# Do oleander bushes make good honey?



## barberberryfarm (Feb 16, 2013)

We just got finished with the first phase of our bee garden by planting two 140 foot rows with 40 hibiscus plants in one and 18 chaste trees in the other. In November when our order of fragrant winter honeysuckle bushes arrives, they will go into the third row next to the chaste trees. 

However, during one of the many breaks I took during the planting process, as I'm not as young as I used to be, my neighbor mentioned our bees like to hang around his oleander bush next door. Which, of course, got me to thnking about making another row with around 15-20 oleander bushes. Anyone know if oleanders make tasty honey? We're trying to plant perrenials that produce bee-friendly flowers in August (hibiscus, chaste trees and oleanders?), December and January (winter honeysuckle) when the nectar flow is the weakest in our area of central Alabama. I just found out I can get oleander bushes for $4.50 a bush at a wholesale nursery near us. Any thoughs, as usual, will be greatly appreciated.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

I understand that _Nerium oleander_ plants produce nectar and hence, honey that is toxic to humans. See --> Link.


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## barberberryfarm (Feb 16, 2013)

Wow! That's an interesting link. I never would have guessed that. I remember growing up in southern California and there were long oleander hedges all over the place. Glad I didn't eat any of the honey made by bees that hang around them. I wonder how southern California beekeepers deal with that?


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

We curse at CalTrans that insists on planting hundreds of miles of Oleander as highway median.

You just have to keep the hives away from the highways.

I suspect some "novice" backyard keepers may be victimized by this at some point. I've rejected perfectly nice looking star thistle, because US 101's Oleander was nearby.

Buckeye in the Sierra foothill is a bigger issue. Cornlily (Veratrum) in the High Sierra kills bees.

On an aggregate scale, blending honey in a tank would reduce the level of exposure. Real risk if you were eating comb honey. The toxic principal is a cardiac glycoside (stops the heart muscle cold), and hence is intensely bitter. A consumer would likely spit out the affected honey as "off".

I'll agree with others on this thread, that the foragers would have to feel forced to collect the bitter nectar. This is likely toxic to the bees as well, and they will reject (or die during foraging), before recruiting hive mates to harvest.

Milkweed which is heavily worked by my bees have the same glycosides as well (source of the famous Monarch butterfly induced protection). The nectar has the poison in it, (in varying amounts depending on herbivory in the rest of the plant). The milkweed nectar is extremely concentrated and glucose rich (likely as a compensation to pollinators for having the bitter compounds). Milkweed doesn't have recorded "honey toxicity". But the in'et yield up "In central Europe, milkweeds (Asclepias sp.) cause large scale deaths of bees due to the presence of highly toxic galitoxins Pryce-Jones 1944)."


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

I have no stake in this one way or the other but read the second sentence.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Bees will only work oleander if there is nothing else to for them to get, and even then they don't really work it, just a bee or two here and there. They are very very seldom on the oleanders here, even in a dearth. I've seen bees on my oleanders maybe three or four bees all year. If there is anything else, such as starthistle, or any other weeds or blooms at all, they will ignore the oleanders totally and go full hog for the any other blooms in the area.


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## barberberryfarm (Feb 16, 2013)

Thanks everyone. Oleanders are definitely off the list!


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I believe it has to be monofloral to be toxic or very close to it. I believe it is toxic to the bees as well which is why they don't work them heavily from what I've seen. I will see a bee or two working flowers on occasion, but nothing major.


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## MichaelShantz (May 9, 2010)

I have the same experience as RayMarler. We have oleander and I never see the bees visit them.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Several plants produce poisonous nectar, but the bees usually don't work them unless they don't have a choice.

Wild rhododendron back east has been known to produce poisonous honey on rare occasions. CA buckeye will even kill the bees when other forage isn't available. I think almond honey is mildly toxic to humans?


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## GuyMiklos (Jul 1, 2016)

Joseph Clemens said:


> I understand that _Nerium oleander_ plants produce nectar and hence, honey that is toxic to humans. See --> Link.


The Linnean Society is the the most respected botanical institution in the world. A scientific paper 
http://personal.us.es/maliani/publicaciones/J.Herrera.1991.Bot.JLinnSoc.pdf
published there states very clearly that _Nerium oleander _does not produce nectar.

"All flowers from any population lacked nectar disks. Close examination revealed no trace of either nectar or any other substance which might act as a reward." 

I read on some forums the idea that the pollen contaminates the honey with toxins. The above article contradicts that theory too. 

"Pollen is scarce and so tightly concealed by the anthers (see below) that only with difficulty could an insect have access to it. ... the maximum amount of harvestable pollen on a per flower basis (11 600 grains on average) is low in comparison with genuine pollen flowers"

Honey bees can be attracted to the smell and appearance of the flowers, but do not return because there is nothing to forage. The oleander is an example of deceit pollination.

"The most outstanding pollination-related features of N. oleander can be summarized as follows: there is a massive flower display of large, scantily aromatic, long-lasting (up to 7 days if unpollinated), tubular, although nectarless flowers. Insect visits are rare, and percent fruit-set low in spite of full self-compatibility. All these circumstances taken together point to the plant relying on false advertising for pollination. That cheating is not restricted to pollinators is demonstrated by the fact that most people have to be persuaded that such a showy and elaborate flower is nectarless."


A quick Google search revealed that toxic honey from oleanders is discussed on many web sites and a number of magazine articles. The discussion is moot. I hope this post helps to lay this myth to rest.

Guy Miklos


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## jadebees (May 9, 2013)

When I lived in So-cal, 20 yrs ago, I never saw anything in oleander. Everything avoids it. I'd be terrified of it, if it made nectar. People have died from decorating a cake with the flowers, using the sticks to roast weenies on camp fires, and using the flower sprays to stir,/ decorate mixed drinks. It's a deadly plant! One of the most toxic on earth. I doubt they make toxic nectar, if so, many places would have a big problem beekeeping.


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## soarwitheagles (May 23, 2015)

I did some extensive reading on the oleander bushes simply because our ranch had lots of them when we moved in. Yes, it is deadly poisonous. Yes, Cal Trans plants it alongside hundreds upon hundreds of miles of freeways. It is a beautiful bush and require little to no help from humans once it is establish. So as a decorative flora, it is beautiful, self sustaining, and needs little to no maintenance.

Now the other side.

Even 3-4 leaves can effectively kill a full grown horse.
It is still absolutely deadly even after it dries completely out.
Leaves, branches, and flowers are all deadly toxic.

Dr. Larry J. Thompson, a clinical toxicologist in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, says "even a few leaves falling into a small ornamental pool could poison a dog who lapped water from the pool." 

We raise sheep and bees. So last winter, we bulldozed every oleander bush and yanked every bush out by the roots.

We also raked up all the leaves, stacked all wood, roots, branches, etc. and burned everything.

For us, we will never plant an oleander bush on our property ever again...

Hope this helps!


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## NCNewBee (Jul 1, 2016)

soarwitheagles said:


> I did some extensive reading on the oleander bushes simply because our ranch had lots of them when we moved in. Yes, it is deadly poisonous. Yes, Cal Trans plants it alongside hundreds upon hundreds of miles of freeways. It is a beautiful bush and require little to no help from humans once it is establish. So as a decorative flora, it is beautiful, self sustaining, and needs little to no maintenance.
> 
> Now the other side.
> 
> ...


Obviously you didn't hang out by the fire while you burnt them, or else you wouldn't be here to tell us about it!


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## soarwitheagles (May 23, 2015)

Actually, I rolled up some leaves and smoked them as I watched the massive piles of oleander burn!

Ok, just joking.

In all reality, we burned massive piles of oleander leaves, branches, roots, flowers, etc. with no ill effect.

While ingesting the plant material is deadly and highly toxic, I believe dying from the smoke is an urban myth.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/oleander.asp


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## jadebees (May 9, 2013)

I was told that -Complete- composting also biodegrades the poison. This was according to my landscaper friend. He would just shred it, with all the other plant material. He would sell great garden compost as a sideline. Waste into $.👍


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## soarwitheagles (May 23, 2015)

jadebees said:


> I was told that -Complete- composting also biodegrades the poison. This was according to my landscaper friend. He would just shred it, with all the other plant material. He would sell great garden compost as a sideline. Waste into $.��


Jade,

I have heard the urban myths about composting oleander. Then I read the scientific data.

UC Davis scientists say composting oleander is safe.

http://slosson.ucdavis.edu/newsletters/Downer_199829067.pdf

On the other hand, I also read a research paper from Cornell University [can't find it at the moment], that stated there were still toxic levels of poison in the compost. 

It was kinda weird to hear two different stories from two different researchers.

I chose to burn the oleander just to be safe!

BTW, how deadly is the plant? The lethal dose for cattle and horses is thought to be 0.005% of body weight. Dude, that is deadly!


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## agastache (Jun 27, 2013)

back to the chaste tree. mine (purple flowering) only attracts bumbles so I suspect that it's flowers may not be accessible to bees? love the bumbles though. it sounds like an engine running when they are in the trees.


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## DavidZ (Apr 9, 2016)

fact...oleander is poisonous, all farmers know this. take a chance, could you poison someone with the honey...maybe...maybe not. what you do, how you approach this...the choice is yours...feel good, or feel bad in the end.


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## GuyMiklos (Jul 1, 2016)

DavidZ said:


> fact...oleander is poisonous, all farmers know this. take a chance, could you poison someone with the honey...maybe...maybe not. what you do, how you approach this...the choice is yours...feel good, or feel bad in the end.


'The King of France is bald'
likewise
'Oleander honey is poisonous'


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Not to be confused with Oleaster (Russian Olive) that secretes copious amounts of nectar on most occasions. This year I was pulling completely capped deep frames of honey from my nucs to give the queen's some room to lay.


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