Planting Oleander

To ensure your Oleander has the best chance of flowering, position them in the hottest and sunniest part of your garden. This is because they are from much sunnier, hotter and drier climate than ours here in the UK. Weather will play a huge factor – cool and wet summers are not conducive to good flowering. Whereas in more recent summers, which have had long periods of hot weather, these plants have been smothered in flowers.

Feed and water them well in summer – all their growth will be between May and October. Whilst they are very drought tolerant, surviving long periods without water, they will thrive if well fed and watered. They also need to have the right nutrients in order to thrive. Use a good quality general purpose fertiliser in spring – such as Blooming Fast Superior Soluble Fertiliser. Then once the buds appear in early summer, use a high potash feed like tomato feed, to encourage flowering.

When planted in well-drained soil, Oleander’s can take short exposure to temperatures as low as -5°C. However, in winter they do not really grow much, so our advice is to move them.

Caring for your Oleander

Oleander is reported to be toxic, as are many common garden plants if ingested, like daffodil bulbs, foxgloves, and poinsettia. The truth is that to come to serious harm, the amount of leaves needed to be eaten is a lot, and the amount of contact with sap extreme. There have been no reported incidents in the UK or Spain on nurseries, where people are in direct contact with Oleander plants on a daily basis. The advice we give is:

• Wear gloves when handling plants
• No need to trim or prune your Oleander
• Avoid places where young children/pets may come into contact with the plants

Winter protection and hardiness

Protecting exotic plants over winter is important in cold winters. Move potted plants to a greenhouse, garage or conservatory until the frosts have passed. In most cases, over-wintering them somewhere with little light will not harm your plants – just make sure they don’t dry out. You could even move pots to the sunniest spots in winter.

If you are growing plants in the ground, cover with Fleece Covers and mulch over the ground to add extra protection. The more established a plant is, the more likely it is to survive harsher weather, so take extra care in the first few years.

A number of factors will affect hardiness – the age of the plant, moisture, or how recently it was planted.

Many plants survive short exposure to a given “Hardy To” temperature – below this they will die. If exposed to prolonged low temperatures around or below 0°C, the plant will also deteriorate. Additionally, if the soil/compost is waterlogged, many plants will also struggle. This is often more important than the temperature. That said, these plants are all known to thrive in the UK if well looked-after and will become more tolerant over the coming years as they establish.

Leaf Drop On Oleander – Reasons For Oleander Dropping Leaves

Oleander plants are drought tolerant, old-fashioned southern garden gems. These toxic beauties produce breathtaking floral displays and are easy to maintain. There are several possible reasons for an oleander dropping leaves. If leaf drop is combined with yellowing, damaged foliage, signs of insects or other issues, it is easier to narrow down the causes. Cultural conditions, pests, disease and even herbicide drift can all cause oleander leaf drop. Read on for some possible causes and solutions to leaf drop on oleander.

Cultural Causes of Oleander Leaf Drop

Oleanders are more common in warm regions but can withstand winters in temperate zones.  and have remarkable drought tolerance once established. The best blooms come from plants in full sun and well-drained soil with average water application. If you are providing these conditions and still wondering, “Why is my oleander losing leaves,” we may be able to provide some answers.

Too much water and too little water can cause yellowing leaves and leaf drop. In the summer, water the bushes 1 to 2 times per week, deeply. Make sure your plant is in well-draining soil. Soggy roots can be a cause of leaf drop on oleander.

Oleanders don’t need a lot of fertiliser, but in poor soils or in containers where nutrients are limited, apply a balanced food in spring to perk up your plants.

Oleanders have extensive root masses but where planted with other competitive plants they can begin to get sickly and foliage can suffer. Move the bushes if they are sited too closely to a large tree or in an area with binding, thick growth at the root zone.

Oleander Dropping Yellow Leaves from Pests

One of the most common causes of many plant ills are insect pests. If you see your oleander dropping yellow leaves, it could be a sign of a pest invasion. These tiny invaders can do a lot of damage with their feeding activity. Sucking insects are particularly bad, and they are most active in hot weather. A species of aphid and one of scale are particular to oleander.

If you can’t spot the aphids, look for sticky honeydew or sooty mildew on the leaves. Both are a sign of their presence, as are ants, who feed on the sweet honeydew. Heavy infestations can be blasted off with water or you can use a horticultural oil spray.

Scale will appear as whitish bumps on the stems of the plant and can also be combated with horticultural oil applied 3 times over the course of 6 weeks.

How to Transplant an Oleander Bush

Moving oleander shrubs is a matter of using common sense and a shovel at the same time. The first step in oleander transplanting is to give the shrub a long drink of water. Do this 48 hours before you intend to move it.

While you are doing the transplant, keep in mind that oleander leaves can irritate your skin. Pull on garden gloves, then tie up the lower branches of the shrubs to make sure they don’t get snapped in the process.

Before you begin moving oleander shrubs, prepare a new planting hole for each transplant. Remove all weeds from the new area and dig a planting hole 12 or 15 inches (30 to 38 cm.) deep and about twice that wide.

Dig around the shrub, digging a trench the same depth as the planting hole. Work the roots free, then lift the plant’s root ball from the soil. Trim any damaged roots, then place the root ball in its new hole at the same level it grew previously.

The next step in oleander transplanting is to fill the hole around the root ball about halfway with the soil you removed. Next, add water to settle the soil. Finish filling up the hole with compost and then water again.

Add 3 inches (7.5 cm.) of mulch over the root area, keeping it at least 4 inches (10 cm.) from the plant’s trunk. Release the lower branches. Water regularly for the plant’s first year in its new site.

Oleander not flowering (aborted buds)

Oleanders are Mediterranean plants and thus require hot dry weather conditions in order to flower. They will commonly respond to wet weather by ‘aborting’ their flower buds.

In this case, we would recommend pruning back any of the aborted growth to the nearest green ‘node’ (ie. the knuckle where 2 stems are joined) to help the flowers come back with more vigour next year.

The following tips will help you get the most out of your Oleander next season:

Oleanders need full sun to bloom properly.

Oleanders can have large root structures, if they do not have enough space they can compete for nutrients, causing weak or no blooms.

While mature oleander shrubs are drought tolerant, all oleanders need adequate water during their bloom time or the oleander will not bloom. From early summer to fall, water your oleander well once a week. A stressed oleander will not bloom.

They also need well-drained soil, so relocate the shrub if puddles form under it during rainstorms.

Deadhead the flower clusters when they begin dying. This extends the flowering period and prevents the oleander from forming unattractive seed heads. Cut the stem tips off with pruning shears right after removing the flowers to encourage new branch growth and possibly new flower clusters.

Oleanders toxicity

Oleander sap is toxic, as are many other common garden plants if ingested, like daffodil bulbs, foxgloves, and poinsettia. The truth is that to come to serious harm, the amount of leaves needed to be eaten is a lot, and the amount of contact with sap extreme – so with basic common sense and plant care, there really is no need to worry.

We have sold this plant for a number of years (literally millions of plants) and there has not been a single instance of poisoning on our nursery, or on those of our many growers in Spain – all of whom handle the plants regularly with bare hands – let alone any cases of members of the public being harmed by this plant.

The advice we give is:

• Wear gloves when handling plants

• No need to trim or prune your Oleander

• Avoid places where young children/pets may come into contact with the plants if you think they may eat the leaves

No fragrance 

As I’m sure you’ll appreciate, there are a host of factors affecting how much fragrance you can smell. This depends on the weather (wet weather will suppress the smell), neighbouring plants in the garden and – as obvious as it may sound – how close you’re standing. The smell isn’t as potent as something like a Honeysuckle, which can be smelt from several yards away; it’s more of a light fragrance Of course, if you have had Covid, this can also affect your ability to smell the scent.

Smell is largely subjective, but we can certainly smell the Oleanders on the nursery – hence the description.