O is for…or is it N?….

That shrub/bush/plant I was talking about cutting back on Monday is called

Oleander aka nerium Oleander

Nerium oleander is a woody perennial, shrub that can be trained into a small tree in the early stages of growth. The trunk is smooth, grey in colour while the branches are semi-rubbery and pliable.
Five-petal flowers of the straight species bloom in shades of white, yellow, pink and red source

It’s a plant that is grown all over the world
There is even an International Society dedicated to all things Oleander
http://oleander.org

A page on their site covers the (known) history of the plant
a little on the long side but it makes really interesting reading
http://oleander.org/from-whence/

If you live anywhere near Galveston Texas – April is Oleander month there
the International Society is organising their Oleander and Garden Festival
on Saturday 29th April 2023. Hopefully the weather will be kind for them.
~ ~ ~ ~

The Oleander is one of the easiest plants to grow in Melbourne
In fact it seems to grow well all over Australia
It’s one of those pop in the ground and forget things
There are several of them growing along that paling fence
down the side of the driveway.
The pink flowers make a great contrast with the blue Agapanthus
when they flower simultaneously
These ones grow tall and bushy – but there are dwarf varieties as well

They are easy to keep in check
Growing too far in one direction – just give it a short back and sides
I even chopped them almost to ground level once
so we could have some work done nearby
Within a short while they had shot up and were lovely and bushy again

The sap plus most of the plant reputed to be poisonous

Don’t test the theory

Use gloves or wash your hands to be on the safe side

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/shrub/oleander/

https://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/in-the-garden/flowering-plants-shrubs/dwarf-oleander/

11 Replies to “O is for…or is it N?….”

Don’t burn oleander, the vapor given off from the smoke can also kill you. These plants are all along the freeways in California and along roadways in many rural areas, delineating farms.

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Femme fatale! Beautiful, but dangerous! 🙂

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Thanks for the explanation. I’m not familiar with oleander.

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They are lovely to look at but hubby can’t go near one without breaking out in a rash

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They’re so pretty. And so forgiving.
They do look awesome with the agapanthus

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I never grew them in any of our gardens but they are such good value, being very very hardy.

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Even the smoke (from burning the wood) is poisonous. Don’t burn the prunings in the bbq…..

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Gorgeous blooms. I like plants that are not temperamental.

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my home town of Savannah Georgia USA has these bushes every where, they line the streets and the parks at the beaches. People have been known to get very ill by picking them, burning them etc.. they are beautiful. they also require picking off creepy catapillars to keep them from dying.

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