I am not going to tell anyone else what to grow or not to grow on their own property, but I worry about comparing oleander to stems and leaves of tomatoes. Oleander really may be more dangerous than most of the garden plants we think of as poisonous. There was a news story a while back about a boy who died after eating a hot dog that he had roasted over a campfire by sticking it on the end of a branch of oleander. Even if he knew oleander was toxic he probably did not recognize it as a dry stick.

Just adding my own `testimony': my husband's 25 year old now-7ft pink oleander was strictly a houseplant for 20 years and it did fine and bloomed occasionally with no special care--not even fertilizer; Now I put it outside in the summer and feed it and again, it's doing fine. It needs a lot of water in the spring and summer, like sometimes a few cups a day. oops meant to add that it's never been put into colder temperatures than room temperature on purpose, but it has survived a couple of furnace failures when we've been away. All of the leaves fall off when it is frozen, but they have come back. The flowers smell exactly like baby powder. It's funny when they fade because then they're like rotting baby powder! Also, the plant tends to be leggy as a houseplant and kind of awkwardly shaped overall because it also gets a lot of new growth from the bottom each year. I think it would look better if it was pruned shorter, but it's so nice having tall houseplants that I like to let it get as tall as it can. This post was edited by Laura2424 on Thu, May 15, 14 at 1:13

Just be aware that it is poisonous in all its parts - flowers, leaves, wood and bark. And DON'T burn any of the prunings - the smoke is also toxic, and can make you or anyone who breathes it ill, 'though it's not likely to kill you. That said, they are pretty, and rarely cause problems - mostly due to ignorance on the part of the "user".

CIndy, yes oleander can be very dangerous if ingested. I have several plants and cats, dogs and children. You kinda learn from an early age down here to never touch and oleander as a kid. From Wikepedia: "Oleander is one of the most poisonous plants and contains numerous toxic compounds, many of which can be deadly to people, especially young children. The toxicity of Oleander is considered extremely high and it has been reported that in some cases only a small amount had lethal or near lethal effects (Goetz 1998). The most significant of these toxins are oleandrin and neriine, which are cardiac glycosides (Goetz 1998). They are present in all parts of the plant, but are most concentrated in the sap, which can block out receptors in the skin causing numbness. It is thought that Oleander may contain many other unknown or un-researched compounds that may have dangerous effects (Inchem 2005). Oleander bark contains rosagenin which is known for its strychnine-like effects. The entire plant, including the milky white sap, is toxic, and any part can cause an adverse reaction. Oleander is also known to hold its toxicity even after drying. It is thought that a handful or 10-20 leaves consumed by an adult can cause an adverse reaction, and a single leaf could be lethal to an infant or child. According to the Toxic Exposure Surveillance System (TESS) in 2002 there were 847 known human poisonings in the United States related to Oleander (Watson 2003)."