Oleander is a perennial evergreen shrub with elongated leathery leaves, brownish stems and bright fragrant flowers. The plant is native to western China, Morocco and the tropical zones of Portugal. It is not recommended to keep African plants indoors, as they emit harmful fumes that cause dizziness and headaches.
The flower adapted for indoor conditions was grown in southern Europe. Caring for such an oleander is quite simple, but requires following certain recommendations.
Oleander or pink laurel - description, photo
The oleander is called pink laurel because its brown stems are strewn with the same dark green, leathery, pointed leaves as those of laurel.
In nature, a tree grows up to four meters. At home, an oleander bush can grow up to two meters. That is why it is recommended to keep it in spacious rooms with good lighting.
Beautiful fragrant pink laurel flowers are collected in racemes and can be single or double. In the photo in our gallery you can see plants that have yellow, red, pink and white flowers.
When growing oleander, you should be aware that the plant contains poisonous sap. Therefore, you should take care of it very carefully. It is not recommended to place the flower in the bedroom, in a room where children and pets will live, and when pruning a bush It is recommended to wear gloves, and cover your face.
But oleander can also be very useful. Experts noted that in the house where this beautiful flower has settled there is significantly less waste and toxins.
Types of oleander - photo
The plant is divided into three types:
- Common oleander.
- Indian.
- Fragrant.
In turn, the common oleander has many varieties with different flower colors. Classic plant varieties have white, yellow, red and pink color. The flowers of hybrid varieties can be huge snow-white and lush crimson, plain and variegated.
Indian and fragrant oleanders cannot boast of such a variety of varieties, however, this does not mean that there is nothing interesting in them.
For example, the Indian oleander blooms from June to October with large five-petaled, bright flowers with a sweet smell, which can be yellow, red, pink, or white. The fragrant oleander grows to only 50 centimeters and has a wonderful smell.
Oleander - care and cultivation
Pink laurel is an unpretentious plant, which even a novice gardener can grow at home.
In order for a plant to grow well and bloom luxuriantly, it needs good lighting. Windows facing southeast are best suited for this. When the flower is located on the north side or in the back of the room, the lack of light can be compensated for by artificial lighting.
In summer, it is recommended to take the oleander outside or into the loggia. In this case, the plant must be protected from precipitation and direct sunlight. In the winter season, a flower backlight required fluorescent lamps. Daylight should last eight hours, and the lamps should be located no closer than seventy centimeters from the bush.
Optimal conditions for growing oleander
Pink laurel loves moist air, stable temperatures and well-fertilized soil. Therefore, when caring for it at home, it is necessary follow some rules.
Transplanting and pruning oleander
Immediately after purchasing a plant, it is required from peat transplant into fertile substrate, which can be of several types:
- a mixture of garden soil, manure and peat;
- a mixture of humus and clay.
Young plants are replanted every spring, and adults - every two or three years.
For proper transplantation you need:
- Place a layer of drainage at the bottom of the pot, which can be gravel, expanded clay or small pebbles.
- Sprinkle a small amount of soil mixture in the second layer.
- Carefully remove the flower from the old container and place it on the substrate.
- Add the required amount of soil around the roots of the plant and at the same time press it against the roots.
After the bush is planted, it must be watered abundantly.
In order for the oleander to bloom profusely, when caring for it, do not forget that the plant requires regular pruning. This procedure is carried out immediately after flowering, and the branches should be cut to half their entire length.
Wilted petals must be removed carefully without damaging the inflorescences, which may produce repeat flowers.
Possible problems when growing oleander
Growing any plant at home, including oleander, will not always be problem-free. A flower can be destroyed by improper care or maintenance, diseases, or pests.
Therefore it is necessary study the main problems, which gardeners most often encounter when caring for indoor oleander:
With proper care and proper humidity and temperature conditions, such problems should not arise.
Oleander propagation methods
Propagate oleander at home there are three ways:
- air layering;
- cuttings;
- seeds.
Reproduction by layering
Propagation by air layering is a fairly simple and effective method. For roots to appear, you need to cut the branch, remove the bark and lower the allotted area in a container of water or into wet sand.
After the roots appear, the branch is cut off from the main plant and planted in the prepared earthen mixture.
Oleander cuttings
The plant propagates using cuttings in spring or autumn. To do this, shoots are cut from the bush, the length of which should be about 15 centimeters. For rooting, you can use cuttings left after trimming the oleander.
Cutting locations are needed treat with coal powder, and place the cuttings in a mixture of sand, perlite and charcoal.
The container with the planted cuttings should be placed in a well-lit room with a stable temperature. To prevent the cuttings from rotting, watering should be moderate.
After about a month, the shoots will give roots, and they can be transplanted into a mixture with equal proportions of peat soil, turf, sand and humus.
Propagation by seeds
Oleander seeds have low germination rate, so it is recommended to sow them immediately after collection.
Before planting, the seed material is soaked for thirty minutes in a weak solution of fungicide or potassium permanganate. After this, they should be kept for an hour in Heteroauxin solution or Zircon.
Seeds should be sown superficially in the same soil mixture in which the oleander grows. The temperature in the room where the seeds will germinate should be between 30-35C. If the temperature is lower, the seeds may rot or the emergence of seedlings will be delayed for a long time. Under favorable conditions, seedlings germinate in 10-12 days.
Caring for emerging seedlings includes:
After 4-5 true leaves appear, young oleander sprouts are planted in separate pots.
Growing and even propagating oleander at home is not at all difficult. This unpretentious plant, with proper care, will delight and surprise for a long time with its beautiful, bright and lush flowering.
Oleander reaches 3-5 m in height when grown in the garden and up to 2 m in indoor conditions. The color of the bark is light gray, and the foliage is whorled, dark green. The flowers are from 3 to 5 cm in diameter, the inflorescences are semi-umbrella-shaped in white, pink, dark red or beige. There are terry varieties. The most common type is common oleander. Other representatives include fragrant, pink, Indian, white and pink.
Oleander, flower photo:
What is indoor oleander?
It is represented by only one species – common oleander. At home, oleander grows at a rapid pace, reaching enormous sizes. It tolerates crown pruning favorably, so it does not cause inconvenience to indoor gardeners.
Homeland of the flower
It is located in a wide subtropical zone, stretching from Portugal to China. In Russia and the CIS, oleander grows in the South Coast, the Caucasian Black Sea region, Transcaucasia, and the Central Asian natural zone. In the northern parts of the globe, the plant is common as an indoor species.
Care at home and outdoors
The flower takes root well in greenhouses and winter gardens, but in apartment conditions, oleander requires especially careful and careful care.
ATTENTION!
The capricious oleander requires cool temperatures in winter and loves plenty of light.
How to care for your home oleander?
During care, it is advisable to strictly follow all the rules and regulations so that the fastidious plant grows healthy and delights with its lush flowering.
Can I keep it at home?
You can grow oleander at home, but it is recommended to maintain the required temperature - cool in winter and warm in summer, as well as give the plant a lot of light. Trimming the crown allows you to adapt the flower to the size of your home.
Lighting
Provide the plant bright place where it will receive plenty of sunshine and fresh air. Windows located on the south side are best suited. On the north side it is necessary to use additional light sources.
In winter, oleander also requires bright light. Place lamps at a distance of up to 0.7 m from the pot.
Crown formation
How to prune oleander?
The flower needs constant pruning due to its rapid growth rate. Not just cosmetic, but careful pruning is useful for him.
IMPORTANT!
Flowers bloom exclusively on young shoots of the current year.
When flowering ends, you can trim the oleander and form a crown. The shoots are shortened by half to allow new ones to grow. The plant calmly tolerates the pruning procedure.
Watering
The flower is watered abundantly almost all the time, except in winter.
It is advisable to water with settled water so that it is soft and warm - a few degrees above room temperature.
Reproduction
Oleander can be propagated either by cuttings or by air layering. The cuttings are rooted after being pre-treated with charcoal and dried. Peri-root surface sprinkled with sand to prevent the process of stem rotting.
Venation
Air layering of oleander is rooted using wet sand or a glass tube filled with water. When the roots appear, they are cut off from the mother plant and transplanted into a separate container.
Growing oleander from seeds at home
The flower pods contain seeds that can be used for planting.
REFERENCE
The seeding soil is prepared from a favorable substrate - turf soil and peat. The seeds need to be pressed to the ground, pressing lightly. Do not cover it with soil under any circumstances - the seeds need the rays of the sun. Sprouts appear in the second month after sowing!
Landing
To plant oleander, prepare heavy loamy soil. Make the soil composition in equal parts, using peat, sand, humus and turf soil. The mixture can be replaced with a purchased one by adding sand to it.
Transfer
Young oleanders need to be replanted annually, and adults every 3 years. Transplantation is carried out after the roots entwine the earthen ball. Favorable time - late spring - early summer. It is advisable to shorten old roots by treating the cut areas with charcoal.
Outdoor care
Oleander grows beautifully in the garden, blooming magnificently with gorgeous flowers in yellow, white, pink, and red colors.
The plant grows quickly on the sunny side, but is absolutely intolerant to the shady side.
Minimal care required:
- The shrub tolerates dry periods well if it is well watered. You also can’t overdo it, otherwise the leaves will turn yellow;
- In spring it is advisable to feed with complex fertilizer;
- Periodic shaping of the crown by pruning will help give the plant the desired shape, and it is also useful for getting rid of damaged branches.
Growing from seeds in open ground
Remember that oleander seeds cannot remain viable for a long time. It's better to sow them immediately after ripening so that sprouts appear as soon as possible. Before sowing, soak the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Sow in moist soil, sprinkled with a thin layer of soil. The soil mixture is prepared with the addition of peat and sand.
How to cover an oleander for the winter?
It is most convenient to cover the trimmed plant. Use film as insulation. The bush can be covered completely, and the trunk of the tree is wrapped.
Diseases and pests
Oleander is hardy and well adaptable to almost any conditions. The pests that plague him include:
- scale insect;
- mealyworm;
- spider mite
To combat them, insecticides or traditional methods are used.
What to do if the oleander does not bloom?
If the plant is not pruned by removing the tips of old shoots, it will not bloom because flowers form only on young shoots.
Form the crown more often for lush flowering of the shrub.
Other reasons may be lack of moisture or nutrients. Water the plant in the required amount and do not forget to feed it with fertilizers, especially if the soil is infertile.
Why did the oleander leaves turn faded?
Most likely, the oleander does not have enough light. The shadow is extremely destructive for it; photosynthesis processes are disrupted. If it is not possible to replant, try to increase the access of sunlight to the shrub.
Watch how flower growers solve problems with oleander in this video:
What to do if the oleander loses its leaves?
This is a signal that the plant is in a draft or does not have enough light. Increase the access of light to it and try to protect it from drafts. The amount of light must be increased gradually so as not to injure the flower.
Benefits and harms
Houseplant lovers are rightly concerned about whether the oleander is poisonous or not.
Oleander poisonous, but this does not prevent it from having healing properties. When caring for a shrub, follow safety rules, and it will not cause you harm.
ATTENTION!
Follow safety precautions when having this shrub in your home or garden:
- do not grow a flower if you have small children, because all its parts contain poisonous juice;
- When forming the crown, take care of your eyes and lips, it is better to wear safety glasses or a mask;
- When you finish working with the plant, wash your hands thoroughly;
- do not place a pot with a flower in the bedroom - you cannot inhale its aroma for a long time, which is also dangerous;
- Do not let the poison get on wounds or scratches.
Among the medicinal properties, the content is distinguished cardiac glycosides, which, when added to medications, stimulate normal blood circulation and heart function in general.
The main thing is to be able to handle the plant correctly.
When purchasing an oleander, remember that the plant loves care and attentive care.
Grow it and enjoy luxurious flowering!
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The oleander plant (pink laurel) is an evergreen perennial with brown stems, fleshy leaves and beautiful flowers. The homeland of this culture is the Portuguese tropics, Morocco and western China. Flower growers do not recommend keeping African varieties indoors, as they can harm health with their fumes, causing headaches and dizziness.
general information
In its natural environment, the shrub reaches 4 meters in height. In houses its height does not exceed 2 meters. Therefore, it is advisable to grow the plant in spacious and well-lit rooms.
The attractive flowers of the common oleander form racemose inflorescences and can be double or single. Their colors can be white, pink, red or yellow.
If you follow these rules, you can grow a healthy plant indoors. The white oleander flower will fit perfectly into any design.
Replanting and pruning
After purchasing the crop, it must be placed in a fertile soil mixture. To do this, you can use a mixture of clay and humus or a composition based on peat, manure and garden soil.
Young plants need to be replanted at the beginning of each spring. Adult flowers require replanting every 2-3 years. Plant transplantation is carried out according to the following scheme:
Then the seedling needs to be moistened abundantly. To achieve lush flowering, the plant must be pruned regularly. This procedure is performed after flowering. Branches need to be cut to ½ of their length.
Flower growers with extensive experience advise cutting off weak shoots from the plant every year. This will free up space for new shoots, and the bush at the bottom will not be exposed. Drying petals must be trimmed very carefully without damaging the inflorescences.
Possible problems
You can control pests with the help of insecticides. If you provide the plant with proper care, it will delight you with flowering every year.
Reproduction methods
The crop is propagated by seeds, cuttings or air layering. The last method is the simplest and most effective. In order for roots to appear, you need to make an incision on a healthy branch, remove the bark from it and lightly press it into moistened sand or into a vessel with water. After roots appear on the branch, the branch is cut off from the parent crop and transplanted into a separate pot.
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Oleander is an ornamental perennial shrub that belongs to the Kutraceae family.. There are many different legends associated with Oleander. According to one of them, the ancient warriors cooked dinner on the long and smooth rods of this plant, and the next morning none of them woke up. The poisonous oleander plant can often be found in homes and public institutions. This vegetation blooms beautifully, so it becomes a unique decoration for any interior. Few people know that all parts of this flower are poisonous, and this property is preserved even in dried raw materials.
Plant characteristics
Common oleander can look like a tree, up to 4 meters high, but most often it is large bushes with shoots coming from the very root. This evergreen plant, during the period when it does not bloom, resembles young willow shoots. The bark on the shoots is woody, brown or dark olive in color.
Indoor oleander can reach a height of 2 meters. Such a large indoor flower requires a large tub, not a flower pot. This plant grows quite quickly, and with proper pruning, in a short time the lush bush begins to bloom, delighting household members and guests with its color.
The plant has large dark green leaves, attached to the stems in groups of 3 using petioles. Oleander comes in white, yellow and even red, but the most common color is pink. The smell of the flower is very pleasant and unusual.
Oleander is considered a very poisonous plant; absolutely all parts of this flower contain toxic substances - glycosides, oleandrin and ineriin.
Indoor oleander lives no more than 15 years, but with constant replanting and rejuvenation of the plant, the life period can be significantly increased.
In what cases is oleander poisoning possible?
Poisoning with this beautiful indoor flower often occurs due to ignorance. This is how you can get hurt in the following cases:
- accidental consumption of plant parts. This often happens with young children who, due to natural curiosity, put everything in their mouth;
- with improper care of the plant. If the juice gets on your hands, and then the person puts your hands in your mouth or picks up food with dirty hands.
In addition, all the symptoms of intoxication can appear even if the tub is in a small room and there are already flowers on the plant. The cloying sweet smell can lead to persistent headaches, confusion and blurred vision..
It is worth remembering that severe poisoning can occur even if you chew just a couple of oleander leaves.
Signs of poisoning
The poisonous oleander flower, if accidentally ingested, causes the following symptoms of intoxication of the body:
- The person is bothered by severe nausea, which almost always ends in profuse vomiting.
- The heartbeat slows down and the person becomes short of breath.
- The victim's consciousness is confused, and delirium is sometimes observed.
- Vision and hearing noticeably deteriorate.
Poisoning of this type is especially severe in young children., who have weak immunity and the digestive organs and nervous system are not yet fully formed.
If a person who has eaten parts of the oleander becomes worse every minute, it is necessary to urgently call a doctor.
First aid
To avoid serious consequences, it is necessary for the victim to quickly provide first aid, which is provided according to the following algorithm:
- Rinse the stomach. For this purpose, it is better to use boiled, cooled water to which activated carbon powder or potassium permanganate has been added. The procedure is carried out until the water leaving the stomach becomes clear.
- The patient is given any adsorbents.
- Before the doctor arrives, the victim is given plenty to drink and his condition is monitored.
People prone to allergic reactions may have angioedema, so they are immediately given antihistamines.
In any case, it is advisable to show the victim to a doctor, as late complications may arise.. If a child has been poisoned and the doctor insists on his hospitalization, then you should not refuse; the baby must be constantly under the control of medical workers.
If the juice gets on the skin or mucous membranes, they are washed with a large volume of running water.
You should not rinse the stomach of young children at home, as this can lead to severe dehydration.
Useful properties of the plant
To the question whether oleander is poisonous or not, you can give the exact answer that the plant is poisonous. However, despite its strong toxicity, oleander plant materials are used for the preparation of cardiac drugs, which include cornerin and neriolin.
In addition, oleander has a pronounced antimicrobial effect; in the room where the tub with the flower is located, the number of pathogenic microbes, especially E. coli and staphylococci, is significantly reduced.
Oleander is a flower with strong energy, so it is advisable to place it in the offices of large companies where important issues are resolved.
How to prevent poisoning
To prevent oleander poisoning, you should follow simple rules:
- It is not advisable to place this flower in children's rooms, or in a place accessible to small children..
- When caring for poisonous vegetation, you need to wear gloves; after trimming or replanting a flower, be sure to wash your hands with soap and running water.
- You should not place a tub with this plant in small rooms where there is no proper ventilation.
Oleander will undoubtedly decorate any home, but do not forget that the plant is very poisonous and can greatly harm your health. If you follow all the care rules, the oleander will please the eye and bring aesthetic pleasure.
