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

Sounds very pretty, Terry. Let's keep our fingers crossed. This is a very good time of year for you to take tip cuttings of about 6 inches long. Water your plant well the night before you take the cuttings (in the morning). Remove all but the top few leaves, and cut those to 1/2 their size. Of course, you must remove the flowers and buds. Make sure that the cut is sharp and clean (no mashing). I like rooting in perlite, but have equal success with 1/2 potting medium and 1/2 perlite. Dip the end in a rooting hormone and insert into the thoroughly moistened medium. Water again afterwards to insure good contact with the ends of your cuttings. You can cover (loosely) with plastic to insure high humidity, but allow the cuttings to breathe. Keep them out of the direct sunlight, of course. I'd advise that you do this outside somewhere, rather than the 'hostile' indoor environment. Don't 'check' the cuttings for roots at all. Keep the medium moist at all times, of course. You can't ignore anything that you have rooting in perlite. In a few short weeks, you might see some signs of new growth. I'd give Oleanders an easy rating, as far as cuttings go. I'm sure that yours will do just fine.

I DON'T recommend Duranta repens (aka golden dewdrops) They look nice when smaller with their pretty little purple or white flowers. THEN they grow like weeds and have nasty thorns. They require a LOT of trimming, especially if you want repeat blooms. I like the neater Nerium oleander 'Petite Pink' - Dwarf Pink Oleander. More importantly, you will first have to assess the property for sun exposure. Will you have irrigation? If you want immediate privacy, a fence may be the way to start. Then you can use the fence as a hardscape foundation to support plants.A fence may sound expensive, but you need to calculate the cost of irrigation or hand watering, soil amendments, (if needed) plant material (most 3 gallon shrubs cost 5-9.00 retail and would take at least a few seasons to grow big enough for a privacy fence) fertilizer,pest control, and of course maintenance (trimming, weeding, etc)

Interesting update. My relatives in Virginia Beach told me the city removed a lot of oleanders after the 2 recent cold winters. However, they just cut their plants back to the ground, removing the injured sections, and they are already full, 4-5' high and blooming their heads off. So stupid! They already told me that in the past that the same thing happened after 1985 and 1994. The city removes them after they are injured, then decides to replant them a few years later when there is a string of "mild winters". Likewise my relatives just cut theirs back and let them regenerate! Oh well, I guess all of this unnecessary make-work keeps people employed. Based on Csaba's post and what I already knew about their ability to regenerate quickly, I could not resist trying a 'Mathilde Ferrier'. I have had nice strings of 8a winters...hope they come back. (last winter was not that cold, but was damaging because it was capricious) It will go on my hottest south-facing stone wall of course. Also they are relatively easy to propagate so I will keep a backup plant inside.