Rosebay

Rosebay, the red flowered form of Nerium oleander, keeps going when the rest of the garden has given up. It reaches about 3m tall and 3m wide, carries clusters of deep red blooms through the warm months, and handles drought, salt wind, reflected heat and poor soil. One caution: every part of the plant is highly toxic if eaten, so it is not for a garden where small children or grazing animals have free run.

Why you'll love it

• It flowers through the heat. Deep red clusters open across spring and summer and keep coming as the temperature climbs, on a shrub that asks for very little water. Bees work them.
• Genuinely tough roots. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant and content in poor soil, so it takes a hot verge or a dry driveway strip that defeats other flowering shrubs.
• Coastal and salt tolerant. Salt laden wind does not brown the foliage, so it is one of the few reliable flowering screens for a beachside block.
• Frost hardy once established. It shrugs off cold snaps that stop most tropical looking shrubs, so it earns a place inland and in Mediterranean climates.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 1.5m apart in a single row. The canopies close within two to three seasons and you can still reach the base with secateurs.

Coastal gardens. Front line beach blocks defeat most flowering shrubs. This one takes the salt and wind, so it can carry a boundary where softer plants burn off.

Growing Rosebay Oleander in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, always. It suits tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid to semi-arid gardens, and is frost hardy once the roots are down. In cold districts with repeated heavy frost, growth is slower and flowering lighter.

Soil. Almost anything that drains: sand, gravel, thin clay and compacted verge soil all work. Waterlogging is the one thing it will not forgive, so mound up on heavy ground.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then it lives on rainfall in most seasons. A light dose of slow release fertiliser in early spring is plenty, and overfeeding gives soft growth and fewer flowers.

Pruning. Cut back by up to a third once flowering finishes. It reshoots readily from old wood, so a neglected plant can be reduced hard and recovers within a season. Wear gloves, wash up afterwards, and bag prunings for green waste rather than burning them, because the smoke is toxic.

What to expect when it arrives

Rosebay is sold in a 140mm pack of ten and a 200mm pack of six, both aimed at planting a run. Plants arrive as young, well rooted shrubs, not the 3m mature size, and bulk up in the second and third seasons. Both sizes are on backorder, so check the lead time shown on this page.

Stock travels upright and is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect two or three quiet weeks after planting, then new growth once the soil warms. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to create a great hedge and keep it looking sharp
• Compare hedging and screening plants
• Salt tolerant plants for coastal gardens
• More drought tolerant plants

Common questions

Is oleander safe around children and pets?

No. Every part of the plant is highly toxic if swallowed, sap and dried leaves included, and smoke from burning prunings is toxic as well. Plant it where small children and grazing animals cannot reach it, and put clippings in green waste.

How much water does it actually need?

Weekly deep soaks through the first summer, then very little. Established plants in most mainland climates get through summer on rainfall, though flowering is heavier if you water in a long dry spell.

Will it flower in a cool climate?

It flowers best where summers are hot and dry. In colder gardens it survives frost once established but stays smaller and blooms less freely, so give it the warmest north facing spot you have.