Source for semi dwarf oleander?

[Manalto]

I've got my heart set on a semi-dwarf oleander (around 6 feet), red or white, for a spot in my landscape. A search of local nurseries came up empty. Any suggestions for mail order or within driving distance of Mobile, Alabama?

[Estlander]

Here our Lowes and HD pretty much always have them. It’s called Oleander Nerium. 
 

[Manalto]

Great, I can drive to Destin. Thanks!

[Estlander]

32 minutes ago, Manalto said:

Great, I can drive to Destin. Thanks!

Before you do, I can go by and check just to be sure. With all the Covid craziness going right now, who knows. 
Or you can call them and ask if they have any O. Neriums. 
Check out your area big box stores too. Don’t see a reason why ours would have them and your stores wouldn’t. 
 

Edited April 4, 2020 by Estlander

[Silas_Sancona]

37 minutes ago, Estlander said:

Before you do, I can go by and check just to be sure. With all the Covid craziness going right now, who knows. 
Or you can call them and ask if they have any O. Neriums. 
Check out your area big box stores too. Don’t see a reason why ours would have them and your stores wouldn’t. 
 

Yea, i'd check.. If the stores there stock  the same "Oleander"  as they do here, you'll be wasting your time and $$. Unless they're using different wholesalers, very rare to see any of the Dwarf or so called semi dwarf types in their stores ( or H. D. ) here.. Normally stock just the big, basic Red and White varieties. " Oleander nerium " is just the species / genus reversed on the tag. Great confusion tactic if you haven't done your homework..

If you can't find the ones you're looking for, search any /every mail order place online. Someone is bound to have them, though you'll likely have to start quite small.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Silas_Sancona
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[Manalto]

6 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

If you can't find the ones you're looking for, search any /every mail order place online. Someone is bound to have them, though you'll likely have to start quite small.

I'm an advocate of the plant early, plant small (plant cheaply) school of landscaping, although the older I get, the more I have to consider if I will see the fruits of my labor. That policy mostly applies to trees - Nerium oleander is not one of those to be concerned about; it's usually a vigorous grower. There's a single white cultivar called 'Morocco' that I'd like to track down.

The dwarf variety that you can usually find around here is 'Petite Pink'. It's OK, but not right for the spot - and, reputedly, less cold hardy than some other forms.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Manalto

[Manalto]

My Lowe's has 'Calypso' which is a full size oleander in a nice deep pink. It claims to have good hardness; I was lucky to encounter a Lowe's employee who knows about plants and she said it'll get knocked back in a freeze but will recover. I got one to use as a privacy screen in another area of the yard.

[Estlander]

9 hours ago, Manalto said:

There's a single white cultivar called 'Morocco' that I'd like to track down.

The dwarf variety that you can usually find around here is 'Petite Pink'. It's OK, but not right for the spot - and, reputedly, less cold hardy than some other forms.

I don’t think I’ve seen any dwarf white varieties here either. Just the pink O. Nerium. 

[Matthew92]

The only dwarf or semi-dwarf cultivar I know if is "Petite Pink" which I believe is not very hardy unfortunately.

From my observations, 'calypso' is more half hardy on the upper Gulf Coast (outside anomalous microclimates). Anywhere from mild to no damage when we have a zone 9 temps, but approaching 20 deg to upper teens can cut them to the ground. 

I still have yet to figure out exactly what cultivars are fully zone 8 hardy. When I visited Dallas a couple years ago there were large specimens that obviously had weathered 8b to 8a freezes no problem. Here in NW Florida, I've spotted some that don't get any damage even in the coldest of winters. Here are a couple ones in the same neighborhood after the Jan 2018 freeze. Each of these saw 18-19 degrees.

The larger leaf ones seem more tender (I forget what color this one is)

I'm pretty sure this one is white. I know there are some other white flowered ones in my hometown that almost never get damage even in upper teens.

 

[Manalto]

Thanks, Matthew. I think the situation is pretty similar here. Today I picked up some 'Petite Salmon' which I learned later is even less hardy than 'Petite Pink'. As long as the plant regrows from the roots I'm okay. The grower said he hasn't had any luck with the white dwarf form and, considering what white looks like when it starts to decline (dirty laundry) I opted for the salmon (which, by the way, isn't salmon - it's pink with a yellow throat).

 

 

[Brad Mondel]

I collect oleanders and have found a very hardy red, pink, and white form that I selected and rooted myself. I am in zone 8a.

[Brad Mondel]

[Manalto]

4 hours ago, Brad Mondel said:

I collect oleanders and have found a very hardy red, pink, and white form that I selected and rooted myself. I am in zone 8a.

One plant has all three colors?

Where did you find oleander that's hardy in 8a? Is it full size or dwarf? As I mentioned in the title of this thread, I'm searching for such a plant.

[Chester B]

https://xeraplants.com/genus/nerium/

I have the pink and red, and can attest that they are hardy.  Unfortunately these guys don't do mail order but you can look for these varieties elsewhere.

[Manalto]

That soft yellow is nice too. Thanks, I'll see if I can track any of them down.

[Brad Mondel]

They're on separate plants. 

I selected these myself when I used to live on the coast. They were survivers after a cold winter.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Brad Mondel

[Brad Mondel]

I could root you some if you would like.

[Matt N- Dallas]

‘Calypso’ is very cold hardy, fragrant and blooms from April until the first week of July in Dallas.  I’ve been growing it in Dallas for 17 years and it has never been affected by cold into the teens.  My friend, who’s parent Calypso I took a cutting of for my mine, has been growing it in Dallas for at least 30 years.  

[Manalto]

On 4/6/2020 at 6:58 PM, Brad Mondel said:

I could root you some if you would like.

I would love that! (Sorry for the slow response - I'm just seeing this now.)

Edited April 15, 2020 by Manalto