Prized for their showy, star-shaped flowers and leathery evergreen foliage, oleanders (Nerium oleander) add year-round color and beauty to landscaping. Oleander is an upright, rounded evergreen subtropical to tropical shrub that is valued for its abundant, fragrant, summer to fall flowers. Pink, five-petaled funnel-shaped flowers in clusters (terminal cymes). Narrow, willow-like, linear-lanceolate, glossy dark green leaves (to 5” long) have distinctive midribs. May be trained as a standard. Winter hardy to USDA Zones 8-10. Grows well in average, medium moisture soils in full sun to part shade. Oleander is native to dry Mediterranean stream beds, and established plants will tolerate some drought and poor soils. Container plant for sunny decks, patios and other locations around the home. In Zones 8-10, these plants are used in a variety of landscape applications including hedges, screens, foundation plantings and borders. Oleander is toxic. All parts of the plant are poisonous.
Growing Instructions for the White Oleander
Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand, perlite or vermiculite. Put the mixture in a pot with drainage holes in the base. 2. Water the mixture so that it is moist but not wet. 3. Put the seeds on the soil. 4. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. 5. Water the seeds. 6. Place the pots in an area with warm temperatures in full sun or part shade. 7. Water them regularly so that the soil does not dry out. 8. When the seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.