Oleander

A photo

Oleander (Nerium oleandr) - evergreen shrub from the Kutrovy family. The plant appeared in the subtropics of the Mediterranean. His close relatives are herbaceous plants, parasitic vines and giant tropical trees. In the wild, it occurs in the form of tall (up to 4 m) thick bushes in the valleys of the rivers of Asia Minor, in the mountains of the Caucasus, grows in Algeria and Italy. The cultural form of this plant is only one, and they call it the "ordinary" oleander! In open ground, they are grown and used in landscape design on the Black Sea coast and in the Crimea.

In areas located to the north, the plant is bred in greenhouses and at home. Oleander grows rapidly, growing 30 cm per year. At home, it can grow more than 2 meters, if you do not limit the growth to pruning. The apartment usually lives up to 15 years, but if you rejuvenate the bush and properly care for it, it can live longer. Flowering continues from July to October. On the shoots, large bright flowers are adjacent to unopened buds, so it seems that it blooms constantly.

	It grows quickly, up to 30 cm per year.
	It blooms from mid-summer to mid-autumn.
	The plant is easy to grow.
	Perennial.

Useful properties of oleander

Oleander flowers. A photo

The plant is poisonous but oleandrin and cornerin - cardiac glycosides contained in its leaves, in small doses are useful in the treatment of some heart diseases. In folk medicine, tincture of oleander leaves is used for headache, tachycardia, insomnia, nervous exhaustion, furunculosis and lichen. In veterinary medicine, tinctures are used to activate the gastrointestinal tract and treat acute animal heart failure.

Contemplation of a flowering bush helps to cope with seasonal spleen. It is used in landscape design to create bright accents in group landings. Plant phytoncidactically - purifies and refreshes the air. Essential oil is used in perfumes.

Features of growing at home. Briefly

A guest from hot humid subtropics, sensitive to every nuance of care. Those who decide to plant an oleander at home will need not only extensive knowledge, but also great patience to create optimal plant living conditions for the plant:

Temperature	In winter - not lower than + 5 ° C, but you can not put it on the batteries, because the air is too dry there; in summer - + 18 - 27 ° C.
Air humidity	Above average, it reacts poorly to heat and dry air, if indoors + 20 ° C; during the heating season they spray it daily, the rest of the time it is not often sprayed, the flower pot is kept in a pan with moist expanded clay.
Lighting	He loves bright light, on the south side it grows with shading at noon.
Watering	In summer, often so that the soil is always moist; in winter, the soil should dry between waterings - watered every 10 days with warm, settled water.
Priming	Peat, turf land, sand, humus land, taken in equal parts; 2) leaf land, peat, turf land, sand (2: 1: 1: 0, 5); fertile soil with good drainage.
Fertilizer and fertilizer	Root dressing from May to September - 2 times in 30 days with liquid complex fertilizer, twice diluted.
Transfer	Once every 3 years, in the spring; young plants - more often (when the roots appear from the drainage hole of the pot); into deep deep capacity.
Breeding	In spring or late summer, apical cuttings root in water; 2) sow freshly picked seeds.

When caring for a shrub, you need to know that there are growing characteristics. It is necessary to form a bush. In the second half of August or after flowering, the plant is cut in half, side shoots - by 10 cm. The flower loves fresh air. The room where it is located is often aired, in the summer the bush is taken out to the garden or to the balcony (they are protected from the draft). The plant is poisonous, it is necessary to work with gloves.

Oleander care at home. In detail

To feel comfortable at home oleander, you must carefully monitor its condition and satisfy the need for heat, light, water.

Bloom

Flowering indoor oleander is a colorful and bewitching sight. From July to early October, the tips of dark shoots with green oblong leaves are crowned with bright racemose inflorescences. Large flowers are painted in white, red, lilac, pink or yellow. They exude a pleasant smell; can be simple, terry and semi-double. Usually a flower is formed by five petals, but terry species may have more.

Buds resemble rose buds. The proximity of flowers with unopened buds gives the impression that a home oleander is in bloom constantly. To bloom was magnificent and beautiful, the plant must be pruned. If the shrub does not get much light in the summer, it may not bloom. By November, the fruit ripens - a box with seeds - parachutes.

Temperature mode

To help the plant adapt to life in the apartment, it is necessary to maintain the correct temperature regime. The plant is thermophilic, at the same time very sensitive to room temperature. In winter, the thermometer should not fall below + 5 ° C, in summer + 18 - 27 ° C is considered the optimum temperature. He does not like the intense heat, but there should not be any sudden changes.

In an apartment, heat is often combined with dry air, which is poorly tolerated. During the heating season, do not place the plant near batteries. It is often necessary to ventilate the room, spray the bush.

Spraying

Spraying is an important procedure that helps tropical plants adapt to life in a room with dry air. Many home growers keep the flower at home on a pallet with wet expanded clay, this is enough for him to feel comfortable in summer and spring.

In extreme heat, the plant is sometimes sprayed (in the afternoon, shading the flower so that there is no leaf burn). In winter, air becomes drier from heating radiators, therefore sprayed daily.

Lighting

In order for the oleander to develop correctly and bloom beautifully, leaving at home involves creating a well-lit place for it. If the plant has little light, it will not only refuse to bloom, but will also throw off the leaves. He loves not just a bright place, the lighting should be bright.

The young bush brought from the store is gradually being accustomed to bright sunlight. An adult plant prefers the south side of the house, where there is more light, but it is shaded a bit at noon. If the conditions allow the plant to be placed only in the northern part of the house, luminescent or phytolamps are installed.

In summer, young bushes are taken out into the garden or onto the balcony, but placed in a place protected from the prevailing wind.

Watering

With watering you need to be careful. Despite the fact that the oleander is a moisture-loving plant, it can not be poured. Excess moisture will ruin the roots. The bush is kept in warm time on a pallet with wet expanded clay. In spring and summer, watered when the substrate dries from above.

In autumn and winter - less often, about once every 10 days. Watering is carried out with warm, settled water. Then the soil is mulched so that the moisture lasts longer. When it is very cold, the water from the pan is drained.

Pot size

In order for it to fully develop, flourish splendidly and for a long time, it is necessary to choose the right pot for it. The size of the pot depends on the age of the shrub. If he is very young, a small capacity will do. As the bush grows, its root system changes. You can’t immediately plant it in a large pot: only the root will grow, leaf growth and an increase in their number will not occur. In a small pot, the growth of the bush is inhibited, the root will be deformed.

If roots begin to be seen through the ground, roots begin to grow and intertwine, a more spacious pot is needed. A new container is selected so that the roots of the plant fit freely, then nutrients and moisture will be available to them. It is important to correlate the size of the flower and the dimensions of the containerso that the heavy adult bush does not fall out of the small pot as it grows. The tree belongs to the plants of "large soil": for growth it needs room. Over time, the shrub is transplanted from the pot to the tub.

Priming

When choosing a soil, you need to pay attention to its acidity: it should be neutral or slightly alkaline (pH around 7, 8). Buy the finished substrate or prepare the soil mixture at home from equal parts of humus, peat, sod land and sand (perlite).

The plant needs fertile and well-drained soil. Over time, when the substrate uses up all its nutrient reserves and its energy potential, it will begin to look worse. At this time, the soil is updated.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Fertilizing and fertilizing with complex solutions are necessary for normal vegetation. Fertilizers must be handled carefully so as not to weaken the bush by excessive stimulation and not disrupt the preparation for the flowering phase.

During active growth, in spring and summer, the oleander is watered 2 times a month with twice diluted liquid fertilizer for domestic plants. Top dressing is carried out after watering in the evenings or in cloudy weather.

In winter, the bush is not fed so that it can rest well and prepare for a new vegetation cycle.

Transfer

Transplanting an oleander plant is an important procedure that helps the plant adapt to home conditions. Young bushes are transplanted every year, adults - when the need arises - usually every 3 years. A transplant is carried out in the spring, before flowering begins. The plant needs to be replanted when its roots encircle an earthen lump. Carefully removing the plant from the ground, inspect the root system. If the roots are messed up, they are carefully disconnected. Damaged fragments are cut off, the places of the cut are sprinkled with coal powder.

A thick layer of drainage of coarse pebbles, broken brick or expanded clay is poured at the bottom of the pot. Pour soil. Put a bush in a container and sprinkle it with soil. It is important that the ground layer does not reach the edge of the pot by 1, 5 - 2 cm, then it will be more convenient to care for the flower. The transplanted oleander is watered, mulched and left in a shaded place for several days to take root. After 14 days, the bush can be fed. When a plant is growing up, it is difficult to handle. In this case, replace the topsoil.

Pruning

Cropping is a way of forming a crown. The plant forms buds only on new shoots, therefore, at the end of summer or after flowering, the bush is cut in half, and side shoots are shortened by 10 cm. Inflorescences are formed on young shoots that appeared after cutting. Cut branches can be rooted. Under flower buds, shoots are formed that are sure to be removed: they inhibit the development of the bush.

If the oleander is cut earlier, flowering can not be seen. Shrub pruning is carried out annually and is the key to beautiful magnificent flowering in the next season and good growth this year. The haircut is carried out with gloves so that the milky juice of the plant does not fall into the hands.

Rest period

The rest period falls at the end of October - mid-February. The plant at this time is kept at a temperature of + 8 - + 15 ° C with full lighting, otherwise the oleander will drop the leaves and will not bloom. Watering is reduced, and fertilizers are generally abandoned. The plant is not disturbed by anything, it should fully relax.

Breeding

Propagation of the house is possible by cuttings and seeds.

Propagation of oleander by cuttings

Propagation by cuttings is an effective and affordable option for propagation.

• Cut the shoot with a length of 15 - 20 cm with several buds and 3 leaves.
• Cut points are dusted with carbon powder.
• The handle is placed in a wet mixture of sand, coal and brick chips (sand is sprinkled around the handle to prevent rotting).
• The seedling is left to root at a temperature of + 21 ° C and sufficient lighting. Sometimes the stem is rooted in water by sprinkling a little crushed coal into it.
• After about 30 days, the roots will appear, and the plant can be planted in a separate pot. A bush blooms the same year.

Growing oleander from seeds

Reproduction by seeds is carried out only immediately after their collection: they quickly lose germination.

• Seeds are incubated for several hours in a solution of potassium permanganate and sown in moist soil without deepening.
• Cover with a film, making holes in it. Leave at + 21 ° C.
• The film is removed for watering and airing.
• In weeks 1, 5, shoots will appear. When 2 true leaves appear, they are dived into separate pots.

Both breeding options are clear and accessible. But when propagated by seeds, the plant develops longer, and varietal traits are lost.

Diseases and Pests

With improper care, oleander is affected by diseases and pests. Then you can see the deterioration of his appearance:

• leaves oleander become spotty - damage by a fungus (the disease spreads quickly; so that the plant does not die, it must be urgently treated with a fungicide, remove the affected parts);
• buds are not opened - the flower is cold (put in a warmer place);
• oleander does not bloom - lack of light, heat, water, nutrients, improper pruning, poor ventilation (rearrange in a bright, warm place, water, fertilize, ventilate);
• leaves fall - lack of light in autumn and winter, the plant is cold (set the backlight; rearrange in a warm place, in the summer from the street to bring home at night);
• at oleander leaves dry and fall - lack of light and moisture (rearrange in a bright place, water);
• leaves turn yellow - improper fertilizer, excess moisture (adjust fertilizing, limit watering);
• drops buds - watering with cold water, the plant is cold (rearrange in a warm place, water only with warm water);
• black dots on leaves - fungal disease (treat with fungicide);
• leaves fade and fade, inflorescences lose their decorativeness, buds laid in summer, do not open in autumnI - a little light (rearrange in a bright place, set the backlight);
• the tips of the leaves dry - dry air in the room (spray, install on a pallet with wet expanded clay).

With dry indoor air, lack of light, excess moisture, pests can attack the bush. Most often, the flower suffers from aphids, spider mites, scale insects, mealybugs. They spoil the appearance of the oleander, drain it. It is not easy to deal with them, so it is better to prevent their attack in advance by adjusting the temperature and humidity.

Types of home oleander with photos and names

Home-made oleander is grown in southern Europe. There is only one species - the ordinary oleander. Its species are distinguished by a variety of colors, the size of inflorescences.

Terry pink oleander

A compact bush no more than a meter tall with green elongated leaves similar to willow leaves. Several dozen buds can be opened at the same time. Terry large flowers of a white-pink hue. Very demanding on lighting and ventilation. It blooms until late autumn.

Oleander white

It can grow up to 2 m. It blooms from summer to mid-autumn. Unpretentious appearance, often found in offices. The upper side of the elongated leathery leaves is dark, the bottom is lighter. The flowers are snow-white large simple or semi-double. It has a pleasant aroma. Like cropping.

Oleander red

The flowers are red, raspberry or burgundy simple. Sometimes decorated with a small white droplet in the middle or white strokes.

Oleander yellow

The bush blooms for a long time with yellow flowers, similar in shape to bells. Seeds resemble chestnut seeds. From 1 seed several flowers grow at once.

Oleander, a southern guest from the Mediterranean, will decorate the interior and bring a touch of romanticism to it. Caring for a plant requires patience and diligence. In response to the care, the oleander will reveal delicate flowers, give a captivating aroma and fill the house with joy.

Watch the video: Oleander - I Walk Alone (November 2024).