Oleander: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow oleander outdoors?
Oleander seedlings need warmth and protection from cold. Do not treat the end of frost as sufficient reason to sow directly into the garden: nights and soil can still be too cool. A container under protection makes young plants easier to monitor. If you keep a sowing outdoors, choose a genuinely mild period and a sheltered position suited to your climate.
Use clearly identified Nerium oleander seed and a container with drainage holes filled with free-draining seed compost. Moisten the compost before distributing the seeds. Follow the supplier's instructions for covering and temperature; a fixed sowing depth of one or two centimetres is not a reliable rule for every seed lot. Label with the name and date. Water gently to avoid moving the seeds, and maintain steady moisture without waterlogging.
Watch for emergence, which can vary with the seeds and conditions. When seedlings are developed enough to handle, prick them out carefully into individual pots. Gradually acclimatise them to outdoor conditions and keep them frost-free during establishment and winter.
Seedlings do not reliably reproduce a named cultivar. To preserve its flowers and growth habit, use cuttings instead. All parts of oleander are poisonous: keep seeds and plants out of reach of children and pets, and wear gloves when handling them.
How to plant oleander?
When does the oleander flower?
How to care for this plant
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Prepare for overwintering
For a potted oleander in a cold climate, prepare a bright, airy, frost-free shelter and follow forecasts to move it in time. In the ground, match protection to the variety and local climate; do not dig it up for this reminder. This is preparation only, without scheduled pruning or watering.
