japanes tattoo Blogger: Oleander

In my last post, I spoke about xylosma and mentioned oleander. If you've never heard about oleander, then I encourage you to ask people about this controversial plant. But no matter what people will say, there is no denying that this plant is seen in landscapes across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and many other states. It's an aggressive plant that is green and lush which originates from the Mediterranean. It thrives from neglect and harsh sun. Without a doubt, if given FULL sun, this plant will not fail and grow to large heights and block out your gawking neighbors. It's also root invasive so keep it away from the foundations of homes and other structures. Once established, this plant is almost a weed and can be invasive. The plant can also put seed out this time of year and randomly pop up in your yard somewhere. So what should you know about oleander? Let me start with the pros and then go into cons....

Pros

Green green green and lush
Pretty flowers in spring
Blocks noise and annoying neighbors
Makes a GREAT natural screen...if you don't want a fence, plant oleander instead
They are extremely low maintenance once established in FULL sun
Don't put this plant in shade as it will look leggy
It can take some abuse and loves pruning! In fact, this is a great plant to experiment on when you begin learning how to prune plants. Don't prune in winter. Wait until the second week of March
Nice hedge to use in repetition
Beautiful flowers in spring/and a lot of color varieties
It's also attractive to a certain Oleander Caterpillar

Cons

Root invasive
Poisoness leaves and stems; wear gloves
While it does lose leaves, winter can make the plant look shabby and leaves will look burned
Can destroy foundations with its' invasive roots
Overused in the desert landscape
Affected in some parts like Phoenix and California by Oleander Leaf Scorch...more on this on tomorrow's blog. It's a huge concern for California and several states near California