The Lovely but Poisonous Oleander

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By Barbara J. Eikmeier

Every part of the oleander plant is poisonous. I’ve known this since the 1960’s or early 70’s when the California department of transportation planted them in the median along the then new Interstate 5.

Disease and drought resistance and deer resistance (due to their poisonous properties,) they grow into huge evergreen shrubs that bloom white, pink and red year-round and are especially beautiful in early summer.

We aren’t always in the Sacramento Valley in early June so I had forgotten how dramatic the oleanders that run through my hometown look in early summer. This year my husband commented on them. I surprised myself with how much I knew about them. When Interstate 5 was built, the oleanders were planted to create a shield from oncoming headlights. Over the years they grew into a screen that stretched 70 miles of otherwise long, flat highway. (Additional miles of oleanders can be seen further south, but it’s this stretch between Redding and Willows that I know best.)

I had a conversation with my dad 10 or 15 years ago and asked why the oleanders were removed just south of our town. He said, “They have never been south of town. And the bare places are where frost killed them a few years ago.”

One of my school friends had a hedge of oleanders shading a corner of her yard. We  used to play under them on hot summer days. That wouldn’t happen today – they come with warnings not to plant them where children play.

The bare places along Interstate 5 have been replanted. The deer still don’t eat them but an occasional blight or frost will kill a few. In hardiness growing zone 9, (I live in 5b and am jealous of how well everything grows in zone 9) the oleander flourish.

I stopped on a country road overpass to get these pictures just before dusk so you could see how lovely they look. They do a good job of blocking the headlights of oncoming traffic, but please don’t eat them.

On second thought, maybe you could use the oleander plant to kill off a villain in your next novel!

Barbara J. Eikmeier is a quilter, writer, student of quilt history, and lover of small-town America. Raised on a dairy farm in California, she enjoys placing her characters in rural communities.

10 replies
  1. Saralyn
    Saralyn says:

    I’m quite familiar with oleanders. In fact, my hometown, Galveston, is known as The Oleander City. I also played with oleanders during my childhood, oblivious to the warnings that they are poisonous. My friends and I used to thread the flowers onto pine needles and make necklaces and bracelets from them. It’s amazing that we never became ill. Meanwhile, the aroma and beauty of the oleander remains enchanting–in your photos and throughout Galveston. Thanks for writing about this topic.

  2. Debra H. Goldstein
    Debra H. Goldstein says:

    When I started writing, I became aware of the poisonous qualities of oleanders, but I never realized they were as pretty or varied as your blog shows nor did I know a highway was “seeded” with them. I’m just glad no one has stopped their car to pick a few — or have they?

  3. Barb Eikmeier
    Barb Eikmeier says:

    I can’t speak about picking a bouquet of oleanders but a friend and I once collected great bundles of the most unusual dried cones of dark red berries to decorate tables for a winter ball. Alas! We’d collected poison sumac!

  4. Lois Winston
    Lois Winston says:

    I first became familiar with oleander and its deadly properties from the novel White Oleander. I don’t think I’ve ever seen oleander growing anywhere, though.

    • Barb Eikmeier
      Barb Eikmeier says:

      Yes! You don’t even want to cut them and put them in a vase! But we can enjoy them from afar along the highway!! My son’s cat got very sick from eating hyacinth petals. It has me checking every kind of flower I might want to send to his house – most recently carnation and peonies. Both are also toxic to cats.

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