Has my oleander frozen or dried up?

After the winter it happens very often that the oleander (Nerium oleander) shows drought damage. Read here how you can tell if the oleander bush has frozen and how you can save it.

Recognize frozen & dried up oleanders

You can tell whether the oleander is frozen or dried up by its appearance: The leaves lose their green, turn yellow or become yellow. brownish-gray and limp. It is also typical that it does not form any new leaves on the affected shoots.

Why does oleander dry up?

Damage caused by drought can usually be traced back to incorrect watering in winter, with too little watering very often. However, oleander needs regular watering even during the winter. How often and how much the shrub has to be watered depends, among other things, on the temperature in the winter quarters: the warmer the shrub is, the more water it needs. If the oleander appears dried out despite regular watering, it is possible that it is sick with Ascochyta dry rot:

• typical fungal disease
• first individual parts of the plant die off, later the whole plant
• mostly after overwintering, but also possible during the growing season
• in the event of an infestation: vigorous pruning into the healthy wood

Note: Unfortunately, if the roots are attacked by the fungus, the shrub cannot be saved. Do not dispose of it on the compost, but in household or organic waste.

Oleander has frozen to death

Very often a dry appearance can also be traced back to frost damage. Since the oleander originally comes from the Mediterranean area, it does not tolerate very cold winters in local regions so well. It can cope with temperatures as low as -5 degrees Celsius for a short period of time, but in the long term, freezing temperatures damage the shrub.

• first leaves freeze to death, then pointers, branches and trunk
• affected leaves dry up and turn brown
• frozen shoots turn grayish green
• if the roots are frozen, dispose of the oleander

Saving frozen oleanders

The oleander usually recovers from slight frost damage. The same applies if only a few sheets or Shoots have dried up. Water the shrub gently, then wait a few days. Ideally, its appearance improves: the leaves are no longer so limp and may even look a little greener. It looks bad if there is little or no improvement. In this case, it is best to cut back the shrub vigorously:

• Remove frozen parts of the plant
• then root pruning: remove all brown roots
• Repot the oleander
• put in a new substrate
• Slow release fertilizer (e.g. Mix in compost

Tip: To see if the oleander is still alive, take a vitality test. Carefully scratch some shoots and check the color: if the shoots are green, the shrub is still alive. Are they brown or brown-black, the oleander has died and is irretrievably lost.

Protect oleanders from frost

To prevent the shrub from freezing and drying out, protect it adequately from the cold and frost. It is best to overwinter potted plants in frost-free winter quarters, such as in an unheated winter garden or cold greenhouse. It is important that the room is bright and that the temperatures are between 2 and 10 degrees Celsius. To overwinter the oleander outdoors, meet the following Frost protection-Precautions:

• in the bed: protect the root area with leaves and brushwood
• Protect above-ground parts of the plant with fleece
• Place potted plants on a styrofoam or wooden board
• Protect the vessel with bubble wrap or coconut mat

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