Oleander

It's looking good. I know some varieties have an incredible fragrance...some just like plumeria (which is in the same family)

Mine has almost died off Maureen ,I love the scent !

Amy,

Hopefully, you're not getting the Oleander blight there. We have the Oleander blight here. There's so many, many millions of these shrubs/trees here...and many are dying. Luckily, the 40 miles stretch of Oleanders along the 5 freeway haven't been hit yet; however, there's evidence everywhere of this blight.

My neighbor's 50+ year old beautiful white and pink Oleanders died a few years ago.

I don't think so Delonix the flowers have bloomed and look to be dying off naturally , the plant its self looks healthy ,I'll keep checking on it , thanks for the warning , What a shame about your neighbours imagine having one for 50 years ,I've only had mine 3 !

Amy:

You're lucky...maybe the blight is not in the UK. Maybe it's because there's not millions and millions of them growing there?

There's a lot of very large old trees more than 30ft (10m) that are dying. The dwarf forms don't seem to be affected...as far I've noticed.

I do miss my neighbor's Oleander. They used to shade many of my plants in the front yard from the blasting, hot sun. My tall coffee tree (Coffea arabica) hasn't been the same since the Oleanders died.

Mine plant is very small compared to the plants you have described Delonix and is in the greenhouse , I like the idea of a coffee tree in my garden , do you use it to make coffee ?

I shall keep watch, but it certainly looks healthy at the moment

Amy:

I used to give the coffee cherries away. Sometimes I would eat some of the coffee cherries, though.

Here's some photos of my tree when it was producing heavily for so many years.

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/149822-coffea-arabica-coffee-cherries-ripening/all

http://www.growsonyou.com/Delonix1/photos/Coffea

Sorry to be answering on your page Maureen ! Thanks for that D.Very interesting ,I wasn't aware coffee started out looking like cherries or that you could eat them , it's a beautiful looking colourful tree :o)

No worries Amy.....lol

Thanks Maureen :o))

How do you overwinter this Milky?

Meanie,

Isn't Oleander hardy there?

I've no idea Delonix. I suspect that our winter wet will be the issue, so I'm asking others to see how they deal with it.

I know in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, they tolerate the winter wet and very cold temps very well. However, I do know some of the dwarf varieties are not as hardy as the species, which is hardy down to a least 13ºF (-11ºC).

One thing to remember about Oleander (which you probably already know) is that all parts of the shrub is highly toxic!

Sorry been on holiday....I overwinter mine in the cold half of the greenhouse. It supposed to he hardy down to minus 5 , but having already lost one I don't take the chance anymore.....

Milky, the species is much hardier than -5ºC. The dwarf forms which are less hardy can tolerate -5ºC. with not problems (in the ground).

Most likely small plants in a pot would not tolerate cold as low as 13ºF (-11ºC). Large trees/shrubs have survived this cold of a temperature with little or no damage in the ground in the foothills of California.

Thanks Milky (and Delonix).
Cold shed will be ok then. I'll err on the cautious side at least for this winter antil the plant is bigger - I have an area to clear next year where I'll plant it out and try it.

I think I posted before I had seen photos of many Oleander growing along the coast of Denmark (from friends). I was shocked that Oleander could be grown so far north. I was so surprised that the large shrubs were blooming, because they need a lot of heat to bloom well (obviously they got enough heat).

"I was so surprised that the large shrubs were blooming"

Mine is not a large shrub yet, hence my caution!

"I was shocked that Oleander could be grown so far north. I was so surprised that the large shrubs were blooming, because they need a lot of heat to bloom well "

Would the very long hours of summer daylight help?

I'm sure the long hours of daylight in summer would help. Although you get long hours of daylight in summer, also, right? Your days are a lot longer in summer than here in San Diego at 32 degrees latitude.

That's true. I always think of Denmark as being so much further north than us as it's so cold in the winter. We have taken the Gulf Stream for granted here in the UK!

Yes, Denmark is much further north which really surprised me that large, old Oleanders were growing there.

Yes, you don't want to take the Gulf Stream for granted. There's many scientist who say that it could be turned off one day, because of global warming. This would make the Eastern States and most of the Ireland and the UK and other parts of Europe so much colder! From what I've read most of these areas would have snow for most of their winters. And of course, this would affect the world's climate.

The article below is very disconcerting!

http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/special_pol/04/print_article_2603_en.html