Nerium Oleander

[GdS]

does anyone have experience of keeping these in the UK?

They appear to grow like wildfire in the Med and Atlantic and have beautiful flowers but almost impossible to obtain and grow in the UK. We tried to bring one back from Mallorca yesterday but it was confiscated by airport security (it only cost €3.50) as the island's specimens have a nasty bacteria which damages the xylem and they are not even allowed to go from there to the Spanish mainland.

[SteveC]

The RHS list at least one variety, so you should be able to obtain one here

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/255940/nerium-oleander-laurier-rose/details

[GdS]

yes we can buy one from a couple of local places but very expensive, just want to make sure it's worth the cost / effort

[Mrs Pingu]

Probably depends rather on whether you have a Mediterranean climate where you are.

[GdS]

Probably depends rather on whether you have a Mediterranean climate where you are.

we certainly did last summer!

apparently they are fine in full sun in the UK but need to be brought indoors in winter

[djmc]

I have tried to grow it here in Britanny. I live in a frost hollow and it didn't survive. I have seen it elsewhere in Quimper growing happily. You should be aware that it is very poisonous.

[Little Jim]

We have some friends who have a couple of them.  They live in pots all year round and only get put outside during the summer months, the rest of the time, possibly as much as 9 months of the year they live in their conservatory.  I get the impression that they are a bit of a labour of love and they can start to take over given half a chance and need quite a bit of pruning, which I guess means that they like the growing conditions that they have.  I have never seen much flower on them, there always seems to be quite a bit of bare stem with leaves at the top.