On a hot July afternoon near Nice, I saw an old man step out in plastic sandals with secateurs hanging from his fingers to “prune” his huge pink oleander hedge. He didn’t attack it like we do in northern gardens, where everything is in straight lines and there are big cuts. He pinched. He cut off three or four stems. Then he stood there with his hands on his hips, looking at the plant like it was an old friend who was deciding what shape to take.
Five minutes later, he was back in the shade with a cup of coffee. The shrub, which was half-wild and buzzing with bees, stayed a loose fountain of flowers and leaves.
He turned his head & smiled at me. He told me that I was cutting mine way too short. He said that was the reason they always got so angry with me. I looked down at my work and then back at his. The difference was obvious when you put them side by side. His cuts were measured and careful while mine looked rushed and uneven. He had been doing this job for years and it showed in every movement he made. I was still learning the basics and making mistakes that probably seemed foolish to someone with his experience.
The word stayed with me. Sulking oleanders. What if he was correct?
Why Mediterranean Gardeners Hardly Ever Touch Their Oleanders
If you drive along the coast from Marseille to Valencia in the summer, you’ll see it right away. Oleanders are everywhere, blowing pink and white clouds along highways, around parking lots, and in front of old stone houses. Most of them look like they haven’t been touched at all. The whole shrub moved in the wind instead of standing still like a military haircut. The branches bent and crossed, and the flowers were at different heights.
They have a kind of relaxed chaos to them. Not forgotten, just free. When you look closely, you can only see small cuts here and there, like a dead stem being cut off or a branch being moved. The opposite of the harsh “back-to-the-bone” pruning that many of us learned.
A Spanish neighbor in Alicante told me that he only uses his secateurs twice a year. He walks around and looks at what bothers him and cuts that. No fancy charts and no measuring tape and no rules like cutting back by one third that people follow with a frown. He laughs about it. His garden looks great. The plants are healthy and everything grows well. He does not worry about doing things the right way. He just does what makes sense to him. This approach works because plants are tougher than we think. They do not need perfect cuts at exact angles. They do not care if you follow a schedule from a book. They just need someone to remove the dead bits & give them space to grow. Most gardening advice makes things too complicated. People get nervous about pruning because they read too many rules. They worry about cutting at the wrong time or making the wrong cut. But plants have been growing wild for millions of years without anyone following rules. The Spanish neighbor understands this. He trusts his eyes more than any guide. When a branch looks wrong or blocks light or grows in a strange direction he cuts it off. That is all there is to it. His method saves time too. No planning and no stress and no second guessing. He spends his energy enjoying the garden instead of worrying about it. The plants respond well to this relaxed treatment.
How Mediterranean Gardeners Approach Pruning Oleanders
The gesture looks almost too easy to be true. Gardeners in the Mediterranean don’t usually “shape” oleanders with geometric goals; they edit them. They begin by stepping back and taking a good look at the plant from all sides. Where is it too thick? Which branch rubs against or grows into another branch? What part blocks the way, the window, or the view?
After that, they cut off one branch. Not fifteen. One. To avoid leaving awkward stubs, you should usually cut it right at the base or just above a side shoot. The shrub sends out new, flowering stems from lower down in response to the single cut. This lets in light and air. It’s like sculpting in slow motion, and it takes years, not weekends.
The Mediterranean Approach to Oleander Care
It’s not hard to understand why they are being so careful. Oleander sap is poisonous and sticky, and big cuts bleed and stress the plant. It takes a long time for big wounds to heal. When you prune too much, you expose more tissue, which makes it easier for disease to get in. You also use more energy to seal instead of bloom.
A gardener in Toulon told me this: “Cut an oleander like a rose, and it will hate you.” If you prune it like a small tree that knows what it’s doing, it will give you flowers.
Summary: A New Way to Think About Oleanders
Mediterranean gardeners show us that doing less is often better. Instead of cutting ten branches cut one and step back. The more you observe the more you notice advantages that were not obvious at first. There is more shade at the base and better shelter for birds and insects. Fewer leaves get burnt because the inside stays moist. Their oleanders live longer and age more gracefully. They stay interesting all year long instead of going through that cycle of harsh pruning followed by slow recovery and brief beauty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: When is the best time to cut back an oleander?
Answer: The best time to cut back an oleander is after the main flowering has ended, allowing the plant to recover and prepare for the next season.
Question 2: Can I cut my oleander down to the ground if it has gotten too large? Yes you can cut an overgrown oleander all the way back to ground level. This plant responds well to severe pruning & will grow back from the base. The best time to do this hard pruning is in late winter or early spring before new growth starts. After cutting it down the plant will send up new shoots and you can select the strongest ones to form a better shaped bush. Keep in mind that you will lose flowers for at least one growing season since oleanders bloom on older wood. Make sure to wear gloves when pruning because all parts of the oleander plant are toxic. Water the plant regularly after this major pruning to help it recover and establish new growth.
Answer: You should not cut it all the way down. The better method is selective pruning where you remove some of the oldest & thickest stems.
Question 3: Is it safe to touch oleanders when you cut them back?
Answer: Oleander sap contains toxic substances that can harm your skin. You should wear protective gloves and long sleeves whenever you handle these plants. Do not burn the cut branches or leaves because the smoke is dangerous. Also avoid using oleander trimmings as mulch in your garden.
Question 4: Why does my oleander bloom less after I cut it back a lot?
Excessive pruning can harm your plant’s ability to bloom. When you cut away too much of the plant material you interfere with its natural growth patterns. This disruption often leads to a reduced number of flowers during the blooming season. The plant needs adequate foliage and stems to produce the energy required for flower development. Removing too many branches or leaves means the plant cannot generate enough resources to support healthy flowering. As a result you will notice fewer blooms than expected.
Question 5: Can you train an oleander to grow as a small tree the way gardeners do in Mediterranean regions? Yes, you can shape an oleander into a tree form with some patience & regular pruning. This technique is called standard training. Mediterranean gardeners have used this method for centuries to create elegant focal points in their landscapes. Start by selecting a young oleander plant with one strong central stem. Remove all the lower branches & side shoots from the bottom two-thirds of the main stem. Leave only the top growth intact to form the canopy. Stake the central trunk to keep it growing straight and provide support as it develops. Continue removing any new shoots that appear along the trunk throughout the growing season. Focus the plant’s energy on developing a full rounded crown at the top. This process typically takes two to three years before you achieve a proper tree shape. Once your oleander reaches the desired height pinch back the top growth to encourage branching & create a bushier canopy. Most gardeners aim for a trunk height of about three to four feet before allowing the crown to develop. Keep in mind that oleanders naturally want to grow as multi-stemmed shrubs. You will need to maintain your tree form with regular pruning. Check the trunk every few weeks during the growing season & remove any suckers or new shoots immediately. The tree form works especially well with white or pale pink flowering varieties. These create a stunning display when trained as standards in containers or as specimen plants in garden beds. Remember to wear gloves when pruning since all parts of oleander plants are toxic.
Answer: Yes you can shape an oleander into a small tree. You need to carefully choose which branches to keep and prune away the others to create a natural tree structure.
