Hi Terry,
I rooted Oleander in plain water before and it worked, just took forever..I found an awesome link for you.
Best of Luck and let me know if it works..
Greetings
Susanne(SUE)

Here is a link that might be useful: how to root oleander

hi terry,
is this oleander hardy for you outdoors or do you bring it into your greenhouse for the winter? i planted my first one ('petite salmon') last summer and it did not survive the winter. just wondering about that since i am located south of you. maybe there are cultivars that are more cold-hardy than the one i planted. just did not want a very large shrub in this area.

jeff

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.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I made a decision today. I trimmed the leaves, scratched the stem just below the third or fourth node and wrapped a piece of wet sheet moss around the fresh wound. The I wrapped it with plastic wrap. I'll water daily. Keep your fingers crossed. Thans for your help. - Terry

Another suggestion...I've had good luck rooting a variety of cuttings (mainly green cuttings from my peach trees) by prepping the cuttings as described by everyone above, then sticking the stem in a deep pot with a mixture of potting soil, peat and shreaded pine bark or hardwood mulch. I then set the pot in a bucket, and keep the water level in the bucket about halfway up the pot that's inserted in it. This provides a happy medium between trying to root in just water or just soil...and should prevent the cuttings from drying out. I keep the pot/bucket combo outdoors on my covered patio--out of direct sunlight, making sure the water level in the bucket is maintained. After a couple months, I transplant the rooted cuttings into a regular container with normal watering. Maybe this will work with your Oleander.

Thanks, Tom, that is good advice. I've done something similar for about 20 years. I take a large styrofoam coffee cup, fill it with sand and water it well. Then I take a pencil and poke a hole about 1/2 to 3/4 inches from the bottom. This acts as a reservoir for water and keeps the sand moist but not overly wet. This works really well for a variety of things.
In this case I was afraid to cut off the only limb which has mutated. I feared I would lose it. I'm trying the air layering with the moss. I've heard it is a good way to root native azaleas as well so I'm going to try that too.
Thanks
Terry

Dont forget the ever important factor of patients. If you wait until the sport is larger then you give yourself some room for error.

I want to thank everyone who originally contributed ideas and opinions. The air layering method I used was successful. Two weeks ago I pruned everything as I began putting stuff in the greenhouse. I pruned the mutated oleander stem and carefully removed the sheet of sphagnum moss. It had a small clump of roots. I potted it up and when I checked on it today, it looks great. I hope the cutting survives the winter and grows to be a fuchsia and light pink candy cane like flower. Now I know a good way to propagate oleander, maybe I can give you all some rooted cuttings of this plant. - Terry

My oleander is growing. It is less than a foot tall but I hope it will grow enough to bloom (again) this spring. I hope it retains the mutation quality of the sport limb. This would be an extremely beautiful variety.

Terry,
If you ever want to trade please let me know. I love oleander.
I just take short cuttings , take off the major leaves, cut the bottom stem in half length wise about one inch and put into water with a drop of bleach. I set the jar in the shade and on the patio it gets heat from the bottom. I'm having no problems with them rooting. The longer cuttings aren't seeming to water root yet.
Mickey
Cave Creek, Az

Well, the momma oleander bloomed last summer (2008) and had lots of variegated blooms on it. The one limb from 2007 which was variegated has rooted and is now 6 feet tall and blooming. It is solid fuchsia pink, like the original mother. I have decided this must be something environmental. I fertlize with MiracleGro, Miracid, Epsom salts, superphosphate and bloom booster. It just depends on what is handy. Oh well, it was worth a try? Thanks for everyone's help.

Terry,
You cutting could have mutated due to heat. I'm glad that your air layering worked. I have a ton of branches to try this on and I just haven't gotten around to doing this. I'm so glad to hear it worked for you!
Micky