Re: Oleander Hardiness

Even here in San Francisco Nerium isn't exactly
satisfactory. They don't bloom much except during warm
spells. 10-20 miles inland they're glorious.
Jason Dewees

--- tim.longville@BTinternet.com wrote:

> It isn't just winter minimum temperatures, of
> course, which account for hardiness or lack of.
> Winter minima here on the Solway Firth in N.W.
> England rarely dip below -3C and then only for a few
> hours during an occasional night or two - but I
> can't grow oleander in the ground. Why? My guess is
> a combination of (a) summer temperatures too low to
> harden the old wood thoroughly, (b) my soil
> naturally too rich and moisture-retentive (I'm too
> old and idle now to play around with modifying it to
> any great extent), (c) too much year-round rain.
> Indeed for years I struggled to get oleanders to
> flower well even when wintered under glass as a pot
> plant then hauled outside to flower in summer. I've
> now given up the struggle. And passed my plants on
> to a friend with friendlier conditions - steep
> south-facing slope, well-drained low-nutrient soil -
> oh, and including as a last resort a vast Victorian
> orangery. You could almost hear the poor brutes
> saying, 'Yes! At last! That's what
>  neriums like!'
>    
>   Tim Longville 
>
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