Oleander dying

11 years ago

I couldn't figure out where to post this question, but I'm new to gardening so maybe someone here can help me. My Oleanders had yellow aphids. I sprayed them with neem oil. We also had a lot of rain. They are in containers. Does anyone know what is happening? The leaves turned brown and yellow and are all falling off. Thank you!

Featured Answer

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

11 years ago

Aphids are hardly harmless! Unchecked, they can kill a plant!

I agree that any horticultural oil can harm plant tissues if applied in the heat, and especially in the hot sun.

But I suspect your problem is the container/potting medium/too much rain issue.

Good news is that oleanders respond beautifully to being cut all the way to the ground and allowed to grow anew. Beautifully! Also good news is that oleanders thrive in containers, as long as the potting medium is fast draining and coarse textured.

The bad news is that this is not the best time of year to prune nor to repot, under normal conditions. But I believe that the condition of your shrub may even get worse if you don't take action now.

Please make the effort to find a coarse textured potting mix. Add bark fines...do you know what that is? Do a little root pruning before repotting, probably into the same container. It has drainage holes, right?

Your shrub is likely to begin resprouting right away. That new, tender growth will be susceptible to frost/freeze damage. Be prepared to cover it with a towel or folded up sheet during those times. Don't fertilize to accelerate growth.

Your view looks a lot like mine when I lived in a little flat just off the beach in Beaufort, SC. Yours looks like a marsh view.....nice!

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Comments (11)

jacqueline9CA
11 years ago
I would never spray anything for aphids except water - they are not as bad for plants as many sprays are. Aphids are basically harmless, except they look weird - just spray them off with water.

I would check the drainage - are they waterlogged?

I am in Calif. in zone 9, which is so different from your climate that I cannot give you more advice. Does anyone near you grow oleanders? Here they grow like weeds - they love the dry heat. They plant them in the divider strip on freeways, and they thrive there. Not exactly New York weather. The bushes get huge here - when happy, up to 10 ft by 10 ft. Way too big for a pot - perhaps yours are rootbound?

Anyway, the best advice is LOCAL, so I would try and find some oleanders growing near you, and ask about them.

Jackie
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
how big is the pot ... how long in that pot.. how old is the media ... etc ...

is this a houseplant in winter??? .. is so ... did you harden it off to direct sun.. when you took it out in summer ...

bugs seem to know when a plant is stressed ... so i am wondering.. why it was stressed in the first place .... and then thinking.. covering a stressed plant in oil.. may not have helped ...

more facts please ...

ken
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reginasavannah
Original Author
11 years ago
I need to change my name on here because I'm presently living in Savannah, Ga. So it's quite hot and they usually thrive here. So I have no idea why this happened. Would it be alright to first prune them down and then transplant them?
jacqueline9CA
11 years ago
If they were mine and I lived in a warm climate, I would plant them in the ground.

Jackie
reginasavannah
Original Author
11 years ago
I will! Thanks for the advice.
cecily
11 years ago
Spraying oil in hot weather can burn your foliage. Use neem early in spring or late in fall - during summer months just spray water.
jacqueline9CA
11 years ago
Savannah is climate zone 8b - no need to keep them in pots, or cover them. Just put them in the ground and they will thrive.

Jackie
jacqueline9CA
11 years ago
I forgot to add - put them in as much direct sun as you can. The biggest, happiest, oleanders I ever saw, which were covered with so many flowers you could hardly see the leaves, were alongside of the road (no care) in Clear Lake, CA, which is zone 9a.

Jackie
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Jackie, I agree with you that oleanders do best in the ground. But sometimes, people choose to grow different kinds of woody plants in containers!

Oleanders are one of those plants that perform gorgeously in a pot, as long as the potting mix is a good one, and the environmental conditions are suitable. It's not a matter of " need", but of "want".

They make an interesting and attractive porch or deck plant all year round. When blooming, oleanders perfume the air lightly, just perfect when you're sitting nearby.
rusty_blackhaw
11 years ago
I see plenty of online references to spraying oleander with neem oil, so it doesn't look like the foliage is susceptible to damage from this agent (unless too concentrated a solution was used). Poor drainage in the pot might have caused a problem spurred on by a rainy stretch.

I have a smaller potted oleander which gets summered outdoors. It is growing in a relatively lightweight soilless mix and so regular irrigation doesn't cause a problem.

In ground, established oleanders are drought-resistant.