Kutrov family. Homeland - South Europe, Africa, Asia, Arabian Peninsula. The only species Nerium (Oleander) common Nerium oleander grows in nature - an evergreen shrub growing up to 2 meters tall, with erect little branching stems. The leaves are glabrous, leathery, lanceolate, 10-15 cm long and about 2.5 cm wide, on short petioles (7-10 mm long). The leaves are dark green, with a light midrib, arranged opposite on the stem. The inflorescence brush forms at the end of annual shoots. The flowers are white, red, pink, yellow or lilac, and may be plain and double. It should be known that all parts of the oleander, including the flowers, are poisonous. Oleander is an excellent greenhouse plant, in warm indoor conditions it is quite capricious, as it needs a cool wintering and requires quite a lot of light. It blooms throughout the summer.
Care for oleander
Temperature: In summer, the usual indoor, in winter oleander prefers cool content at 10-12 ° C, at least 7 ° C. This is one of the conditions for flowering at home. Since oleander is a rather tall tree, an adult plant will no longer fit on the windowsill, it is best to put the pot on an insulated balcony until the temperature drops to + 5, while watering it completely stop. So from mid-September to mid-November, you can withstand at least 2 months of rest. You can also temporarily rearrange the pot to the stairwell until January-February.
Lighting: Oleander is light-loving. Choose a sunny place for it, no shading is required. If it is warm and not light enough in winter, oleander should be illuminated with lamps.
Watering: Plentiful in summer, with the top layer of the ground drying to a depth of 1/3 of a pot. In winter, watering is moderate, its frequency depends on the temperature in the room - complete drying of the earthen coma is not allowed, but in the upper half of the pot the earth should dry well. With regard to oleander, it can be said that it is easier to endure drying than moisturizing the roots. The plant is demanding on water hardness, so water it with boiled or filtered water.
Fertilizer: In the growth period from April to August, every two weeks oleander is fed with complex fertilizer for ornamental flowering plants. You can use fertilizers "Rainbow," "Fertica-Lux," "Pocon for flowering," etc. Oleander also responds well to organic fertilizers, for example, with a solution of korovyak at the very beginning of the growing season (not earlier than 1-1.5 months after transplantation ).
Oleander very often suffers from waterlogging, due to the prevailing stereotype that it is very moisture-loving. From waterlogging, brown spots form on leaves, flowers and buds. In this case, the plant must be transplanted into fresh earth, removing rotten roots, after transplantation, pour a solution of fungicide (fundazol). In the future, water only as the ground dries.Air humidity: Oleander is regularly sprayed, in nature it grows near water bodies and loves moist air. If in winter it is not possible to keep oleander cool at home for the winter, it must be protected from the hot air of the battery (for example, cover it with a damp towel). The dryness of the air cannot be compensated for by excessive irrigation - this will lead to rot of the roots and death of the plant .
Transplantation: Young oleanders are transplanted annually, old tuberous plants in 2-3 years. Soil - 3 part of the sod earth, 2 part of the sheet earth, 2 part of the compost, 1 part of the sand. In a pot or tub, it is imperative to make drainage. During transplantation, partial pruning of roots in large tuberous plants can be carried out. The land for oleander should be nutritious, but loose, pass water well and dry quickly, for this you can add baking powder to it - vermiculite or pine bark (1/5 part of the total volume of the land).
Reproduction: Stem cuttings in spring or summer, which are rooted in wet sand or water, preferably in conditions of high humidity (you can put an air humidifier nearby). You can dip the tip of the handle into the root before planting in the ground. Although according to its own observations, oleander roots better in water, roots appear within about two months. Sometimes the formation of roots is delayed for 3-4 months. When the roots grow to a length of approximately 5 cm, cuttings can be planted in pots. Oleander is also propagated by seeds, branches, and vaccination is used to propagate ornamental varieties.
When propagated by seeds bought in the store, or their own, collected in the fall, they are sown in late February - in March. Into wide plates in a mixture of universal soil and vermiculite (sand is possible) in equal parts. The seeds are planted to a depth of about 7-8 mm, the planting pitch is 5-7 cm. You can immediately plant the seeds in peat cups. When planting, the seed is placed fluffy tail down. Place the fit plate in a bag (to maintain high air humidity) and put it in a warm place (soil temperature 30-32 ° C) - on a battery or electric heater, ventilate it regularly. When seedlings appear, the plate should stand in a sunny place. When the seedlings open two pairs of real (not cotyledonous) leaves, they can be planted in pots, with a diameter of 8-10 cm, one at a time, or 2-3 seedlings together. Soil in pots should be poured already more nutritious. For example, 2 parts of sheet earth (or universal soil), 1 part of compost, 1 part of sand (or vermiculite). When the seedlings grow to a height of about 20-25 cm, they can again be transplanted into large pots, the soil can be taken as for adult plants .
Appearance formation: Oleander grows in a bush, but natural branching is not lush. Inflorescences are formed on shoots of the current year, so oleander is cut off in early spring. You can shorten last year's shoots by about 1/3-1/2 of their length. Regular crown care, pruning allow you to maintain a more compact bush shape, stimulates the growth of new shoots and, accordingly, flowering. If you plant 10-12 cuttings in one wide pot when breeding oleander with cuttings or seeds, and prune them every spring, you can get not a tree, but a lush spreading bush.