I grow oleander. Don't put it in the same yard as your pets though, it is lethal. Also make sure you are getting a fragrant variety, as i have been let down in the past.

Tom, are they oleanders or rhododendrons? I used to grow oleanders, but I don't think they would be good for your area, unless you're going to get a dwarf and use it in a container, and replace it when it freezes. The dwarf pink ones are quite cute.

Def. talking oleanders. Rhodies I would know from fiftty paces....and they aren't so good here either, with our limey soil.

I often bring up such ideas and the same confusion ensues. I am most definitely talking about use as an "annual"....no attempt to winter over, no attempt to "save". After all, nearly all summer annuals used up here in the north are tropicals from somewhere. This is but an extension of that idea....like how this year, I used popcorn cassias in big planters. Of course they're not hardy for here, nor were they ever intended to be.

It is indeed the dwarfish types I'm interested in, and too, the aromatic types would be most suited to this idea. But it doesn't sound like I'm going to learn much on this one.

I say, go for it! Would look beautiful all summer. Just make sure you get the fragrant plants.

Jane

FWIW, I don't like the smell of oleanders - find it cloying. & they are so ubiquitous here, I've never thought of them as anything other than poisonous & boring. Especially since we were warned repeatedly to shun them as children. The only thing I like about them is oleander moths.

Just my 2 cents...

Tom, I think it's a little late in the season to be planting them up there. You'd only have a month or so before they would start looking crappy, but if your employers have the money to spend, go for it. Like I said, the dwarf pink has always been a favorite of mine. Easy to grow. blooms prolifically.

Oh no........this is all looking ahead to next year! I'd never be changing stuff out like that. This is going to be another one-like the popcorn cassia-where a real key factor is going to be time-to-bloom. With the cassia, it's up and running (and blooming) by early June up here, and never quits all summer. That's what I'm talking about-some southern plant or other which when brought northward could put on a good show, from early summer through fall.

Oleander will definitely do that, but they are deadly poisonous, so don't put them anywhere that aniimals or children may decide to mess with them. When I first moved to FL in 1987, there was a family that went to the beach (forget where) and picked the long, straight oleander branches to cook hotdogs and marshmallows on. They all ended up in the hospital, the youngest boy almost died from kidney failure. They aren't a plant to mess with.

I guess not! Once had used the Castor bean plant-a real nice red-leafed cultivar too-in some big planters. Every thing was beautiful but made the mistake of mentioning to a supervisory person that ricin-the chemical therein -was among the most deadly poisonous known to man. Ended up taking out lots of nice plants that day! Grrr...I suppose we could make up a special "TOXIC and POISONOUS" bed somewhere!

So oleander gets up and running quickly from rooted cutting or other starter plant format, huh? The one I'm using now-that popcorn cassia-has been nothing less than amazing in that regard. Blooming continuously since early June, it's the epitome of what you'd want out of an "annual" plant type. And the fact that for many folks it's of an unusual and striking appearance, so much the better.