The 'Maurin des Maures' variety descends from the species Nerium oleander, of the Apocynaceae family. The latter is an evergreen shrub that grows on the banks of torrents and wadis in the Mediterranean basin, from North Africa and the Near East to the Indian subcontinent and southern China; it lives in stony soils, dry on the surface in summer, but slightly moist at depth. It can live 30 to 50 years in open ground.
'Maurin des Maures' is a horticultural cultivar created by the Provençal nurseryman Jean Rey in the early 1990s, around 1992, as part of his significant breeding work on oleanders. In specialist collections, this variety is classified among the semi-dwarf forms with single flowers. Its habit is bushy, rounded, in a slightly flared ball, with upright branches starting low on the stem. Its growth is rapid: the shrub reaches 1.50m to 2m in height with a spread of 1.20 to 2m within a few years, a little more in a Mediterranean climate if left to grow freely. The root system is deep and widely spread, which explains its good drought resistance once established. Its woody trunk re-sprouts easily after pruning.
'Maurin des Maures' flowers from July to October in regions with long summers. At the ends of the young shoots, large clusters or corymbs form, bearing numerous single flowers with five petals. Their colour ranges from dark pink to bright pink, verging on fuchsia, with a deeper pink, slightly salmon-coloured centre. When the inflorescences are allowed to develop, they produce fruits in the form of long, narrow reddish-brown pods, which contain seeds equipped with white bristles. The evergreen foliage is composed of narrow, leathery, lanceolate, 8 to 15 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide, medium to dark green, glossy leaves, in threes or opposite on the twigs. As with all oleanders, the white sap is toxic: leaves, flowers, fruits and wood must not be ingested.
The name of this cultivar directly evokes the hero of the novel "Maurin des Maures" by Jean Aicard, a figure from the Massif des Maures in Provence. A nod to this landscape where the oleander is everywhere.
This pretty 'Maurin des Maures' variety allows you to create medium-height flowering hedges or borders with typical Mediterranean charm. By the sea, it tolerates salt spray. Further north, it gives very good results in a large container, which can be sheltered from frost in winter. You can associate it with many shrubs for dry ground and mild climates, for example Grevillea juniperina (in non-lime-bearing soil), the chaste tree Vitex agnus-castus 'Galactic Pink', with its long, soft pink spikes, Pittosporum tobira Variegatum, and Cistus x lenis ‘Grayswood Pink’, a small, carpeting rockrose that clothes the base of other varieties.
