SHRUBS > OLEANDER > PRUNING
IN THIS GUIDE
OLEANDER GUIDES
Container GrowingCuttings PropagationOverwinteringPruning
This lovely evergreen plant features narrow greyish - green or sea - green leave and bears little salver - shaped flower in concluding clusters all throughout summer and beyond .
However , if you crop oleander out of time of year in the UK , the plant life can get into serious trouble and even struggle for survival .
On the other paw , in the correct season , an oleander bush will not be harmed one bit by even a severe prune .
You do n’t have to prune these low - maintenance evergreen .
Pruning , however , will significantly heighten flowering and will keep the bush ’s material body smashing and tidy , and here ’s how to do it :
Each whole step of this summons is explained in more depth below .
1) Remove Damaged Branches
Any branches that have snuff it , become bare or have been damage by pests or breakage should be pruned when observed , anytime from spring to autumn .
You may also require to prune an excessively long , protruding , or unsightly offset .
Using pruning shears , cut a branch the right way at its attachment to the independent stem or origin branch .
2) Deadhead
A short fourth dimension into the blooming season , flowers will start to fade and shrink .
just twist or snip off these spend bloom .
Often , most of the flowers in a terminal cluster will be wilted and spend .
You may as well remove these clump whole at their adherence or just above the branch ’s thickening .
Deadheading will , at least to some extent , goad unused flower .
It will also keep the bush calculate orderly and improve aesthetics .
3) Autumn Pruning
Timing is crucial if you postulate to prune Nerium oleander in fall .
Do so as presently as potential after the flowering time of year ends and well before the first frost .
Mid - to - belated September is usually good .
As these evergreens are not winter - fearless , early pruning will appropriate impertinent growth ample time to egress so that the flora is well set with foliage before the onset of wintertime .
I do not recommend severe pruning , and would advise that you rather prune for upkeep .
This shrub , like many evergreen , heyday on novel growth , and to nurture such Modern growth you will need to cut off subdivision tip .
Make the cut just above the lymph node immediately below a last clump of leaves .
Cut from half to two - third of the branch in this personal manner all over the bush .
you may cut down branches by great lengths if you wish , and doing so will promote side shoot and bushiness with a narrower profile .
Be sure to make the cut no more than halfway down the offset and to make it just below a node .
Prune only a special act of branch in this fashion .
“ Oleander may survive a hard prune in a sheltered berth , but be warned that it will normally take a few old age to blossom profusely after a hard prune and it will also be more susceptible to cold damage , ” says Dan Ori , a Master Horticulturist .
4) Spring Touch-Ups
Soon after the shrub starts develop strongly in spring you may opt to make a brace of fitting .
If your oleander is insufficiently bushy and if you see impertinent shoots sprouting upwards , you may hook or trim them to halt such increment .
This will trigger lateral increase .
If the plant , be it open - ground or pot - grown , exhibits any frost - damaged branches , prune them at their attachments .
If you have opened - ground oleander , you might spot mug distribute around the bush .
If you do , you could delve down under the sucker and draw or displume it off , taking care not to damage the roots of the female parent industrial plant .
Doing so will re - direct the industrial plant ’s energies towardsflowering from early summertime .
