How to propagate oleander? A few practical propagation methods to teach you

Oleander blooms from May to October, with a flowering period lasting as long as half a year, hence it also has the elegant name "Half-Year Red."

The main means of propagating oleander are cuttings and sowing

1) Cutting propagation

During shaping and pruning, the small side branches sprouting from the main trunk of the oleander should be regularly cut off, so that they do not interfere with the tree shape and consume nutrients. Using these small side branches as propagation material, they are most likely to survive after cuttings. These small branches are all relatively short; although thin and weak, their tissue is relatively plump, and they also carry terminal buds, so they take shape quickly after rooting. When cutting the above-mentioned cuttings, be sure to cut them close against the bark of the mother plant; the base of the cut small branch should carry a small piece of thicker heel-like material. This part easily produces callus tissue and has the strongest rooting ability, so do not trim it again with a knife. Then cut off the densely whorled leaves on the middle and lower parts of the small branch, keeping only 1 whorl of small leaves at the growing point. Tie them into a bundle of 10 stems each, first soak the base in clean water, changing the water once every 2 days. If the temperature is suitable, after half a month the wound begins to turn white, and then callus tissue forms. At this time, take them out of the water and insert them one by one into plain sand at a spacing of 5-6 cm, inserting them 2-3 cm deep, and place them in a shaded area for care, spraying water on the cutting bed once a day. They will quickly grow new roots, and the survival rate can reach 100%.

2) Seed propagation

The main means of propagating oleander is cuttings, but long-term cutting propagation can also lead to variety degeneration, so sowing is also a very important propagation method for oleander. Oleander sets little seed through natural pollination, so artificial pollination is best (especially for double-petaled varieties). Its fruit is a purple-brown, oblong follicle, maturing and splitting around December. When it splits, the seeds with brown downy hairs fall off automatically, so they should be collected in time, dried, and stored. Sowing time can be in spring or summer. Sow the seeds in a shallow pot filled with plain sandy soil, covering with a thin layer of soil (0.2 cm). Then spray once thoroughly with a fine-nozzle watering can, and spray every day afterward to keep the soil moist. Generally, the higher the temperature, the faster the germination: at a room temperature of about 10°C, 40 days to germinate; at about 25°C, seedlings emerge one after another in 20 days. When the seedlings grow to 3-4 true leaves and a height of 3 cm, they can be divided and potted. Seedlings from sowing grow slowly in the seedling stage, then accelerate, and can bloom in 16 months. To make the seedlings grow faster, they can first be moved to open ground for cultivation, and potted after the weather turns cold.

Tests show: seedlings from seed are sturdier, more upright, have larger leaves, and a more beautiful plant shape than cutting seedlings. They have a long lifespan and rarely suffer from diseases. Moreover, sowing easily produces variation, and it is also an important method for breeding new varieties.