# Oleander (Nerium oleander)

Canonical: https://plantguide.ae/plants/oleander · Updated: 2026-09-30
Source: Ghaf Gardens (https://plantguide.ae/plants/oleander)

Oleander · دفلى · also called Rose laurel, Rose bay  
shrub · adapted · family Apocynaceae · grows 2–6 m tall, 2–4 m wide · fast growth  
full sun · low water need  
Ratings for Dubai (1–5, 5 is best): heat 5 · salt 4 · drought 5 · shade 1 · ease of care 5  
Uses: hedge, screen, windbreak  
Garden styles: desert-modern, manicured

> **Advisory (caution):** Every part of this plant is poisonous if eaten, and the sap can irritate skin. Abu Dhabi banned its cultivation, propagation and trade in 2024. There is no equivalent ban in Dubai as of September 2026, but plant it only away from children, pets and grazing animals, and never burn the trimmings.

One of the toughest, most drought- and heat-hardy flowering shrubs available — and also one of the most toxic. Abu Dhabi banned new planting of oleander in 2024; Dubai has not, but every part of the plant is poisonous.

## About

Meet oleander, a shrub that has spent decades proving it can flower through conditions that defeat almost anything else planted near it. Full desert sun, long drought, poor rocky soil, salty irrigation water — none of it slows an established plant down, and the reward for that neglect is months of white, pink, red or yellow bloom on a shrub that asks for almost nothing once it is in the ground. That combination made it, for a long time, one of the most heavily planted shrubs on Gulf highways and boundary lines.

Its toughness and its toxicity are the same trait looked at from two angles: the chemistry that makes it unpalatable to almost every browsing animal and largely untroubled by pests is exactly what makes every part of the plant genuinely dangerous if eaten. That is not a minor caveat — it is the central fact to plan around, and it is why Abu Dhabi moved to ban new oleander cultivation in 2024. Grown with that fact respected, sited well away from children, pets and grazing animals, it remains a strikingly reliable flowering shrub for the toughest, most exposed corners of a Dubai garden.

Oleander has been grown around the Mediterranean and Gulf for centuries specifically because almost nothing stops it: full desert sun, long drought, poor soil and salty water all leave it largely unbothered, and it rewards that neglect with months of flowers in white, pink, red or yellow. That toughness is exactly why it became a default choice for highway medians, screening and hedges across the region, including in the UAE.

The reason it now needs a clear warning label is straightforward: every part of the plant — leaves, flowers, stems, sap, even smoke from burning the trimmings — contains cardiac glycosides, chiefly a compound called oleandrin, and ingestion can cause serious illness in people, pets and livestock. Even chewing on a leaf or twig has sent people to hospital, and the sap can irritate skin on contact.

In October 2024, Abu Dhabi's Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) issued Resolution No. 4 of 2024 banning the cultivation, production, propagation and trade of oleander across the emirate, citing risk to children and pets, with a six-month window for existing plants to be safely removed. As of September 2026 there is no equivalent ban in Dubai, so oleander remains legal to plant here, but the same reasoning applies: keep it well away from anywhere children or pets have access, and never burn cuttings.

In the landscape it works almost exclusively as a mass planting rather than a single specimen — a hedge, screen or windbreak rather than a feature tree — because its real value is the density and continuity of bloom it gives along a long run rather than the character of any individual plant. It takes hard pruning and shearing well, regrows quickly, and tolerates reflected heat from paving and boundary walls better than almost anything else on this list, which is part of why it became the default choice for so much roadside and perimeter planting across the region before its toxicity risk became a stronger planning consideration.

## Through the year

Oleander holds its narrow, leathery evergreen leaves year-round, giving a hedge or screen the same dense green backdrop in January as in July. Its main event runs long: flowering from March through October, among the more sustained bloom periods of any shrub grown in Dubai, carrying colour through the hottest months when many flowering shrubs pause. A spring flush of new growth follows late-winter pruning, and feeding twice a year is enough to keep an established plant flowering well. Growth and flowering slow only in the coolest weeks of winter, without the plant ever looking bare.

| When | What | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mar–Oct | Flowers: Long flowering season through the warm months | One of the more reliable bloomers through Dubai's peak heat, when many flowering shrubs slow down. |
| Mar–Apr | New growth: Spring flush of new growth |  |
| Feb–Mar | Prune: Shape before summer | Prune after the coolest months and before the main flowering flush; wear gloves, and never burn the cuttings. |
| Mar, Sep | Feed: Light feed | Established plants need very little fertiliser. |
| Apr–Jul | Pest watch: Watch for oleander caterpillar and aphids | The main pests likely to disfigure foliage; damage is cosmetic and rarely threatens an established plant. |

## Care in Dubai

- **Watering in summer:** Minimal supplemental watering needed once established; deep, infrequent watering is sufficient even in peak heat.
- **Watering in winter:** Little to no supplemental watering required.
- **While establishing:** Water regularly for the first few months, then reduce — this species establishes quickly and tolerates dry conditions well after that.
- **Soil:** Tolerant of poor, sandy, saline or alkaline soil; good drainage is the only real requirement.
- **Feeding:** Established plants need little to no fertiliser; a light feed once or twice a year is more than sufficient.
- **Pruning:** Prune to shape in late winter/early spring before the main flowering season, wearing gloves against the irritant sap. Never burn cuttings — dispose of green waste normally.
- **Planting:** Plant well away from children's play areas, edible gardens, grazing livestock and anywhere pets have unsupervised access.
- **Pests and problems:** Oleander caterpillar; Aphids; Scale insects
- **Toxicity:** Highly toxic. All parts of the plant — leaves, flowers, stems and sap — contain cardiac glycosides (principally oleandrin). Ingestion can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat and, in serious cases, be fatal to people, pets and livestock; sap can also irritate skin, and smoke from burning trimmings is toxic to inhale.

## Good and bad

**Pros**
- Exceptionally heat, drought and salt tolerant — thrives on neglect
- Long flowering season with very little water once established
- Fast growing, useful as a quick screen, hedge or windbreak
- Handles poor, sandy or saline soil without complaint

**Cons**
- Every part of the plant is toxic if ingested, and the sap can irritate skin
- Banned for new cultivation, propagation and trade in Abu Dhabi since 2024
- Not appropriate near play areas, edible gardens, grazing animals or anywhere pets roam
- Burning trimmings releases toxic smoke and must be avoided

## Common mistakes

- Siting it near a children's play area, vegetable patch or pet run without seriously weighing the toxicity risk. Every part of the plant is poisonous if eaten — the location decision matters as much as the planting itself.
- Burning prunings or green waste. Smoke from burning oleander is toxic to inhale; dispose of cuttings as ordinary green waste instead.
- Handling pruning bare-handed for an extended session. The sap is a skin and eye irritant on contact, so gloves are worth using even for a quick trim.
- Assuming it is automatically fine to plant anywhere because it is common in the region. Abu Dhabi banned new cultivation, propagation and trade of oleander in 2024 — check current local regulations before any large-scale or commercial planting.

## Good to know

- Abu Dhabi's ADAFSA Resolution No. 4 of 2024 bans new cultivation, production, propagation and trade of oleander in that emirate; there is no equivalent ban in Dubai as of September 2026, though the toxicity is identical wherever it is grown.
- It carries some of the highest heat, drought and salt tolerance ratings of any shrub covered on this site, which is why it became a default choice for exposed, low-maintenance planting across the region.
- Every part of the plant, including smoke from burning trimmings, contains cardiac glycosides and is toxic to people, pets and livestock if ingested.
- The sap is also a skin and eye irritant on direct contact, separate from and in addition to the ingestion risk.

## Using it in a garden

Roles: Hedge, Screen, Windbreak, Highway / boundary planting

Oleander is suited to the hardest-working, least forgiving parts of a garden: a boundary hedge, a windbreak on an exposed edge, or screening along a driveway or perimeter wall where reflected heat and poor soil rule out softer shrubs. Because every part of the plant is toxic if eaten, it should never be sited near a children's play area, a kitchen garden, a pet run or anywhere grazing animals have access — the placement decision here is as much about who can reach it as which direction it faces.

- [Hopbush](https://plantguide.ae/plants/hopbush.md): Both are genuinely tough, low-water shrubs suited to an exposed boundary, giving a mixed hedge resilience without leaning on a single toxic species.
- [Bougainvillea](https://plantguide.ae/plants/bougainvillea.md): Bougainvillea's thorny, sprawling colour works alongside oleander along a perimeter screen, extending the flowering display across two very different forms.
- [Texas Sage](https://plantguide.ae/plants/texas-sage.md): Texas sage's silvery, non-toxic foliage offers a safer front-of-bed layer in front of an oleander hedge where reach matters.

## FAQ

**Is oleander illegal in the UAE?**  
Only in Abu Dhabi. ADAFSA's Resolution No. 4 of 2024 bans the cultivation, production, propagation and trade of oleander in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, with existing plants required to be safely removed within six months of the resolution's publication. As of September 2026 there is no equivalent ban in Dubai, though the same toxicity applies wherever it is grown.

**How toxic is oleander really?**  
Very. Every part of the plant contains cardiac glycosides, and even chewing on a leaf or twig has been enough to require hospital treatment. It is not a plant to grow near where children or pets can reach it, and cuttings should never be burned, since the smoke is also toxic.

**If it's this toxic, why was it planted so widely?**  
Because it is exceptionally heat-, drought- and salt-tolerant, and flowers for months on almost no water — qualities that made it a default choice for highway medians and screening across the region for decades, before its toxicity risk in residential and public settings became a stronger planning concern.

**What should I plant instead if I'm worried about the toxicity?**  
[Yellow bells](https://plantguide.ae/plants/yellow-bells.md) and [Hibiscus](https://plantguide.ae/plants/hibiscus.md) give a comparably long flowering season with far lower toxicity risk, though neither matches oleander's extreme drought tolerance.

**Can oleander be planted safely if I have young children or pets?**  
Only with real caution, and many designers avoid it entirely in family gardens. Every part of the plant is toxic if eaten and the sap can irritate skin, so if it is used at all it should be sited well out of reach, never near play areas, and paired with clear household rules about not touching or chewing it.

## Related plants

[Yellow Bells](https://plantguide.ae/plants/yellow-bells.md) · [Hibiscus](https://plantguide.ae/plants/hibiscus.md) · [Bougainvillea](https://plantguide.ae/plants/bougainvillea.md)

## Photos

![Flowers and leaves of Nerium oleander](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Nerium_oleander_flowers_leaves.jpg)  
Photo: Alvesgaspar / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nerium_oleander_flowers_leaves.jpg))

![Oleander, palm and fig tree in Vodice, Croatia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Oleander_Vdc.jpg)  
Photo: Mudroslov / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oleander_Vdc.jpg))

![Bud of an oleander (Nerium oleander).](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Purity.jpg)  
Photo: Joaquim Alves Gaspar / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purity.jpg))

![Buds of an oleander shrub in Partenit, Ukraine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/OleaUA2013.jpg)  
Photo: MRSTRV / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OleaUA2013.jpg))

## Sources

- [Abu Dhabi Media Office: ADAFSA Resolution banning cultivation, production, propagation and circulation of oleander in Abu Dhabi (2024)](https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/environment/abu-dhabi-agriculture-and-food-safety-authority-issues-resolution-banning-cultivation-production-propagation-and-circulation-of-oleander-plant-in-emirate-to-protect-public-health-and-safety/)
- [UF/IFAS Extension: Key Plant, Key Pests — Oleander (Nerium oleander) (ENH1310/EP574)](https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP574)
- [UF/IFAS Extension: Nerium oleander (ENH-571/ST412)](https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST412)