The oft-repeated question “How many oleander varieties are there” does not have a simple answer.  The creator of this index of oleander cultivars has attempted to come up with an approach to this question.  It must be stated right away that one can’t just go somewhere and simply count; neither is there any listing or specialized literature which one can grab and then start counting. There are always snapshots; a current offering, or a catalogue, or a description from a specific time. Therefore, this list represents two different approaches. On the one hand, it spans a time period of 150 years and what had been described during that period – however, it should be kept in mind that many of the old names have been replaced by new ones, or that cultivars may have been renamed by nurserymen and collectors.  It is also certain that some varieties have been lost and that only their names remain.  On the other hand, nurseries, nurserymen, and collectors have been named who together provide an overview of the varieties extant at the present time.   

So that the listing doesn’t become boundless, only some are listed here, and they will represent others by proxy.  In general, the index represents the diversity of cultivars in Europe and the United States, i.e. the “Western World”.  The “Asiatic Realm” is not described; this would make the list much longer and further increase the number of overlaps

The author expressly states that he makes no claims as to the completeness of this oleander index, and that in no case is the listing to be regarded as the final word.  It represents much more of a working basis which can be continually updated.  Anyone who is professionally or privately involved with oleanders and who is knowledgeable about them is invited to contribute improvements, corrections, and/or additions, so that the overview can be improved.  For this reason, the Index will be made generally accessible and will be available in various different formats. 

ABBREVIATIONS for the OLEANDER INDEX

 

01    S    Oleander Montpellier/Sahut

02    P    F. J. J. Pagen

03    F    Pépinière Filippi

04    R    Pépinières JEAN REY

05    M    Flora Mediterranea

06    P    Les lauriers du Pont du Gard

07    R    Genetic Relationships

08    K    Christoph Köchel / Oleander (Book)

09    E    Richard Eggenberger / The Handbook on Oleanders

10    H    Ungarn/Hungary

11    O    International Oleander Society

12    N    James Nicholas

13    N    Durell Nelson

14    G    Irmtraud Gotsis

15    O    Oleander Haus

 

769   OLEANDER CULTIVARS      Current status March 2018 

 

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01    S    Oleander Montpellier/Sahut 

Le Laurier-rose a Montpellier et dans les regions meridionales: rapport sur la collection de neriums de M. Sahut . . . by Charles Cavallier 

Montpellier / Central Printing Press of the Midi [Southern France] (Ricateau, Hamelin, and Co.) 1875 

The scholarly work was compiled by the Floral Commission of the Horticultural Society on the occasion of a visit to and an inventory taken of the cultivars in Félix Sahut’s oleander collection in Montpellier. The work can be ordered online as a French-language edition. There exists a translation by James Nicholas which is privately available. 

 

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02    P    F. J. J. Pagen 

Oleanders : Nerium L. and the Oleander cultivars : series of revisions of Apocynaceae  F.J.J. Pagen 

Agricultural University Wageningen papers, 87-2 / 1987 Wageningen, Netherlands : Agricultural University, ©1988.

The text has been digitalized and is available from the University of Wageningen as a PDF.
A scholarly work on Nerium oleander L. with a very extensive listing of cultivars and their descriptions with data regarding the sources. The varieties from Sahut’s catalogue are also included.

 

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03    F    Pépinières Filippi 

Plantes pour jardin sec www.jardin-sec.com Pépinière Filippi, RD 613 34140 MÈZE, FRANCE 

A large nursery with a vast offering of Mediterranean plants.  A large selection of oleander cultivars is cultivated and propagated.
International als Richtwert benützt: Die Frosthärte-Liste von Filippi. Sortierungen der Oleander-Sorten nach Namen, Frosthärte, Größe/Höhe, Duft, Farbe und einfache/doppelte/gefüllte Blüten. 

The Index lists the offered and the described oleander varieties. 

 

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04    R    Pépinières JEAN REY 

Production Jean REY    (has not existed since 2016)

Was a Large-scale nursery and tree nursery  with several locations in Southern France. According to Köchel, probably the biggest producer of oleanders in Europe. The focus of his own hybridizing activities has been on compact and dwarf varieties. 

The Index lists the oleander varieties that they had offered. 

 

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05    M    Flora Mediterranea 

FLORA MEDITERRANEA      www.floramediterranea.de         

Königsgütler 5,  D-84072 Au/Hallertau 

Specialist nursery for container plants,  tree nursery, and garden-planning service in Southern Germany. The business specializes in Mediterranean plants and oleanders with illustrations and descriptions of the plants. The Index lists the oleander varieties offered. 

 

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06    P    Les lauriers du Pont du Gard 

Les lauriers du pont du Gard  www.leslauriersdupontdugard.fr   1600, route de Beaucaire, 30120 Sernhac 

Specialist nursery in Southern France, dealing exclusively with the production of oleanders.
Exceptional  in the pictorial presentation of the nursery and its products, as well as in the descriptions and  illustrations of oleander varieties and in the instructions for their care.

The Index lists the cultivars offered.

 

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07    R    Genetic Relationships 

Genetic Relationships between Oleander (Nerium oleander L.) Accessions by Means of AFLP Profiling 

Publiziert 2004  www.actahort.org/books/651/651_21.htm 

A scientific treatise which examines the genetic relationships between various oleander cultivars.
The investigation was undertaken by one team each from the University of Turin and the University of Florence..
The Index lists the oleander varieties which were examined and compared.

 

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08    K    Christoph Köchel / Fachbuch Oleander 

'Oleander' is a reference book on oleanders by  Christoph Köchel  (Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2007).

Richly illustrated, the book describes in detail the history of the oleander, oleander types, hybridizers, cultivation, and all the oleander cultivars commercially available in Europe; always with particular consideration of the oleander as a container plant for the Central European climate, not as a plant growing outdoors in the ground.
THE most recent and informative German-language book on oleanders. Available from booksellers. The Index lists the oleander varieties described. 

 

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09    E    Richard Eggenberger / The Handbook on Oleanders 

The Handbook On Oleanders von Richard & Mary Helen Eggenberger (Tropical Plant Specialists, Cleveland, Georgia, USA 1996).
The book illustrates and describes in detail the history and geography of the oleander, oleander cultivars, and their cultivation and care with great precision; however, mostly  with regard to oleanders planted in the ground outdoors, not as container plants. Contains a special chapter devoted to “Galveston, the ‘Oleander City’ “  in Texas, USA , and to the International Oleander Society.
In  English. Available  through booksellers.
The Index lists the oleander varieties described. 

 

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10    H    Ungarn/Hungary

Magyar Leander-, és Mediterrán Kertbarát Egyesület, The Hungarian Oleander and Mediterranean Plant Association.   leanderegyesulet.hu

The book: 'THE LAND OF OLEANDERS, Hungary - the home of unique cultivars raised from seed' was published in 2016.

 

Leandercsodák / Oleander Miracles  by Mariann Hámori,  2014.  This  book describes the history and culture of the oleander and goes into great detail. There exists an English translation by James Nicholas.

The website and the books show the oleanders from Europe and the USA and from Irmtraud Gotsis.

A specialty are the many new oleander varieties. The Index lists the oleander varieties described. 

 

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11    O    International Oleander Society und Bob Newding/Galveston

International Oleander Society   http://oleander.org
P.O. Box 3431, Galveston, Texas 77552-0431, USA
Surely the most important  institution for oleanders in the USA and internationally, founded in 1967; IOS maintains, under its own administration, connections to American nurseries and hybridizers; it has produced a series of publications, and is occupied with the propagation, raising, and cultivation of oleanders.  The emphasis is on American varieties and, of course, on oleanders growing outdoors in the ground.  The Index lists the oleander cultivars listed by the IOS. 

 

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12    N    James Nicholas 

James Nicholas, a member of the International Oleander Society, lives in the area of Hartford, Connecticut, USA, and has functioned for years as the Society's “foreign correspondent”.
He is an oleander collector and is responsible for having introduced many European cultivars to the USA and for many American varieties finding their way to Europe. James Nicholas has also translated books and texts from French, German, and Hungarian into English. He is also the translator of the English-language version of the OLEANDER HAUS website
The Index lists the oleander cultivars which he has collected and described. 

 

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13    N    Durell Nelson 

Durell Nelson, a member of the International Oleander Society, lives in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA and is perhaps the most important oleander collector in the USA; In addition to European cultivars  the American varieties are mainly represented in its collection. Durell Nelson is a leading landscape designer of a historical reconstruction of a Mormon village (Nauvoo Restoration) from the early 19th century. 

There is a touching story about how the Harriet Newding oleander that Hurricane Ike destroyed in Galveston in 2008 was brought back from Europe to Galveston (her "birthplace") with the help of Durell Nelson and James Nicholas. 

The Index lists the oleander cultivars he collected.

 

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14    G    Irmtraud Gotsis 

Irmtraud Gotsis is Viennese, lives in Agrili, Messinia, Greece and became an oleander expert there. In her large garden she has been cultivating, growing and propagating oleanders for over 30 years. Her work brought a lot of knowledge, especially in the creation of new oleander varieties. In her essay "Oleander in Greece" she not only makes an impressive commitment to oleander as a "companion of the people", but also describes in detail the history, culture and care of this plant.

Irmtraud Gotsis is represented on the OLEANDER HAUS website with her garden, her breeds and her oleander history.
The Index lists the "New Oleander cultivars with the Greek names", as well as the generally known cultivars. 

 

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15    O    Oleander Haus 

OLEANDER HAUS is represented by its website and describes all activities and tasks related to the oleander. OLEANDER HAUS sees it as its mandate to collect, cultivate and preserve all the oleander cultivars that currently exist or can be found.

 

The Index lists the oleander cultivars already collected and shown.