Nerium oleander Scarlet Beauty

Nerium oleander 'Scarlet Beauty' is a variety of Oleander with eye-catching, velvety, deep red flowering. It is a vigorous variety, particularly resistant to drought. Its simple and slightly fragrant flowers bloom continuously from June to October. They are grouped in clusters at the end of the branches, highlighted by elegant dark green foliage, attractive even in winter. This evergreen shrub is easy to grow in any well-drained soil. However, its cultivation in open ground is reserved for regions spared by severe frosts.

The many cultivars of oleander available on the horticultural market are mostly hybrids between Nerium oleander subsp. oleander, spontaneous around the Mediterranean, and Nerium oleander subsp. indicum, highly fragrant, 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 and salmon, red, and even mauve. Only blue is absent.

Nerium oleander 'Scarlet Beauty' is sometimes given as a synonym for 'Emile Sahut', these two cultivars do have many similarities. It is an evergreen shrub of the apocynaceae family. It naturally forms a bushy, multi-stemmed shrub, with a generally rounded habit. It is vigorous, reaching a height of about 3m with a spread of 2m at maturity, and its growth is rapid. Its flexible branches, covered with green then grey bark, bear long persistent, thick and leathery leaves with a slightly ashy green colour and a lighter reverse. They measure 10 to 15 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. In case of intense drought, the Nerium loses some of its older leaves, those located at the base of the stems. Flowering begins in June and sporadically renews throughout the summer. If the soil does not dry out too much, it renews without interruption until September. The flowers are composed of a tube widening into 5, dark red petals finely bordered with reddish-black. They are accompanied by thin, spiralled, dark red buds and are grouped in corymbs, mainly at the terminal part of the 1 or 2 year old branches. This nectar-rich flowering is followed by long reddish pods that burst 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 the stems that have reached a certain length bear flowers!

A symbol of resistance and generosity, Nerium oleander 'Scarlet Beauty' is an excellent hedge plant by the sea, but also a magnificent subject to plant in isolation in a hot location. Hardy down to -6/-8°C once well established, it will grow without any problem in any well-drained soil. It can be used as a hedge, by regularly pruning it, combined with other evergreen shrubs such as Viburnum tinus, Photinia 'Red Robin', myrtles, Pittosporum tobira, and Phillyrea angustifolia 'Green Up'. In mild climates, it can be trained as a small tree by selecting the most beautiful stem and allowing it to branch out at a height of 1.50m or 2m from the ground. The resulting specimens are particularly ornamental but require a very mild winter that will not risk cutting them back to the ground. On the terrace, this vibrant oleander will stand out in a large pot. This allows the shrub to be stored in a very bright, cool, but frost-free room in cold regions.

The genus name, Nerium, is said to come from its ancient Greek name, Nerion, derived from Nereus, a sea god in Greek mythology. Another interpretation would relate Nerium to neros, which means moist in Greek. The underlying liquid element in these two interpretations is undoubtedly explained by the fact that the wild oleander never grows far from water. Its long roots anchor deeply in the soil to draw in moisture, even on the slopes of gorges or in the beds of dried-up rivers. Proof of its incredible drought resistance, in arid regions such as the Negev in Israel or the south of the Anti-Atlas in Morocco, Nerium oleander is one of the only shrubs, along with Acacia and Retama (a kind of broom), capable of facing the desert, anchored in the walls of ravines.