The couple across the street from me have a row of them dividing there property from the house next door and they are in the ground and thriving in Dothan.

Not considered top hardy in warmer climates than yours. In a typical zone 7 winter, oleanders will suffer from considerable die back, but if properly established and mulched will likely come back from the roots.

My 20 plus years in zone 8b saw many a winter where Oleanders had to be cut back to the ground after a heavy freeze.

thanks for the information. sounds like i need to plant it in a pot so i can bring it in during the winter.

Frost is always a concern but in the Birmingham zone (I am in Anniston) the wind seems to be the real problem. As Rhizo stated, winter die-back is common but if the plants are protected from the cold wind, many plants thrive. I moved mine to a location on the south side of my house last year and they wintered just fine.

a couple of years ago the Home Depot on 280 had some 1gal "hardy red" oleanders & I bought two. So far they've lived up to their name.....haven't defoliated the past two winters. But they haven't grown much either, doubt if they're much over two feet tall. Blooms last summer weren't anything to write home about either. I'm hoping they'll do something this summer.