In various forums, the interested layman reads from time to time about oleander owners who want to leave their (mostly older and therefore difficult to overwinter) oleanders in the garden or even plant them as a hedge. However, these successes are usually not crowned with success in our latitudes, because as a Mediterranean plant, Nerius oleander is not hardy. However, you can also use potted plants to create a pretty (and mobile) oleander hedge over the summer.
An oleander hedge is a nice privacy screen - in warm countries
Oleander is not hardy
Like all plants native to the Mediterranean region, the oleander is only partially hardy. This means that it can stay outside at temperatures as low as minus five degrees Celsius - provided it is an older and therefore more robust specimen - but freezes away in colder and longer-lasting frosty temperatures. For this reason it is not a good idea to plant oleanders in the garden in the form of a hedge - they will simply freeze over after just a slightly colder winter.
Overwinter Mediterranean plants properly
Instead, oleanders are best overwintered in cold house conditions, which means:
- cool at about five degrees Celsius
- Frost free
- as bright as possible
- Bright stairwells, unheated rooms or conservatories, garden houses or sheds (but not made of tin!) are ideal…
- dark rooms (e.g. basements) can also be considered when hibernating at just above zero
Oleander should be brought into the winter quarters as late as possible and cleared out again as early as possible in spring. Also, don't forget to water the plant regularly.
Design options with oleanders in tubs
However, you don't have to do without a lush, densely leafed and wonderfully flowering oleander hedge - you just shouldn't plant them out. Instead, you simply arrange cultivated oleanders in pots in such a way that they provide a good privacy screen or border for the balcony, terrace or garden. However, make sure that the individual plants are not too close together: Oleander needs space and air, otherwise there is a risk of pest invasion, for example spider mites or scale insects.
tips
When pruning the oleander, you should not cut it back too much (or only if it is unavoidable for various reasons) and, above all, you should not touch the two-year-old shoots. Oleander blooms mainly on the previous year's wood, which is why you can quickly rob the enchanting blossom by pruning it too boldly.