 Many people will tell you that if you need a fast-growing, lush-foliaged privacy shrub with beautiful blooms, you should look no further than Oleander. These plants, commonly called 'deadly beauties', are popular landscaping plants native to Europe and Asia. They can form rounded shrubs or small trees if pruned correctly, and are members of the Dogbane (Apocynaceae) family, making them relatives of Milkweed, Amsonia, Hoya, Mandevilla, Plumeria, and Vinca (Periwinkle). They grow to be quite large, up to 20 feet tall and 6-10 feet wide, and are adaptable to many different soil and climate conditions. Oleander shrubs can handle browsing from deer, costal salt spray and salty irrigation water, heat, drought, high winds, air pollution, and poor soil. They are urban landscape superstars in this way. Oleander plants, though not native to North America, have a long history here. The first Oleanders to be put in the ground were planted in 1841 in Galveston, Texas. They flourished even in the area's humidity, salty air, and alkaline soils. In the years that followed, so many plants were installed in the area that Galveston was known worldwide as 'The Oleander City'. The use of Oleanders to fill spaces typically devoid of all plant life caught on, and they quickly spread across the United States, used in home gardens as well as public spaces. In California alone, there are estimated to be around 25 million Oleander plants along highways and roadsides.
Although these landscape icons seem to be the ideal plants for almost any situation, there are a few factors to consider, including their toxicity. Oleander plants contain the toxins Oleandrin and Oleandrigenin, which are cardiac glycosides. If humans or animals ingest any part of the plant, they are met with a slew of side effects, such as weakness, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, stomach pain, and eventually death. These side effects are well-known in horticultural circles today, informed by historical accounts of their use in traditional medicine and tragedies that have occurred from uninformed use of plant parts in cooking. In Ancient Babylon, physicians used a combination of licorice and oleander to cure hangovers, and in the Middle East, the plants were used as a cancer treatment. Over the years, these plants have been cultivated for their use in relieving symptoms of ringworm, malaria, leprosy, indigestion, alcoholism, heart failure, venereal disease, and fever. It has also been used to trigger miscarriage. Sadly, it is a common drug used for suicide, mainly in the Middle East, by young children forced into marriages to much older men. Despite the toxic drawbacks of these plants, they are still commonly planted in many situations, mainly as landscape ornamentals. They are a plant-it and forget-about-it genus of plants, typically living for about 20 years before needing to be replaced. They do well even when neglected, and can form a nice evergreen privacy hedge that flowers continuously throughout the year. They can handle hard prunings, able to regenerate even if cut back to just a few feet tall. For more information on Oleander (Nerium) plants, their various forms, and cultivation information, visit the Nerium page on this website: Although these plants are fantastic for gardeners who prefer low-maintenance landscaping, their toxic qualities as well as their status as non-native plants may sway some horticulturalists away from their use. Thankfully, there are many alternatives to Oleander plants that can do just as well in the garden. Whether you're a fan of Nerium shrubs or they rub you the wrong way (sometimes literally, as they can also cause contact dermatitis), these shrubs seem to be here to stay. Do you have any experience with these shrubs? Make sure to share in the comments below.
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AuthorA Master Gardener with a love for the outdoors, gardening, self sufficiency, and the environment. Archives
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