You know, reports make this plant sound so much more fragile than it really is. I have mine in a hanging basket, gets a couple hours of direct sun in the afternoon. I never took it inside all winter. It was in a partially protected place but we had lows of 25 degrees F two different nights (and many nights below 32). It is subject to rain water and then neglect. And it just grows like crazy. I have filled two subsequent pots from cuttings. They are so easy to root. (Oh yeah, and I got the first pot for 50 cents from a clearance rack!). I think you will really enjoy this plant but it surely is not necessary to keep it indoors through the summer in Zone 7. I would put it outside in a mostly shady area but peeks of sun or a couple hours of early sun or late sun will be just fine. It is not the tender, finicky, fragile, helpless baby that articles make it out to be. I will post pictures of mine. I can also describe easy rooting of cuttings if anyone is interested. I most recently added it all around the base of a medium-sized jade plant.

Carol in Jacksonville

Hi Carol, thank you for that information! it withstood 32 degree nights?! no way! our winter nights here in 7b rarely go into the 20's but in february the coldest month we get a few days in a week in the 20's.
I have a nice spot where to hang it outdoors in my boyfriends front porch where it gets morning sun. I've been doing research on this plant and i heard many people compain that sometimes when it gets too long some branches start to rot and some people seem to not be able to keep it alive! i don't know what they are doing wrong.. how long do you let it be completely dried out until watering? and how much of a draining soil do you have? what about fertilizing.
I would love to see pictures =]

Yeah, I got the plant in early, early spring 2012 from a clearance rack after a freeze. It was partially damaged but lots of "good" left in the hanging basket. Brought it home, cleaned it up, and had it hanging under a large oak. It started to thrive and grow and then I noticed that the squirrels were getting into it and chewing on it! So I moved it to its current spot.

It is now inside a west-facing screened-in porch. It hangs at the outermost edge inside the screen. It gets shaded by a large magnolia tree for a good part of the afternoon but does get some direct sun through the screen during parts of the afternoon. It has hung there since probably May or June 2012, including through this past winter. So yes, on those two separate nights of 25.7 F and 25.8 F, one in February 2013 and one in March 2013, it was hanging just inside the screen on the screened-in porch.

I will get some photos sometime this week and post. I will also post rooting instructions in a separate post for someone who emailed me and wanted them.

I water it whenever the surface appears to be dry. That is frequent in summer, and only occasional in winter. I do not deep water it like I do my other plants. With my other plants (tropicals, begonias, etc, not succulents), I water until water freely drains out of the bottom. With this, I use the sprinkle nozzle side of my watering can (rather than the large hole) and water until I think it is probably wet about 1" down. During growing season, I fertilize by using Fish Emulsion (5-1-1) in all of my waterings of all my plants (1 Tablespoon per gallon). I use plain water during the sparse waterings in winter.

When I plant a new hanging basket, I fill the bottom half or 2/3 of the basket with pure shredded pine bark (pine fines). That is so it will be fast-draining. You could use perlite or something else, but I like the pine bark because it is cheap and light - and much cheaper than perlite. I use the purple bag sold at Walmart. (See this thread, third post down for a photo of the bag: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flgard/msg0613161715275.html ). Then the top half is a fast-draining potting mix.

Good luck with your plant - you are going to love it! It is a lot of fun and always gets great comments.

Carol