Key facts at a glance

The oleander - a brief overview

• Botanical name: Nerium oleander
• Genus: Nerium
• Family: Dog poison plants (Apocynaceae)
• Popular names: rose laurel
• Origin and distribution: around the Mediterranean to India and China
• Growth habit: woody, broadly bushy shrub
• Growth height: depending on the variety between one and up to five meters
• Typical characteristics: evergreen
• Habitat: In the wild, oleander can mainly be found on the banks of rivers and streams
• Soil: on moist, low-humus, calcareous soils
• Flower: mostly simple and five-fold. But there are also double and double flowers.
• Flower colors: pink, red, purple, white, yellow
• Flowering time: if the weather permits, it will bloom continuously from May to October
• Fruits: elongated pods
• Leaves: up to 20 centimeters long, lanceolate
• Use: ornamental plant
• Toxicity: yes, all parts of the oleander are highly poisonous
• Winter hardiness: no

The Mediterranean oleander grows wild on rivers and streams

In the wild, the wild (and usually pink-blooming) oleander thrives in the immediate vicinity of rivers and streams, preferably in very sunny and warm locations. These exposed places are characterized by extreme dryness during the hot summer months and excessive wetness when the water overflows its banks and floods the bank area. The oleander has adapted perfectly to these living conditions: it survives the long dry spells problem-free by developing very long roots that reach down to the groundwater and thus sufficient for itself can supply. In addition, it is one of the few container plants that have no problems with waterlogging.

Oleander in the home garden

There Oleander not hardy and most varieties can only tolerate temperatures of down to minus five degrees Celsius for a short time, the shrub should be in In our latitudes, it is better not to plant them directly in the garden - unless you live in a region with rather mild Winters. Instead, keeping them in a bucket should be preferred, with oleanders belonging outside. They are not necessarily suitable as houseplant. The very poisonous shrub, however, needs quite a lot of care, has to be watered and fertilized regularly and a lot and is also quite susceptible to various diseases and pests.