Oleander plant dried out Help!!

Hi,

Is my plants alive or dead? They got totally dried out over the winter inside. Any suggestions what to do thanks.

Charm

It's very hard to say...plants are pretty tough and can sometimes come back from the brink of death, but they can also be pushed too far too and not be able to come back. It certainly doesn't hurt to keep them for a while and see if they'll come back or not. But if you can clarify what "got totally dried out over the winter" means it might be easier to guess whether they'd have any chance or not...if you completely ignored them and they got no water all winter long, then there's a very good chance they're dead. But if all that happened is you forgot about them for a few weeks, then they'd have a much better chance of recovery.

Thank you, Ecrane 3

I am afraid it was not watered during the winter months. I refuse to believe that they are dead.

If it went all winter without water then I wouldn't be overly optimistic about its chances for survival, but if you don't want to give up on it then there's no reason you can't keep it around for a while and see if it makes a miraculous recovery. I wouldn't count on it coming back though, that's a long time to go without water. You could try doing the scratch test to see if there's any green underneath the bark--but since oleanders are poisonous and have irritating sap I'd recommend scratching it with something other than your fingernail.

OH don't disturb it yet!!!! I had one that looked totally dead and Ihad my husband digging it up so I could put something else there and found living roots down deep. We put it back and watered and a week or two later, wala, oleander was good as new. Some of us had colder winters last year and just taking it's time about peeking out of it's warm bed, but it's back. WAIT a little while longer on yours, water it and just watch for a little longer, then let us know. Mekos

This one was indoors so cold wouldn't have been a factor. I agree no harm in keeping it around for a bit and see if it comes back, but after not getting any water for the entire winter there is a pretty good chance it's dead. Your plant was outdoors so although the top was damaged by the cold, the roots weren't killed so it can come back, but when something isn't watered for the whole winter, the roots are going to suffer bad damage as well which makes it a lot less likely to come back.

OH, I'm so sorry. I had a smaller one in the greenhouse but the larger one was planted out because I wanted to know if they would survive our winter before possibly losing both if they died outside. Luckily, they both survived. My other one is out now. I'm looking for the mexican oleander, it's colors go from yellow to orange and I have seed on the way to me that I ordered, so if you'd like to start another one I'd share a couple seeds, and if these I have can be rooted, I could send you cuttings for you to root,mine are white and pink, that I have now. I don't know much about them, but you could try if your game.

Is your Mexican oleander a Thevetia species? They are less hardy than regular oleanders (genus Nerium) so you will definitely need to keep them in the greenhouse for the winter. I've started them from seed and they germinate very easily--I think I soaked them overnight and wound up with 5 plants from the 6 seeds I started (and I think the 6th one germinated too but something ate it when I first put it outside last year)

I'm not sure, about species . I just liked the beautiful blooms. Figured I would find all I could out while it was germinating before planting. I may put it in a pot any way and bring into the greenhouse for the first year or so just to keep up with how it grows and how fast it grows and when it's a little older, might have to plant and PRAY. Right now, just excited to be getting it.

Regular oleanders don't come in orange, and one of the common names for Thevetia is Mexican oleander, so I suspect that's probably what you are getting seeds for. Zone 7b is a bit borderline even for the regular Nerium oleander, and Thevetia is 2 zones less hardy than they are, so you better pray really hard if you decide to plant them outside! LOL I'd definitely keep at least a couple in the greenhouse as a backup.

I'm in zone 7 but I'v got a giant bird of paradise that is planted out. I was told on the plants that are more tropical, just cut back the foliage before winter and MULCH deep with a compost pile. The compost pile will keep it warm enough to survive. So far it seems to be working.

Thank you so much for your reassurance. I believe in them. I will certainly let you know the outcome for the plants.

Mekos, thank you for offering the seeds. Please send a DMail if you would like to send some for me. Again, thank you.

Charm

Charm, it is possible to keep some tropicals indoors during the winter without watering but those are usually plants that would typically go dormant during those months anyway. An Oleander is an evergreen and does not go dormant so it should have been watered lightly but regularly while indoors. It may come back from the roots but I would doubt the existing branches will leaf out again.

My Oleanders get to be 10' to 12' tall and would be difficult to bring indoors. There are some cultivars that stay smaller than normal. If you plan on keeping one in your climate you might consider finding a dwarf variety so it can be overwintered in your greenhouse or home.

Actually, my red,white, and pink-all 3 ,survived and growing very nice. I don't have seeds for them, but if you want some clippings that YOU could root from them send postage and I'll gladly mail you some. Dip ends in root hormone,plant in1/3 sand 2/3 potting soil and in no time you should have oleander. D-mail me if you are interested. Mekos PS, I have seeds coming for the mexican oleander, but not yet here.

I got the peach color oleander now in seeds. How did yours do? Did it come back?

Mekos,

Oh, it's beautiful! As of today, no sign of life. By the way, I stripped the leaves off the plant. I don't know if it was the right thing to do.

Thank you for asking.

By the way, do you have seeds for reds?

Thanks,
Charmaine

If the leaves were dead then it doesn't matter whether you take them off or not, they're not doing anything for the plant once they're dead.

Mine is just starting to bloom. I'll try to find you some though. I have some friends looking for things for me ,I can add seeds for that. D-mail me sometime and I'll let you know what I find. They found me a florida butterfly orchid, and some really rare things I couldn't find around here.