transplanted oleanders 6 weeks ago - are they dead?

Henderson, NV

Hoping you can advise me on some standard oleanders that I dug up from my neighbors yard, that were very healthy for years. Some were 8-9 feet tall, others were 4 ft tall . These were on the north and east side of her wall.
I transplanted them about 6 weeks ago and used Transplanting fluid every 6-7 days, as well as watered thoroughly every few days. The leaves became dry and crinkled and so I pulled them off. They all look dead now just like sticks. When I cut a stem, it shows green inside. Stem is very dry too.

Now one of the oleanders is showing green leaves coming from the roots, pic enclosed. My husband says I should dig them up and toss them, go to the nursery and get healthy standard oleanders. With all the work I did to dig them up, plant them and water them, I am wondering if there is still a chance they will survive. If so, will there be growth on the upper stems or will growth come from the roots?

Thumbnail by ellenr167 Thumbnail by ellenr167 Thumbnail by ellenr167
Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

My guess is that you've lost a few. They probably had the transplant shock of a lifetime. Digging an established 8-9' shrub with a root ball large enough to sustain the plant during transplant is very difficult. I know you said you also had a 4' one or two but same goes for that. If you're scraping the stem and it shows green, you might continue what you're doing. Keep monitoring them for a couple more weeks. Sometimes a plant will show green on a stem scrape but recently died, especially if, as you say, the sticks are dry. It sounds like there is some hope with the one growing from the roots. These plants are pretty durable but, like I said, it's tough to transplant a large shrub like that.

I'm an impatient gardener. If it were me, I'd yank the dead ones and buy new at a local nursery. They're pretty common so it shouldn't be that expensive.

Good luck!

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