Re: Oleander Hardiness

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
Consider that Oleander is native to the Arabian Peninsula and you'll understand it better. It grows and blooms beautifully in the highway traffic barriers in California, thrives in drought and loves heat. I expect desert nights are cold as well. It does withstand winter rains but good drainage is essential.

Maria Guzman

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