeways, an 'inferno bed' if there ever was one. Note that all parts are extremely poisonous and you should never burn prunings.

Biggest problem is leaf scorch, a bacterial disease spread by the glassy-winged sharpshooter insect. Leaves turn brown and drop, the plant dies quickly. Disease is at the serious stage in Southern CA and parts of AZ and TX. No cure, altho you can try pruning out affected parts of plant, sterilizing after each cut. Sometimes they get scale, or oleander aphids. These are bright yellow with black legs. Use insecticidal soap or a good spray of water to discourage them.

They can also be trained as trees, although they will always try to sucker back into shrub shape until they mature. Colors are white, red, yellow, pink and salmon. Dwarf oleanders (only about 4-6' tall) only come in red, pink and salmon so far. There's 3 or 4 intermediate sized varieties as well. Depending on variety they can get to 20' tall and 12' wide.

Originally a Mediterranean native, they can take moderate amounts of water without rot. They tolerate poorly drained and relatively salty soils as well. You can prune to guide growth; even lop it to the ground if it gets unattractively leggy. To prevent bushiness, pull, don't cut, any unwanted suckers.

I wish I could have these, they are so pretty. Yes, jkom,51, I have seen them in the space between traffic lanes in California. Is there a white version of this that is used in regular landscaping?

Yes, there's white oleanders, although only in the larger sizes, I've haven't seen them in dwarf form yet. They don't seem to flower quite as vigorously as the colors, though.

I wish you could have my creamy one! It's planted too close to a porch and a Texas Mountain Laurel, and won't be controlled. I cut it to the ground every few years, but it always comes back with renewed determination. It has frozen a few times, and wasn't even slowed down. The blooms are a yellowish white, more white than yellow, and have a quite nice fragrance. It's just too big! And it truly doesn't flower as heavily as the red or pink ones the highway department plants along the interstate. There are a few white white ones in Austin along the freeway which do flower more heavily.

Yup, plant an oleander and you have it forever!

You'll have to dig it out of the ground to get rid of it, and that's a lot of work....

In my country, oleanders are used mainly because they need minimal care - they are extremely aggressive plants once established.

Dimitri

I have resisted the digging, as this is such rock-filled terrain, but I knew it would eventually be necessary. I might try to cut it back and dig up the suckers, then plant them along the highway fence. They do have a pleasant fragrance, and the bloom is long-lasting, so I hate to totally eliminate them. The other problem is the difficulty in getting enough water out to them until they become established. They are really causing the much nicer evergreen Texas Mountain Laurel to be deformed. Cross your fingers for me, I will try to find the energy and strength to remove it this fall or winter. Anyone wanting suckers or cuttings, speak up! There is enough to provide cuttings for most of the membership.

Hello Aimee,
Just came by and saw your post on Oleanders. I saw some beautiful ones growing in Florida this last winter, i tried to buy one but the owner assured me that it would not live any where in Michigan(even in the house?) So, off i went really wanting to have a oleander anyway!! I happened to find some of them growing at our motel and picked a few seeds and bought them home. I have three lil seedling growing now :)
I have even forgotten the color, lol
Just had to let you know i tried my luck with the seeds.
Your Friend In The Garden,
patricia

tootsie my neighbor has had an oleander for years...it spends 9 months inside and 3 out. She has grown it into a gorgeous tree. You shouldn't have any problems.

Oleanders are beautiful, and are on the decline in CA due to pests and disease, but more importantly, it if VERY toxic. This plant should not be used in areas where small children can reach it. It only takes 3 leaves to kill an adult - much less for a small child. All parts have toxic sap, so using the stems for a hot dog roasting stick is dangerous and has sent some young scouts to the hospital.

Hi katrinas,

don't be so much afraid of oleanders - they are very toxic, OK, but extremely bitter as well. We are full of oleanders here and never had an accident with them - even the goats will not touch them...

Dimitri

I moved to southwest Ga. from Calif. and I'm looking for Oleanders for my yard, I don't know if they can take the winter here tho. Phil

calif2georgia,

Try the 'Petite' Series dwarf oleanders. They are a much better behaved bunch. They grow slowly, at least they did in San Jose. They stay small enough to be covered during the winter. I have been keeping one a a pot because I read that it wouldn't survive the winter here. Lately, I've been seeing some large blooming specimens in the area mostly in sheltered parts of the yard. Mine is going in the ground as soon as I can get my husband to dig a hole.
BettyDee

Oleanders are easy to get going. I live in a very hot part of Arizona and they thrive here. There are mass plantings along highways, etc. The GM Proving Grounds have them along their privacy fences and they are huge.

Are they easy to get rooted? and how?

I want to cut mine back when they are done blooming as they are very leggy. I have single red, double off white, and double peachy pink. I love them. I just wish my red was a double red or another double of another color as the doubles are beautiful.

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

I don't know anything about oleander propagation. When I cut mine back, when I had them, the following season they were magnificent. I usually just bought more because they are fairly inexpensive. I found this on propagation. Hope it helps.

Oleander (Propagation and caring )

The best way to spread the oleander is by means of cuttings. They can be planted either in spring or in summer. The best way to do it is cutting a branch without flowers of about 15 cm and put it in the water until it produces new roots about 3 cm long. Then, we will plant it in a pot . When the plant is well rooted , what will take place in one or two seasons, we can transplant it to its definitive place. The new plants will grow very quickly, up to a point that samples propagated by means of cuttings in spring can already produce flowers in the same season.

In general it doesn't like to be repotted very frequently when full grown. In case of young plants, this can be done when the roots don't fit in the pot and escape through the inferior holes. It will be taken at the end of winter or beginning of spring.

To grow with vigor and to produce abundant flowers these plants require a quite constant pruning. After the bloom, it is very appropriate to execute an intensive pruning , so that the plant is provided with regular growth and doesn't present an ungraceful form. It is necessary also to eliminate the dry floral buds to stimulate the new ones . To trim the spring buds from time to time is a good way to prevent that the cochineals attack them.

Thank you for the information. I just wanted to root them to share. They are so beautiful to just throw away.

Sound easy enough.


Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

I have a 3 generation "heirloom" oleander. My mother took a cutting from her father's oleander in Waxahachie, TX about 30 years ago. This very vigorous offset is still growing at my father's house, despite the to-the-ground choppings he gives it yearly. I took a cutting of Mother's oleander 4 years ago, upon moving to this house.

I left it in water for what seemed to be ages! When I finally decided to toss the stick, I found roots! I potted it up, and just a few weeks later had a small oleaner growing. When spring arrived, it went into the ground, and is now several feet tall, blooming.

If we ever move, Grandpa's oleander will come with us, in some form or another.

=)

Your very welcome Sandy.

I have several oleanders they all make my winter with no cover doing great but I cannot get them to root no matter what I do. So I drive down to the border and buy a few more! The minis do not live for me past a year - only one came back from the roots. Oh well no more minis the bigger ones look burned in winter but come back fine.

I used to have oleanders but quit planting them when I found out how poisonous they were to humans and animals. I have 5 grandkids, 3 horses and 2 dogs to worry about. I still love them though.