String of Pearls or Senecio rowleyanus if you want to get fancy about it are one of my favourite succulents. They are a fantastic hanging succulent and also look lovely trailing over the edge of a pot in a succulent arrangement. They are an easy to grow houseplant and make an eye catching addition to any home.
General care
Once you have the basics covered with String of Pearls they should thrive with minimal care. First thing is the soil, make sure you have it planted up in succulent friendly soil, I shared my soil 'recipe' here. Good drainage is essential to make sure that they aren't sitting in water and prevent rot so make sure what ever way you decide to display it that it has a drainage hole. Like all succulents String of Pearls appreciate bright light, I did find out early on though much to my Pearls detriment, that they burn easily and keeping them out of direct midday sun is a good idea. At the moment I have mine in a North facing window and it has never looked better. Pearls actively grow in Spring/Summer and are dormant in Autumn/Winter, this means that is S/S you water them more frequently, I find that watering once a week during this period works well. Fertiliser is also important during this time, I add it to their water about once every two weeks. In A/W you slow the watering down to once monthly, if you notice the little pearls flattening a little that probably means they could do with a little more.
Propagation
There are two ways you can propagate Pearls. I have to admit that I have never been successful doing it the first way but the second works every time. So although I haven't had success propagating them this way I am assured that it does actually work. It is(supposedly) pretty simple, you cut a string off, strip a few pearls off the end of the cut side and stick it in soil. It sounds easy right? Not for me, they have never actually rooted this way but I would love to know if you have had luck doing it this way?
Now for the way that has never let me down! This way is pretty simple too, just like the last time you take a little cutting from your plant then you put it the cut end of the cutting in a glass of water making sure it is submersed and leave the rest of the cutting hanging over the side. Within a week you should see white roots. Then you pot it up!
Are you sure water propagation works? Would it be healthy ?
ReplyDeleteAs long as the roots are healthy when you plant it. Rot, fungus, etc. comes from the soil, not the water. As the soil deteriorates it can cause all kinds of problems for your plant.
DeleteI put string of pearls cuttings in soil and have never had one die. You carefully remove the bottom few leaves (pearls) before planting the cutting in soil or they will rot.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought of rooting them in water like you do. I will have to give that a try!
I was successful rooting in soil. I allowed the cut end to callouse first though. Let it sit out a day or two before you plant it. Wait a week, check to see if you have roots. Be patient, it takes a while. Once you have roots you can water it. Don't water until you have roots.
ReplyDeleteCan we grow it in water??
ReplyDeleteI have been growing one in water since late August when I made made my comment above, it is far smaller than soil grown cuttings of the same age, but looks surprisingly healthy. It is not getting enough sunlight, other than that it looks fine.
DeleteWill the pearls themselves root? I placed the pearls I stripped off the ends of the stems in the center of the pot to see if they would root. It's been about 3 weeks and nothing. They are not shriveling up or rotting, but they are not rooting, either. I was just wondering if it was a lost cause. Has anyone had any luck with this?
ReplyDeleteDid you have any luck? I wanted to try using the pearls and seeing what happened.
DeleteI have one pearl that I'm trying to root. It's been about a month and no luck so far. The pearl is still healthy and fat so I'll still wait and cross my fingers.
DeleteI also tried to get the individual pearls to root - inside and outside house- and they died after 2 months. (Yes I watered them carefully). Step one always works for me if I let them callous. Will try step 2 next time.
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ReplyDeleteI have brought a plant and the roots are all going moldy, what should i do?
ReplyDeleteI've done the soil version and it worked twice. One of them took about three weeks to root properly though and started drying out, but revived really quickly and looks at least as good as the other, if not better. The key for me was that they put down roots where they touched on top of the soil rather than the end in the soil. Also tried with individual pearls but I've never had it work
ReplyDeleteAlso, great article, thank you.
DeleteI tried to propagate them in water, removing the balls but they all rotted out on me. I am not sure why.. I didn't let it callus (didn't think it was necessary)..
ReplyDeleteHi, may I know if you wait for it to dry before potting the plant or you remove it from water then immediately pot in in soil? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou should not allow water roots to ever dry out. If they dry out it kills the roots. Water roots are very delicate and are easily damaged by being potted into soil. Soil or dirt roots are much stronger as they have had to push through the soil while growing from the start while water roots have had nothing to resist them from going wherever they are going. I would recommend slowly adding potting soil to the water they are propagating in slowly thickening the water soil mixture like compared with pancake batter to cake batter brownie batter to pudding and then used coffee grounds. Just add more soil to the mixture between each thickness slowly to allow the roots to get accustomed to the new resistance they have each time they are in thicker soil/water mixture. Add the soil without adding additional water until the plant is pretty much all ready planted in a pot if dirt. To move to a different pot with drainage try to move the entire roots with the soil they are growing through without disturbing the root soil ball as little as possible.
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ReplyDeleteNo idea what I signed up for but I wanted to comment that myself also have not ONCE been successful propagating sop other than in water. Ever lol
ReplyDelete