Nerium oleander three-colour pot

Nerium oleander 'Tricolour' is a combination of three Oleander plants, united in a pot designed to adorn a terrace throughout the summer season. The varieties, all with single flowers, have been chosen to create a vibrant display of colours from June to September. The white, red, and pink flowers will renew themselves throughout the summer, in a festival of colours accompanied by a light and subtle fragrance. Easy to grow, your pot will only require regular watering, supplemented with a bit of fertiliser from time to time to encourage flowering. Place it in the sun, and it will bring a touch of the Mediterranean to your summer living space.

Oleander or Nerium oleander is a member of the Apocynaceae family. The Nerium genus includes only one species, N. oleander, native to the Mediterranean region as well as parts of Asia, in areas with a humid subtropical climate. Wild plants produce pink flowers, but there are many cultivars. 
The 'Tricolour' pot consists of a thoughtful selection of three single-flowered cultivars. One is pure white, the second is red, and the third is pink. Oleanders naturally adopt a bushy habit, branching from the base into multiple erect stems. They are flexible and green and harden at the base over time, turning brown. The tough, evergreen leaves are lanceolate, almost sessile (attached directly to the stem, almost without a petiole). Narrow and pointed at the tip, they measure 10 to 15 cm long and 2 to 3 cm wide and are opposite on the shoots or grouped in whorls of three. Their dark green colour provides a beautiful backdrop for the vibrant flowers. The flowers have a corolla with 5 petals, 4 to 5 cm in diameter, and are grouped in compound cymes at the ends of the shoots. They appear in June or July in cooler climates and renew themselves until September, sometimes even October. Slightly fragrant, they emit a subtle scent, especially on warm summer evenings. The combination of the three colours is particularly successful and brings joy to the summer season. This nectar-rich flowering is followed by the formation of long reddish pods that burst when ripe, releasing a multitude of small seeds equipped with a tuft of white bristles, dispersed by the wind. As the pods have no ornamental value, it is preferable to remove the faded flowers, which will encourage the formation of new inflorescences.

The 'Tricolour' Oleander composition will enchant your balcony or terrace during the summer season, generously offering you an abundance of flowers. Very tolerant of pruning, you can easily maintain it in proportions suitable for overwintering in a conservatory or orangery. To complete the Mediterranean ambience, pair it with other flowering pots created by potting perennial plants such as Euryops chrysanthemoides, which will quickly form a ball of bright green covered with vivid yellow flowers from spring to summer. A compact citrus tree, such as Calamondin, with its fragrant white flowers that turn into small orange fruits usable in cooking and yielding delicious juices, will also be a good companion.

The genus name, Nerium, is thought to derive from its ancient Greek name, Nerion, derived from Nereus, a sea god in Greek mythology. Another interpretation links Nerium to neros, meaning wet in Greek. The underlying element of water in these two interpretations is likely due to the fact that wild oleanders never grow far from water. Their long roots anchor deeply into the soil to draw moisture, even on the sides of gorges or in the beds of dried-up rivers. A testament to their incredible drought resistance, in arid regions like the Negev in Israel or the southern Anti-Atlas in Morocco, Nerium oleander is one of the few bushes, along with Acacia and Retama (a type of broom), capable of withstanding the desert, anchored in the walls of ravines.