Interesting question, I'd be interested to find out also because I keep mine on the outskirts of a HPS light and it continues to grow all winter. ~Josie

Excuse my ignorance...but what is an HPS light?

HPS is High Pressure Sodium. The big 1000 watt bulb that the pot growers use. Here's a pic to show the light. Those are mostly brugmansia plants. The oleander is behind at the left cornor. You can't see it in this pic. ~Josie
{{gwi:533308}}

my Goodnes, JosieP, your hydro bill must be HUGE. I use several banks of recycled florescent tubes and it works out well for cuttings. My brugs I let go dormant in the cool basement, watering each month just enough so it doesn't dry out.

I've done well moving my Nerium oleander off the deck and into an unheated greenhouse over winter. This keeps the soil reasonably dry over the winter months and the plant goes dormant. They should pull though a rather cold (-7 celcius) night or two, providing the daytime temps rebound above freezing.
I'm always on the look out for a hardy cultivar. There are some growing in gardens here, but I've yet to source them out.

Cheers, Barrie (Vancouver Island)

Well...lots of interesting feedback here...but, I definitely don't have HPS lights I can use....and I think that southern Ont. winters are much colder than Vancouver Island winters....can anyone from southern Ontario tell me what they do with their Oleander trees come the fall?

Well, another VIslander here, ...

In the winter, I keep my oleander in a room with a west window, so it gets a teeny tiny bit of sun from the south west in the winter afternoons. It doesn't need much water, and it doesn't get ANY fertilizer until about April, when the light starts to reach it a bit more. (Then it just gets dilute MG.) It goes back outside sometime in May.

The woman I got mine from when she divided her plant keeps hers in a pretty dark basement room --it has a netting covered window that faces east and is underneath a sundeck, so this is quite dark. She waters it a bit once a month. Hers loses more leaves than mine, but survives just fine.

Jan

I am in S.W. Ontario and I have 2 Oleander trees I have been bringing indoors for the Winter for the past 4 years. I keep them in an unheated bedroom which gets a fair amount of light and they come through the Winter months beautifully.They are on my deck now and are covered in flower buds.I love these plants,they bloom all Summer for me.

dllfb, I have several Oleander trees and I live in Toronto...

I used to bring them into the living room for the winter back in my apartment days. They were OK there.

When we got the house, the first year we kept them in our detached garage with a teeny little heater that (I suspect) my husband kept turning on and off, so the temps often dipped way below zero -- and most (if not all) of them died. I had to get new ones!

We built a greenhouse in the back yard with a small heater, so the daytime temps were slightly above zero on the coldest days, and the Oleanders did fine over the winter.

To answer your question more specifically, I think they will do just fine in your basement over the winter. They don't even need a lot of light in those months -- they go into a "slowing-down", and they don't need much water either, if there's very little sun. (In fact, be sure not to water too much in such cases.) I'd suggest bringing them in before the night temps fall to 5 degrees-ish. If they're not too huge, in the Spring start bringing them outdoors during the day (if above zero) for a few hours, to "harden them off".

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions -- I might have some answers!

dllfb: Just thought that I would throw my experience into the ring as I also am a southwestern Ontario gardener. I have several Oleanders that I overwinter and have done so with good success for a number of years. I have an unheated but attached garage with a narrow strip of windows that face east. I place the Oleanders and their pots here and they have done great. There was one winter a few years ago that got very cold for an extended period of time and I did lose one but the others survived. If you are at all worried about the cold you can do what I do with my brugmansias in the same space and that is to place them and their pots into a cardboard box filled with shredded newspaper which acts as a great insulator. My brugmansias come back with very little stress or so it appears. Hope this helps you and you can continue growing and admiring your Oleander. Ross.

Jroot,
The cost for hydro is $40.00 month with 16hr a day. A small fee compared to the private sales I make.
The light comes in handy when I run out of space under my seedling grow lights. This past winter I had 3 hibiscus plants constantly blooming. My large brugs go dormant in the dark cornor of the basement.
Good to know that we can store our orleanders that way too.
Thanks for the info everyone.
~Josie

Josie, where did you buy your unit? Also, how did you get started on selling your plants? It might be something I may have to start getting into to support my hobbies.

Ianna

Hi,

Has anyone ever encountered white spots (I asuume a fungus or mould????) mainly along the trunk of an oleander tree? If so, any tips on treatment?

Thanks,
Lori

Hi, I have had my oleander for 6 years now and I bring it in and use it for a house plant. Does good, but hasn`t bloomed for 2 years, I do cut it back about every 2 years.Why hasn`t it gotten flowers? Thanks,Deb

Can Oleanders be planted in the ground still in the pot to keep roots under control?

I live in Barrie ON. I have had my Oleander Tree for almost 4 years now. It blooms 2 to 3 times a year. As soon as the weather stays above 10 degrees celcius. I put it outside. As soon as it gets colder than 10 degrees, I bring it in and I set it in front of a window. I water it throughly but let it dry out throughly, so perhaps I water it 2 or 3 times a month. It appears to be very happy with it's treatment. It drops a few leaves in the winter months but right now it's May and it's been in bloom for over 6 weeks straight and it will slow down here shortly, when I place it outside however, it will bloom at least once during the summer and again in the fall before I bring it in. I'm not sure what I'm doing that my neighbour isn't, but she's killed both of her Oleanders. :)