Dawn
Oleanders are in bloom everywhere now, but I haven’t seen them this season. This picture was taken during one of my walk some time ago. Oleanders grow wild in all the empty spaces. They usually put up good show in the summer months. I do miss these simple pleasure that nature serves to us on a platter each day.
I miss the blue morning glories that usually grow along the boundary of our property. These have all disappeared thanks to the work of the excavators that were used by the construction workers.
As children we used to make whistles and noise makers with the leaves of the oleander.
Oleander Facts
Oleanders love the sunny tropical climates.
These shrubs can grow up to a height of 20 ft.
These plants produce clusters of flowers in many colors, shades of pink pink, yellow, white , peach red etc
It is one of the most poisonous plants found on the face of the earth. Touching the leaves , the stems and the sap could lead to poisoning. However ingestion of the sap is the most dangerous.
Some of the signs of poisoning are diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, irregular heartbeats, and seizures. Frothing at the mouth can be a grave and fatal sign.
However, the seeds and leaves of the oleander are used in the production of medicines for various ailments such as asthma, epilepsy, menstrual problems, warts and other skin conditions.
These plants are highly drought resistant.
Oleander is the official flower of Hiroshima in Japan. It was chosen as the official flower because it was the first plant to blossom after devastating effects of atomic bomb in the 1945.
These plants can easily be cultivated from cuttings and seeds. Oleanders are the favorites of people experimenting with various cultivars. There are over 300 cultivars available of the oleander despite its toxicity.
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Question of
Did you know some of these facts about the oleander?
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No
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Question of
Do you have oleander where you live?
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We have oleanders but I didn’t know all the facts. Thanks for sharing.
I love oleanders. I had no idea that even touching them could be poisonous.
My neighbor has these and they are so pretty.
They are pretty, I recently saw some tiny star like oleander flowers in huge bunches which made me want some.
I haven’t seen that flower here, I think our summer is too short for this plant.
Short summers? i wish we could say that here.. Our summers are never ending. 🙁
we have 5 or more hard freezes in our area, making plants like this unhappy!
Love the picture, I’ve seen this in the wild (in Asia) and in Biotnically Gardens!
Hmm.. just too hard to predict and grow plants really in such a climate. We have these thunder storms in summer which tear our plants and trees from their roots, then we have hails storms which mercilessly tear up the plants but most of them grow back like nothing ever happened.
ergo Oak an Maple trees pulling back each year and dropping their leaves!
Most of our trees are evergreen we have a few deciduous trees.
i think in your climate a deciduous tree would be confused.
Can you imagine the internal conversation?
Do I drop my leaves?
it’s still warm and sunny.
Do I drop my leaves?
it’s still warm and sunny.
LOL that was a cutely confused little tree talking there. 🙂