Oleander (Nerium Oleander) Is An Excellent Plant For Decorating Spacious Rooms, Growing

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

The homeland of oleander, one of the ancient ornamental evergreen upright plants, is in the subtropics of the Mediterranean, where it prefers to grow along the river banks in the form of a tall shrub. No wonder the name of his genus comes from the Greek word "neros" (translated "wet", "raw").

It has tall greenish stems with narrow (up to 15-20 cm long), like a willow, linear-lanceolate leathery dark green leaves and located opposite; it is considered a fast-growing plant, reaching a height of 2-3 m. Oleander is very photophilous, so it is better to install it on the south side of a room or office space.

Special care is not required for it, but during the active growing season (from spring), when the leaf mass, shoots and flowers are formed, the oleander consumes a significant amount of nutrients, therefore it is advisable to feed it (every decade) with full fertilizer, alternating mineral and organic fertilizers …

To enhance nutrition on top of the soil in a pot or tub, you can lay a layer of mullein and cover it with peat chips. During this period, the oleander should be watered abundantly (preferably with soft water), while it should be in the pan all the time. On hot sunny days, it is useful to put water in bowls next to the plant. Air humidity does not affect the development and growth of oleander. It can be taken out into the garden or kept on an open loggia or balcony, choosing the sunniest places.

In a warm room in a sunny place, plants come out of dormancy early and sometimes bloom twice. Oleander blooms with fragrant simple or double flowers (5 cm in size) of various colors (white, pink, yellow), collected in loose whorls at the tops of the shoots. To obtain abundant oleander flowering in early spring (or very late autumn), it is recommended to prune an adult plant before growth begins: broken off, dry and weak shoots are removed, strong branches are cut off. This causes the growth of young lateral shoots, on which numerous flower buds are later laid. Sometimes during the active growing season, wilted inflorescences are cut to stimulate further flowering.

Oleander forms flowers only on the upper one-year strong shoots, therefore experts recommend cutting off the faded branches at the very root. A flowering plant can be so fragrant that its intense scent causes headaches and even dizziness. The stingy flowering of old oleander bushes occurs due to lack of nutrition and light, poor watering and lack of pruning. For the winter period, it is placed in a cool, well-lit room (6 … 10 ° C), watering is reduced, not fed.

If necessary, the plant is transplanted in the spring before flowering (young plants - annually, adults - after 2-3 years), using a mixture of high peat, turf and leafy soil (1: 1: 1) to compose the soil substrate. An adult plant with a large root system is advisable to keep in a wooden tub. Oleander can be easily propagated by stem cuttings (in spring or summer), which root well in containers with sand or water at a temperature of 18 … 25 ° C. When planting a young plant in the main place for greater bushiness, experts advise pinching the top of it. Tall oleander plants can be an excellent decorative decoration when landscaping spacious, light rooms. Moreover, they are used in single or group compositions, and large specimens are more convenient to place on stairs,terraces and balconies.

But the oleander should not be kept in living rooms where there are small children, and should not be installed in childcare facilities (nurseries, gardens, schools, etc.), since oleander wood and juice are highly poisonous (by the way, this plant is "supervised" by the sign of Scorpio). For example, animals and birds that have eaten oleander leaves die, and dead and dying flies can be found on its flowers. Oleander juice is especially dangerous. You need to be careful not to get it in your eyes, so wash your hands thoroughly after working with this plant.

With a warm winter, a scabbard appears on the plant, it is possible that its leaves are affected by spotting, and the roots - with bacterial cancer.