Oleander Bush??? (live, today)

[DO2TX]

I am not a fan of oleanders. My ex-neighbor had them planted along his property line which was next to my driveway. The very large plants dropped sap and flowers all over my car - the sticky mix of sap and flowers is difficult to remove and stains the paint. I couldn't use 1/3 of my driveway because of the darn oleanders.
In between Vacaville and Sacramento oleanders are growing in the freeway medians - a couple of times a year someone tosses out a cigarette and the medians catch fire - Oleanders burn surprisingly well!
They are pretty and they grow really fast just be sure that you don't grow them near a driveway or smoke near them.

[Phisch]

I thought oleanders were planted in hedges to help keep deer away?

[Pontificator]

Oleander Bush??? Is that a third cousin from Midland we haven't heard about??

(sorry, couldn't resist)

[rivergirl831]

I would not worry about them being poisonous. Half the plants at your local nursery are. The good thing about oleander is they taste horrible and it would be very hard for a child or animal to ingest enough to harm them.

The bigger problem...oleander are dying very fast in this region. We just removed 10 of them. Go do a Google search on "oleander leaf scorch". There is no cure. Soon there may not be any oleander left. Save your money. I'd recommend wax myrtles as a fast-growing alternative.

[jread]

We have two Oleander bushes in the front yard and they're awesome. One has red flowers and the other has white flowers. They are blooming like crazy this time of year!

[PAULA JEAN TYLER]

Hi,
My parents raise livestock on their property in California. They also had several Oleander Bushes. One day three of the animals got out of the stable and decided to head for the Oleander bushes. within 15 minutes two horses and one goat were dead. Oleander bushes are extremely poisonous... to put it lightly. My advise to you is this: Cut them down and dig out the root base. Bag up every stick, stem, leaf, and root. haul it all off your property or burn it at an outdoor burn site. Get Rid Of The Oleander. Do Not Let Children Near It.

[AustinTraveler]

Originally Posted by PAULA JEAN TYLER

haul it all off your property or burn it at an outdoor burn site.

Please don't do this. The fumes from burning oleander are toxic.

For more info:

toxic

[readymade]

I don't know if these will grow in TX, but my two suggestions are:

1) Jasmine: Maybe the best smelling plant EVER! Pretty quick-growing. Not the nicest-looking plant in the world (little white flowers), but not the worst either.

2) Passion Flowers: GORGEOUS flowers! Mine grew insanely fast and took over a whole wall. A really beautiful plant.

[cwr64]

Red Tip Photinias are NOT recommended anymore. They used to be highly recommended for this area but they have now become subject to disease and they are no longer on the recommended list of anyone who really knows about them.

[countrymouse2302]

I have grown up with oleander plants all my life ,,through out my childhood my adult years ,and i will tell you that they are plants not food ,,!!!! Any plant is poisionous as long as you put them in your mouth ,,,.It is up to us parents to show our children that plants are there to make a place beautiful and to enjoy the beautiful flowers that they put out ,,,If you are going to be freaking out for any plant that is dangerous around your child then you might as well have a dessert around your house ,,,,grass is poisionous ,,,are people out there going to get rid of grass too ,,,,grass has bacteria and mites ,,and germs ,,,my suggestion is teach your kids the beauty of life and the types of plants all around us .I will for a fact tell you that we use them as snake repellant ,,snakes do not like the sweet smell oleanders let out ,,and i live in a ranch and have them all around ,.