Nerium oleander Docteur Ragioneri

Nerium oleander 'Docteur Ragioneri' is a cultivar of Oleander that is characterised by moderate growth and a beautiful single flowering in a mix of light salmon pink and creamy yellow. It is an evergreen, not very hardy, drought-tolerant and highly floriferous shrub. Emblematic of Mediterranean gardens, it is also widely planted in coastal gardens. It will create beautiful multicoloured hedges when combined with other varieties. Elsewhere, it will thrive in a large pot on the terrace and be overwintered like a citrus tree.

The numerous cultivars of oleander available on the horticultural market are mostly hybrids between Nerium oleander subsp. oleander, which is native to the Mediterranean region, and Nerium oleander subsp. indicum, which is highly fragrant and widespread from Iran to China. Their flowers are single, double, or even triple, and come in a palette of almost infinite shades, from white to pink, yellow, salmon, red, and even mauve. Blue is the only colour missing.

Nerium oleander 'Docteur Ragioneri' is a horticultural selection. It is an evergreen shrub from the Apocynaceae family. It quickly and naturally forms a bushy, branching shrub with multiple stems and a generally rounded habit. This variety will reach a height of between 2 and 3m with a spread of 2m at maturity. Its flexible branches, covered with green and then grey bark, bear long, persistent, thick, and leathery leaves that are slightly bluish-green on the upper side and lighter on the underside. They measure 10 to 15cm in length and 3cm in width. In case of intense drought, the Nerium sheds some of its leaves, mainly the older ones located at the base of the stems. Depending on the climate and soil dryness, flowering occurs in spring and early summer, then again from late summer to autumn or from July to October without interruption. The flowers are composed of a tube that widens into 5 petals of salmon pink mixed with creamy yellow, edged with bright pink, and open to reveal a wide, yellow throat striped with red. They are grouped in corymbs, mainly at the terminal part of 1 or 2-year-old branches. This nectar-rich flowering is followed by long reddish pods that burst open when ripe, releasing a multitude of small seeds with a cluster of white bristles, dispersed by the wind. Be careful not to prune the oleander too severely: only stems of a certain length bear flowers!

Resistant and generous Nerium oleander 'Docteur Ragioneri' is an excellent free-standing hedge plant by the sea, but also a beautiful specimen to plant in a warm location. Hardy down to -8/-10°C once well established, it will grow without problems in any well-drained soil and requires little maintenance. It can be used in a medium-height hedge, combined with other varieties of modest stature and different colours. For example, 'Papa Gambetta', 'Angiolo Pucci', or 'Soleil Levant'. It can also be planted in a large shrub bed, with Crape Myrtle 'Neige d'été', Photinia 'Carré Rouge', or myrtles. On the terrace, this fragrant oleander will stand out in a large pot. This cultivation method allows the shrub to be stored in a very bright, cool, but frost-free location in colder regions.

The genus name, Nerium, is believed to come from its ancient Greek name, Nerion, derived from Nereus, a sea god in Greek mythology. Another interpretation links Nerium to neros, which means moist in Greek. The underlying liquid element in both interpretations is probably explained by the fact that wild oleander never grows far from water. Its long roots anchor deep into the ground to draw in moisture, even on the slopes of gorges or in the beds of dried-up rivers. As proof of its incredible drought resistance, in arid regions such as the Negev in Israel or the southern Anti-Atlas in Morocco, Nerium oleander is one of the few shrubs, along with Acacia and Retama (a type of broom), capable of withstanding the desert, anchored in the walls of ravines.