One of the most common problems with oleanders is drought damage, where leaves and shoots dry up and turn brown. This phenomenon is usually due to unsuitable - because it is too cold - hibernation and / or incorrect care during the winter months.

A dried up oleander cannot always be saved

Water properly during the winter months

If you bring your oleander dry from winter quarters, you have most likely watered the plant either too little or too much. Many hobby gardeners forget to water their hibernating pot plants from time to time - an often fatal mistake, because the oleander also needs water in the cold season. The rule is that the warmer the shrub, the more often it has to be watered - at the same time, the plant also needs more light. but the colder it is in the winter quarters, the darker it can be and the less moisture the oleander needs. As a rule of thumb, you should water pot oleanders about once a month at an average temperature of around five degrees Celsius.

Frequent watering in the winter quarters can also be harmful

Incidentally, the plant can also dry up if it has been watered too much. Then the roots are damaged and can no longer absorb water, which is why the above-ground parts eventually turn brown and die.

Ascochyta blight often appears after the winter break

On the other hand, the cause of a dried-up oleander does not necessarily have to be found in incorrect watering behavior. Dried leaves and shoots can be traced back to an infection with the Ascochyta blight, which is common on this shrub and which initially kills individual parts of the plant and then the whole plant. This typical oleander disease often appears after wintering, but can also appear during the growing season. As a rule, only a hard pruning back into the healthy wood helps.

How to save a dried up oleander

Dried-up oleanders can only be saved by severe to radical pruning, because the parts of the plant that have already dried up have died and will not turn green again or sprout. Before pruning, check whether the plant is still alive - you can carefully scratch a few shoots, if they are green, the bush is alive. Cut back the shrub and repot it in a new planter with a mixture of fresh substrate and slow release fertilizer. Before doing this, perform a root pruning that will remove any brown roots.

tips

Basically, like rosemary needles, oleander leaves feel quite hard and rather dry. As long as they are green and look vital, this is completely normal - drying damage is only present if they turn brown.

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Trees