Content
- Oleander fruits - cut off or ripened?
- Fruit formation robs the plant of power
- Oleander from self-collected seeds multiply
- Caution: fruits are very toxic!
- Tips
The seeds in the fruits of the oleander can be used for propagation
Oleander fruits - cut off or ripened?
From June to September the oleander flowers tirelessly - provided, of course, it is sufficiently fertilized and watered. In appropriate weather - ergo in very warm and sunny summers - the shrub often forms up to ten centimeters long follicles.
Fruit formation robs the plant of power
These fruits are quite long, are narrow and turn brown in the ripe state. In them, if they could ripen, contain numerous seeds. However, the training of the fruits of the plant costs a lot of energy, which in turn is not available for flowering. For this reason, you should consider carefully, if you remove the fruit in time - and thus animate the oleander to continue - or actually leave the fruits on the bush and hope that you can reap the seeds.
Oleander from self-collected seeds multiply
Oleander can be multiplied very well from self-collected seeds. To do this, remove the seeds on nutrient-poor soil and keep the substrate evenly moist. Oleander is one of the light germs, so the seeds should not be covered with soil. Instead, a transparent cover comes over the planter, as a high humidity increases germination. Stratification, on the other hand, is not necessary. The first tender green tops of the new oleander plantlets can be seen after about four weeks. Once the plantlet is big enough - at least ten centimeters high - put it in a jar of nutrient-rich oleander earth, d. H. a mixture as potting soil, loamy garden soil and some sand.
Caution: fruits are very toxic!
Always be careful when handling Oleander and wear gloves: The fruit is just as poisonous as any other part of the plant. Serious symptoms of intoxication are possible even with mere contact with the skin, for example, when the sap gets into open wounds or to the mucous membranes and thus into the bloodstream. Do not consume the fruits or the seeds of the oleander!
Tips
If you have pets or small children, you should better avoid oleander: Cats, for example, like to nibble on the leaves, and even the mere whipping of the claws on the oleander trunk may have dramatic consequences.