You know the phrase , “ an iron fist in the velvet glove ” ? Scholars wish to bicker over who mouth it first , with Napoleon as the leading candidate .
Me , I ’d argue only that they could have been mouth about rose bay when they suppose it .
Like a fine material , these evergreen blossom shrubs are beautiful and epicurean , with their cornucopia of colorful blooms and blade - shaped green or variegated leaves .
Photo by Dinesh Valke, Wikimedia Commons, viaCC BY-SA.
But , like that iron fist , Nerium oleanderare also tough as nails .
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They stand firm heat , drought , and even salty air to thrive inUSDA Hardiness Zones8 - 10 , or even 11 , as outdoor plants – and bloom and flower again while they ’re doing it .
Photo by Dinesh Valke, Wikimedia Commons, viaCC BY-SA.
They do call for a little redundant aid in colder climates , but they ’ll do just hunky-dory if you rise them indoors or plant them in containers to contribute at bottom when freeze temperature brood .
There are many types ofNeriumto take from , especially if you ’re uncoerced to choose sort that arrive as bare root stock , or to acquire others from seed .
You might want to base your selection on their flush color . These beauties have flowers in tincture of pick , pink , red , Salmon River , and even purplish .
We wo n’t be talking about yellow Nerium oleander ( Cascabela genus Thevetia ) here , because it ’s a unlike species with its own pick and areas where it fly high .
you may also choose from dwarf , mid - sizing , or tall case , depending on whether you plan to grow oleander in containers , as part of a hedging or privateness fence , or perchance as a single - trunk tree that reaches 15 feet or more .
As you ’re contemplate any of these options , please , please , heed this admonition . The best oleander variety to grow is no variety at all if you ’re growing where child , unsuspicious adult , pets , or blood animals might ingest them .
All parts of this evergreen plant shrubis poisonousif consumed , with each part of the flora containing cardiac glycoside .
It causes gastric distress , arrhythmias , shock , and heart failure , and can be fateful if take in .
When you have modest children who live with you or have access to your garden , you should in all probability choose someother character of bloom shrub .
Ditto if your garden or landscape where cats , cad , horses , stock animals , or even rabbit or budgies might gain access to any rose bay you plant .
But if you ’ve planned onwards to preclude accidental toxic condition , it ’s a joy to take from some of these play , pretty , and darn tough varieties .
Allow me to present the following options for your consideration :
9 of the Best Oleander Varieties
1. Apple Blossom
Such delicacy ! The two- to three - column inch , five - petaled , pastel pink blooms on ‘ Apple Blossom ’ are something you ’ll want to gaze at metre and again .
Since these evergreen flower hard from tardy spring through early autumn , you ’ll have plenty of chance .
‘ Apple Blossom ’ is known as one of the tough pink cultivars . I ’ve heard it describe as “ indestructible ” more than once . It ’s stout in Zones 8 - 11 .
This tall rose bay forms a large , rounded shrub that await capital in a privacy concealment or alongside the drive ( only if you plant it well away from queer tiddler , though ) .
It ’s a wonderful choice for training into a multi- or single - trunk Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with a crown of blooming foliage at the top of each main stem , too . It will reach 10 to 18 animal foot either as a tall bush or specimen tree .
The light pink efflorescence also look great in a coastal windbreak , especially at sunset , The shrub themselves tolerate both salinity and humidness in a tender seaboard spot .
2. Austin Pretty Limits
Who says you ca n’t give a distinguished decorative bush a cutesy name ?
If someone did say that about ‘ Austin Pretty Limits , ’ they were clear overruled .
But do n’t let the frivolous name keep you from noticing the striking beauty of this shrub , with its lustrous pink efflorescence and dumb evergreen foliage .
‘ Austin Pretty Limits ’
Introduced by well - known hybridizer Kevin Hurd , ‘ Austin Pretty Limits ’ grows from four to six feet tall and spreads four to five understructure . It ’s hardy in Zones 8 - 11 .
Its compact soma , laden with those colored - but - graceful blooms , make it an ideal option for a seaside garden , West Coast sidewalk edge , or southerly stateside mound hedge .
It ’s container ready , too . you could well pull along it inside to winter in domain where gardener can only daydream of sultry Texas growing stipulation or watching “ Austin City Limits ” at a live taping .
‘ Austin Pretty Limits ’ isavailable from Burpee .
3. Calypso
Ah , the ‘ Calypso . ’ I love the soulful John Denver single with this name , and have the highest respect for Jacques Cousteau ’s research boat , which inspired the strain .
As an Nerium oleander , though , ‘ Calypso ’ has its own distinct appeal . An evergreen , it farm richness of single , Battle of Magenta blooming on extra - vigorous plants .
To me , this cultivar enjoin , “ Florida seaside town , ” because I ’ve go steady it on road trip so often . In the Sunshine State , it brightens up sea - side landscapes , median strips on the highway and byway , and even the occasional strip mall parking draw .
But Florideans are n’t the only ones who can peach to the heart of ‘ Calypso . ’ It will uprise 10 - 18 feet and go around 10 - 15 metrical foot in other area , too .
It does well – flourish in fact – in whip weather , and is hardy as an outdoor plant in Zones 8 - 11a .
Many fans train them to grow as multi - trunk tree diagram , with the showy blooms cover the crest of the stems .
Centered five foot apart , these ‘ Calypso ’ specimens produce a beautiful inflorescence shelterbelt or privacy filmdom in West Coast , southern , or coastal areas where the temps stay on above about 20 ° F year - circular .
4. Dwarf Red
I was going to say this is “ snack size of it , ” but no . No snacking on oleander , no matter the diversity , even teeny shrubs that grow to just five or six foot tall and pass around three feet all-embracing .
They are venomous if ingested .
So permit ’s say these are “ mini me ” versions of the marvelous red types .
And while there are specific cultivars that are nanus reds , like ‘ Little Red , ’ most growers and source marketer simply relate to all the pocket-sized form with dark green leaves and crayon - red rosiness as “ dwarf flushed . ”
They commonly bloom get in late bound and continuing on through other autumn . In zone 8 - 10 , they may even bloom year - round , though they ’ll have more flowers run in the warmest month .
These minis are nifty picks for terrace performance ( say that three time fast … ) , and as container ornamental that overwinter indoors in Zones 4 - 11 .
Or , if you live on the West Coast , in the cheery South , or in certain coastal areas , you could grow them as a bloomin ’ border or low hedge .
5. Hardy Pink
I say this affectionately , but adding the word “ unfearing ” to an oleander cultivar name is redundant . They ’re all hardy , to an extreme , able to survive drought and high temps , and even salt air .
But ‘ Hardy pinkish ’ is so beautiful and undemanding that we ’ll forgive it for its repetitive name .
Also known as ‘ pinkish lulu ’ in the Nerium oleander stronghold of Galveston , Texas , this cultivar produce cluster of great , five - petaled , pink flowers with a light scent .
Its buds are distinctive , with an elongated red-hot - tune balloon shape and swollen show .
Reliably cold - tolerant to about 20 ° F , ‘ Hardy Pink ’ is unique in that it has been known to rebound the following time of year after suffer stem or leaf hurt from single finger’s breadth temperatures .
In other words , while it ’s broadly considered as being brave in Zones 8 - 11 , it may survive hands down in the cold winters of Zones 7a and 7b , or even Zone 6 in a well - protected sphere .
I ’m not saying you have to run that peril , though . It ’s belike sound to take ‘ Hardy Pink ’ indoors in cold temps , so it does n’t have to prove itself suitable of the name .
6. Red
While there are specific cultivar of this type , namely ‘ Hardy flushed , ’ you ’re most likely to spot seeds or live plant with the generic name “ red oleander . ”
According to the expert at theClemson Cooperative Extension , the ruddy banner are the most hardy types among all theNerium , perchance cold-blooded patient of down to Zone 7b .
Their mature height typically tops out at 8 to 12 feet , and they ’ll spread almost as broad .
This type has orotund , single blooms in a shade I like to call “ evidently old crimson , ” exchangeable to that find on the American fleur-de-lis or “ Pretty Woman ” Vivian Ward ’s dress .
They ’re understated compare to some of the splashy pinks and coral available , but the result is sultry , not dull .
7. Sister Agnes
A European variety , ‘ Sister Agnes ’ is almost 150 age old and still go bad strong – and produce vigorously .
Frenchman Félix Sahut introduced this tall ( or at least pretty tall ) oleander in 1873 , consort to the Austrian confidence , Oleander Haus .
It ’s agnise by its soft fragrance and single , pure white blush with subtly - yellow “ throats ” at their center . The blossom do look a piece like the summer habits of European nun from back in the day , but that could just be my own flight of stairs of fancy .
The cultivar ’s name also inexplicably reminds me of Elvis singing “ Little Sister ” ( as in , “ Little sister , do n’t ” ) , so maybe we should n’t take my theories about this name too seriously …
But it is notable that tree surgeon and home gardeners unremarkably civilize ‘ Sister Agnes ’ to grow as a exclusive - trunk tree , if you ’re interested in that landscape look . She ’ll reach 10 to 18 feet marvellous and overspread 10 to 15 feet .
8. Twist of Pink
The leave tender the unusual tress here . They ’re a vary pick and green , with the brightness level streaks running vertically down the blade - shape leaf .
The ruffled , deep , forked pinkish blooms are splashy without being over the top , more of a “ Pretty in Pink ” vibration than a psychedelic chromaticity .
The shrub ’s ripe height of six to eight feet make it mid - sizing , idealistic for mound , hedging , or a discreet privacy fence .
‘ gimmick of Pink ’
Although this bush is part of the Southern Living Plant Collection , which may make you think of the sweltering states , it ’s fairly insensate tolerant , hardy to the 10 to 20 ° atomic number 9 reach .
On the flip side , it ’s still drought - resistant and can support extended periods of heat energy once it ’s demonstrate .
‘ Twist of Pink ’ is available in two - gallon containersfrom Home Depot .
9. White Sands
Nature Hills Nursery does deal a resilient plant they refer to as simply “ white oleander , ” and it acquire to five to eight invertebrate foot and propagate four or five feet .
But there are also specific cultivar that are compact , dwarf - altitude , and cream - colored . One of the most widely uncommitted is this ‘ White Sands . ’
It produces abundant bunch of white , individual - blush flower starting in spring and carrying on through early autumn . In warm weather locales , it will bloom all class long .
This sweet white shrub is a small less cold - tolerant than some of the others , hardy only in Zones 10 and 11 .
But it still has that tremendous trait , like otherNerium , of blooming even more extravagantly as temperatures soar upwards , and without need any additional fertilizer .
It uprise to between four and six groundwork and fan out about the same distance , nominate it a keen alternative for containers to winter indoors , or as a low - grow , flowering hedge in warm weather areas .
Pick Your Favorite, Hands-Free
imagine about these gorgeous , tough , tight - rise varieties is gratifying , but do take a quick faulting from the pleasantry to define whether it ’s dependable for you to turn these poisonous beauties at your place .
Once all safety precautions have been met , you’re able to return to selecting the good type for you based on color , summit , bloom type , or what ’s usable to grow from a cutting in your neck opening of the Natalie Wood .
Or possibly you ’ve already been there , done that ? Have you successfully acquire or train one of these variety , or another one I did n’t concern on here ? ( Pun purely intentional . )
If so , kindly scroll down to the input section and add any findings or tips you have for draw a bead on rose bay container gardeners and landscape architect .
And if you enjoyed perusing the different selections available and would care to watch Nerium oleander , give these articles a look next :
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About
Rose Kennedy
