Oleander buds rotting

Hi there

I have an ongoing problem with my Oleander (nerium oleander)

It's in a pot outside in full sun and eventhough there are loads of buds just waiting to bloom, they never do... they drop off dead !

I've noticed that they (the buds) get brown patches on them, looks like they're rotting...
I even found one which had turned black, I opened the bud and it was black inside too... :cnfs:

The tree itself looks fine, good leaves,good trunk, no discolouration ...
Can't see any bugs...

There are many buds just waiting to bloom but they reach a certain point and then drop off dead !!

I'd appreciate any help on this one...

Thanks

 

Have you recently bought this plant Helen, or have you yourself overwintered it?

It sounds to me like its been grown undercover, brought into bud and then sold.

You then put it outside and the shock is making it abort its buds.

Not sure how warm its been in Belgium recently, but its not been good Oleander growing weather in the UK until this last week.

 

Hello pete

You're right I bought it from a garden centre about 2 months ago and chose it because it looked as if it would soon flower... but...

The buds certainly are "aborting" before flowering it's such a shame !

You don't think the discolouration of the buds is anything to worry about then ? I mean no disease or pests responsible ?

On closer inspection I've found a few buds completely dried up and brown....

Weather wise: I guess about the same as southern UK however it's been really hot and sunny this week and most of the month of April was too....

Any tips for the oleander in general ? ie: watering, sun exposure,pesticides...

cheers

 

Well I must admit to struggling with Oleander a bit.

It seems to really like endless sunshine with a good supply of water, I can supply the water, but the sunshine is not up to me.:D

I find double flowered varieties almost impossible outside over here, I think they need more heat than the singles to open their buds.

But given warmth and sun, the occasional feed, and plenty of water when its hot, they should do well.
We are just a little too far north for them I think.

 

Helen my dear, we already had a conversation about this ... I personally do not think it will live with you in your beautiful Brussels where I have visited as I had work-related business there.

I'm sorry, it's not a plant for your country irrespective of what your garden center told you.

I have the double flowered which I adore.

It NEEDS the sun and heat. ... they live here in dry riverbeds like Canos . xx

 

Yes that's quite obvious but I'm not going to throw it away am I ...

After seeing the blackened buds I thought there might have been some disease....

So I've got a tree that will never flower... :(

Maybe next time you're in Brussels you could pop by and take it back with you...

 

It might flower around August, as I say the single flowered ones seem to be a bit more amenable to cooler summer conditions.

 

Hello Pete

Just came in and have some news on the oleander : to my astonishment I left a flower-less oleander this morning and now it actually has 3 white flowers !!!
(May sound OTT but thought I would never see any !)

However on a sader note I've noticed what seems to be "oleander gall" on a few twigs .. I read about this and have seen some pics on the internet and am pretty sure that's it... I've pruned away the infected areas (being careful to clean between cuts as I've heard it's pretty contagious)

Would you know if there's anything else I should do to stop it from spreading ? and is it dangerous for other plants nearby ?

Thanks

 

Never heard of it I'm afraid, galls are usually caused by a specific insect as far as I know, I doubt there are enough oleanders in the UK to make it worth their while crossing the channel:lollol:

I just looked it up and I see its not the same as galls that we get here on trees.

Appears to be bacterial, so I doubt its worth keeping your plant, might be a good idea to buy another now that things have warmed up.
Sorry.

 

Oleanders do grow well on the South coast but very rarely flower well, it's the early Spring sun and warmth that they need for bud initiation that they need but don't get here (or Belgium).
As Pete rightly says, the singles flower more freely here than the doubles which I wouldn't bother with outside.

 

Oh well , you live and learn
I just wish garden centres would warn you a bit more that's all...
In the meantime however mine has picked up a bit and has started flowering so at least I have a few flowers !

I'll be more careful in future

thanks all.