Oleander is an exotic plant loved by many gardeners for its magnificent appearance and bright and colorful flowers. What to do if your oleander doesn't bloom and how to make oleander bloom?
These plants can be grown in the garden or in containers and are valued and loved for their profuse blooms. Of course, proper care is crucial to ensure you grow a healthy plant that you can enjoy for a long time. My oleander isn't blooming, what should I do? You can find out from this article which growth conditions are required for the exotic plant to properly promote flower formation.
Pruning is an important step in the proper development of your oleander. To get it to bloom, you need to know when and how to properly prune oleander. These plants bloom for a short time. To encourage flowering, you should prune your plant at the right time. When to cut oleander? Prune immediately after flowering. There are varieties that bloom well into autumn. Then you have to cut until mid-September. Oleander blooms on new wood. Thin the plant by removing dead and overhanging branches.
Use the right tools for cutting. Hand pruners and loppers are usually enough to prune oleanders. They still have to be sharp and disinfected. Wipe the tools with a clean rag, soak them in a solution of one part bleach to three parts water for five minutes, then rinse with clean water. Disinfecting your tools can help reduce the spread of pathogens.
Pruning an oleander is not difficult. You need to plan in advanceto make the cut. Design a cutting plan. Write down the desired shape you want to achieve. First, look for dead or damaged branches and cut them at the ground or where they connect to a healthy branch. In order for the plant to grow healthily, no more than a third of the entire bush should be removed. Cut branches just above a leaf node to encourage new growth. Always wear protective clothing when pruning oleander as oleander is poisonous. Wash your hands and garden tools immediately.
Grow oleanders in full sun for abundant blooms
Oleanders grow best in full sun and then bloom profusely. They can also tolerate partial shade, but too little light will cause the plant to become droopy and flower less. If you are growing multiple oleanders, you should plant them 6 feet apart so they have enough room to grow and don't compete for light. As other plants grow around the oleander, they can begin to block the sun, affecting your oleander's flowers.
Proper watering plays a big role
Of course, the plant needs enough water to thrive and bloom magnificently. What oleander water needs should be considered? This plant tolerates drought as well as wind and salty or swampy soils. In fact, oleanders don't require a lot of water, but that doesn't mean you can't feed the plantsneed to water. When there is a lack of water, they are not at their best, they start to shed their leaves and the flowers become fewer and not lush, but shriveled. This is a sign that the plants are not thriving.
With proper watering, oleanders can recover quickly. Note that too much water can cause root rot, however. Oleander prefers well-drained soil. If you grow oleander in a pot, you can water it from the bottom. In this way, the amount of water the plant absorbs is controlled and there is no risk of root rot.
Avoid nutrient deficiencies if you want healthy flowers
Of course, like any other plant, nutrients are a crucial factor for the good development of the oleander. If the plant shows signs of nutrient deficiency, such as yellow or pale green leaves, small leaves, or less flower production, then it is time to properly fertilize your oleander.
Which fertilizer for oleander?So that youpromote the flowers of the oleander, use fertilizers that contain less nitrogen and more phosphorus and potassium. This is good for flower formation. Please note that a flower-promoting fertilizer should not be used too often.
How often to fertilize oleander?Fertilize your oleander about once a week to every 14 days from spring to the end of August. If you use a slow-release fertilizer, the first fertilization in spring and another fertilization in early summer is sufficient.
Home remedies as fertilizer for oleander
Oleanders react particularly wellCoffee grounds as fertilizer, because the high content of nitrogen, phosphorus, minerals and potassium offers a high-quality natural fertilizer. How to fertilize oleander with coffee grounds? It's very simple. Leftover coffee grounds can be sprinkled thinly over the compost. Or dilute coffee grounds with water and water your plants with it. Coffee grounds make the soil acidic, so be careful with the amounts and don't fertilize too much!
Banana peels work wondersas fertilizer. They contain a rich range of nutrients. Calcium promotes root growth and enriches the soil with oxygen. The magnesium contained in banana peels supports photosynthesis and sulfur also helps plants develop strong roots and ward off pests. Phosphorus is particularly important for flower formation because it promotes pollination. Potassium improves the overall vitality of plants as well as resistance to pests and diseases.
So that you can get yoursMaking oleander bloom,also use compost, but not too much. For best results, use mixed clay and add about 25% organic compost.
Fight pests on oleander and save the plant
Of all the pests of the oleander, this is theOleanderraupethe biggest pest. These pests gnaw small holes between the leaf veins and can completely defoliate the bush. The caterpillars are bright orange-red with striking black tufts and are easy to spot. They are great and the safest and most effectivemethod of combatingis to simply pick them off by hand and remove them.
Aphidsare very common pests on oleander plants. Combat them with a homemade mixture of soap and water. Mealybugs are another tiny pest that damages the oleander by sucking out the juices. Combat them by spraying plants regularly with canola oil and neem oil.
Proper care of oleander in pots
Oleanders need to be watered regularly because they dry out quickly in pots. The soil should be kept moist but not waterlogged, especially in summer and hot weather and especially for young plants.
If the weather gets too hot, you may even need to water the plants daily. Place the pot outdoors in a sheltered, south-facing location in full sun. When temperatures fall below 10 °C, oleanders must be brought indoors.
If you keep the oleander indoors, place it in a (closed) window where it gets full sun through the pane, otherwise it will not bloom sufficiently. The window should face east to south, and normal room temperature is very suitable for these plants.
A lid filled with plant fertilizer is added to the water in a watering can for the oleander plant in a bucket. In mid-spring, when the weather has warmed, you can move a mature, established oleander directly outdoors, but a young, growing plant should be hardened off for at least 4-5 days before moving outdoors.
Warning: Oleander plants are poisonous
Do not allow small children and pets free access to your oleanders because the plant is poisonous. Poisoning from eating an oleander plant can cause severe digestive problems, seizures, coma, and even death. Additionally, touching the leaves can cause skin irritation.
