Q. I have two, 7 foot tall
oleander bushes about 8 feet apart. Can I turn them into trees by cutting all
the branches to the ground except for the largest, fattest branch in the
middle? I know the suckers will be a problem for a while. Also, is it safe to
grow a small vegetable or herb garden between them? Is oleander flower and leaf
mulch safe around the edible garden?
A. Yes, you have the right
idea. Oleanders can make very nice small trees but the suckers at the base will
be a problem for several years.
 |
| Oleander pruned to a multi-trunked tree and in bloom. |
They can be
made into a single trunk or a multi-trunked tree. Multi-trunk trees are easier
to manage. Select 5 to 7 stems, or branches as you call them, coming from the
base and going in different directions. Odd numbers of branches are more
pleasing to the eye than an even number. Those are the stems you will keep.
They should be large and vigorous.
 |
| Oleander suckering from the base when pruned as a multi-trunked tree. |
Remove
all other stems as close to the ground as possible. A reciprocating saw with a
pruning blade is an easy way to remove them than a saw or loppers. Remove side
branches from the stems up to a height that looks good to you. The trunks
should be cleaned of side branches. Make sure you cut these side branches as
close to the trunk as possible. Clean the trunks anywhere from 2 feet up to
about 4 feet.
New stems
will sucker from the base throughout the growing season for several years. This
is because oleander wants to be a shrub. You are forcing it to be a tree so it
will try to revert back to a shrub.
As soon
as suckers emerge from the base, remove them by pulling rather than cutting. If
you pull them when they are very new they are easy to remove. Removal by
pulling causes fewer suckers in the future than cutting them.
Oleanders
are poisonous but research from California demonstrated that leaves and stems
can be composted and returned to the soil without problems for other plants
including vegetables.
I read with interest your article in the Review Journal regarding turning Oleanders from bushes, into trees.
ReplyDeleteI have been attempting to do this with my Oleanders for the last year or two and they appear to be doing quite well. I am glad that I have been doing most of the things that you recommended in your article.
I have attached a couple of photos and hoped you would give me youropinion of whether they will continue to do well, or if I should be doing more to them.
The photographs were taken in February when it was still rather cool, but now they are starting to bloom.
Thank you for all the help you give us amateurs with our plants, trees and gardens etc. I’m sure we all appreciate it, Mr. Morris.
Great job, Bill. The only thing I would recommend is to try and get the canopy to occupy about 2/3 of the tree and the trunks 1/3. It is more pleasing to look at. It might be a bit difficult to do that with your limited space but they look nice and make a nice small tree with flowers and is evergreen.
DeleteHello, I have a large old 40 foot oleander tree. Every year as it begins to flower some of the leaves turn yellow and drop. I realize I may need to fertilize but I was also thinking of cutting the trunks at about 20 feet , just below where it branches to encourage new healthier growth. Do you think this is an option? Obviously I would do it late summer when flowering has finished. Hoping you can help me. Kind regards
ReplyDeleteIt’s a temporary fix. There is such a thing as “root to shoot ratio”. What that means is that the top of the tree will return to pre pruning height as quickly as possible. The energy for growth is funneled into the top of the tree because the roots are at a maximum size for its height. Once the tree “catches up” to the size of the roots it will slow in its growth because the nutrients for growth are partitioned once again.
DeleteYour oleander just needs more water as the summer approaches. But the nice thing about it is that it handles desert heat well, unlike some other “trees” that get bigger. We have found that applying enough water so that the roots in a six foot diameter circle around the tree get the water is enough width. At that size, if enough water is applied to that circle so that the roots are wet to a depth of about 24 inches deep is enough water to apply at a single time. That equates to about two inches of water in that six foot diameter level moat or circle. What I can’t tell you is how many minutes that takes with drip irrigation. That needs a gallon to minutes conversion. In Las Vegas, that is about three times a week in the summer. In the winter it is a week or ten days or about four times as long as the summer.