This Oleander Planting and Care Guide will tell you everything you need, from where to position them, to how much watering they will require. It will also cover any problems you might encounter along the way.
Planting your 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 conductive to good flowering. Whereas in more recent summers, which have has 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 our Blooming Fast Superior Soluble Fertiliser for Flowers & Fruit. 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
Some websites report Oleander to be very toxic. Many common garden plants are very toxic too if ingested, like daffodil bulbs, foxgloves, and poinsettia. The truth is, 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 and pets may come into contact with the plants
