Although the pot plant with the pretty, mostly funnel-like yellow flowers is called “yellow oleander” in this country, from a botanical point of view the only thing it has in common with the real oleander (Nerium oleander) is the plant family and its strong toxicity. While the yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana), also known as the bell tree, originally comes from Peru and thrives primarily in tropical areas, the real oleander has its home in the countries around the Mediterranean.
How to grow yellow oleander from seeds?
To grow yellow oleander from seeds, you should take the seeds out of the fruit capsule (wearing gloves), clean them, water them for 48 hours and then plant them 1-2 cm deep in potting soil. Keep the substrate moist, the humidity high and the temperature at around 25°C.
Be careful: just one seed capsule can kill a person
All parts of the bell tree are highly poisonous. They contain the heart-active glycosides thevetin and nerifolin, which ensure that the heartbeat initially slows down and then stops completely. Even a single seed pod is potentially fatal to a human! But leaves, shoots and the milky sap that comes out when the bush is cut, for example, are also highly poisonous. Anyone who wants to cultivate this exotic plant with its pretty flowers should be aware of this - keeping Thevetia peruviana is therefore not recommended, especially in households with children.
Growing yellow oleander from seeds
If you are not put off by the plant's strong toxicity and want to enjoy the extremely pretty flowers, you can grow the yellow oleander yourself from seeds. These are easily available online, but also in some well-stocked garden stores. Be very careful when handling the highly poisonous seeds and be sure to only touch them with gloves to avoid accidental poisoning!
And this is how you grow young plants from the seeds you receive:
- Often you will not receive pure seeds, but rather fruit capsules.
- Get the seeds out of the fruit capsules, but only with gloves!
- Clean the seeds thoroughly with lukewarm water.
- Now soak them for about 48 hours, also in lukewarm water.
- Now fill pots or bowls with potting soil.
- Plant the seeds about one to two centimeters deep into the substrate.
- Keep the substrate evenly moist.
- Ensure high humidity (e.g. in the indoor greenhouse)
- as well as for a consistently high temperature of around 25 °C.
- Germination occurs after a few weeks.
Tip
If you are enthusiastic about real oleander, you might also enjoy the varieties with yellow flowers. In the case of Nerium oleander, among other things: The varieties “Isle of Capri”, “Marie Gambetta”, “Souvenier des Iles Canaries” and “Luteum Plenum” are very popular.
