How to Care For String of Hearts – Soil, propagation,Tuber,Problems

String of Hearts  : An Apocynaceae Family plant having heart shaped leaves. It is Quite new to know there is a plant which looks like cluster of hearts. As you know Roses are gifted on valentine’s day but what if you give your loved one this amazing plant ,first she might get shocked but in the end it is so much beautiful that everyone accept it.

String of hearts has a very long , thin stem that can take quite a space so it would be best if you place them in a hanging basket. I have even seen People stick them in walls for decorative purposes as this one looks fantastic.

Let me tell you it has dark green color in the leaves but on the lower side it gets some gray -green combination or sometimes purple.

String of hearts is a succulent plant means they can grow easily and tolerate many conditions as succulent are quite strong plants when we compare it with others , and yes they are also small so they take less space.

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Background

It was first found in Southern Asia, Australia and Africa. It has many names including rosary vine, snake creeper , necklace vine, parasol flower, wine glass vine,lantern flower , bushman’s pipe.

The scientific name of this plant is Ceropegia woodii and the name Ceropegia comes from 2 word ‘keros’ which means wax and ‘pege’ means fountain and it is described as fountain of wax this was given by Carl Linnaeus who is a Swedish botanist. 

(Ceropegia woodii) How to Care String of hearts

Here are the tips on how to care for string of hearts :

String of hearts soil

This plant doesn’t like being moist so water it when you see its soil gets dried out. This Plant wants well draining soil to thrive and for that you need some soil mixture for your heart plant.

String of hearts soil is as you know it is a succulent plant so it needs good soil mixture for better drainage. So you can use cactus and succulent soil mix with some Organic Garden Coir then you need to mix it very well. This is used to make sure water doesn’t drain too fast and may be too slow without hurting the tuber of string of hearts plant.

Soil Mix : 1/3 Organic garden Coir, 1/3 succulent and cactus soil mix and 1/3 charcoal(this can be optional). Also I suggest you sprinkle some worm compost. It is important to have perfect air circulation in soil so roots don’t rot.

Succulent plants are strong that doesn’t mean they can be grown in any soil mix. You need good soil and compost for them.

And one thing let me tell you this compost and soil mix can be used in many plants not just succulent plants so this is the best mix for your plants.

Growth of succulent plants can also depend on its soil health. If the soil is poor it can harm the succulent in the long run.

String of hearts tuber

String of hearts tuber can grow once the plant matures with time. These tubers have seen growing inside the soil, above the potting mix with all the vines. Aerial tubers are one such rhizomes growing with stem in open air. You can propagate string of hearts tubers by putting the strands on the potting mix again on the top layer of soil. These will eventually start rooting and then fresh strands emerge from the tuber.

You may ask whether it is normal if a string of hearts grows aerial tubers? Yes, It is quite normal if they grow tubers with stems in open air, and it won’t need the soil mix to get any nutrients as all the food it receives from the main root. Growing String of hearts using tuber is an easy way and doesn’t take time to grow more such long vines. 

In my case if the stem becomes pale and dried completely then only tuber  propagation is recommended to grow new plants. These strands of string of heart plants grow more at base because of low watering and the top layer may drop or turn brown. Providing it low light and sufficient water would enhance its growth and it will be fuller at pot and also become longer. 

One way to get a string of hearts fuller & longer is using fertilizer & better potting mix which helps them to reach more growth with time. If the tubers get good soil then it will grow faster and healthier.

How to propagate a string of hearts using tubers?

This is a very simple method that you take out the healthy tuber from the plant and put back in the same soil pot or use a different container. It will show growth in a few weeks, the only requirement is giving it water and bright light in time. These tubers will only grow in soil medium, don’t try to grow them in water just like the stem propagation method we use. 

String of hearts grow tubers in bulk so you can actually make fresh plants out of these tubers. This is nothing but plant rhizomes which look bigger in size but when they grow this seems small. Make sure you only cut off the big size tuber that is older, not younger. 

But you can try all these string of hearts tubers as once it gets contact with soil it starts making another heart plant. This is the beauty of this plant which makes it so popular but popularity is mainly because of its heart shaped leaves. Other characteristics of this plant is it can grow faster, require less care, no need regular watering and can tolerate the season but you still need to put the pot in an ideal room temperature place where it can sit and relax. In winters these plants won’t grow and go to dormant stage where they sleep for sometime and grow back once frost ends.

String of hearts flower

The String of hearts flower is a small tubular shaped flower with bulbous bottom and 5 petals attached on the top. It can appear in any season of the year but mostly 2 seasons when it blooms either in summer or fall. It has a small inverted pyramidal base with long pink canopy.

The succulent flower has hairs which seem as going downward that traps the flies until it takes the pollen grains so that these can be transferred to another flower for pollination.

This Plant is from South Africa so many flies are attracted to this flower.

String of hearts plant propagation

There are actually 3 ways you can propagate this plant; the last one has nothing to do with cutting. Let’s first talk about those 2 methods first.

Below is the method using Soil to make a new string of hearts plant and this one is the best and most perfect method to propagate.

When it comes to the water method it also works but what you need to do to actually grow it is cutting in water as explained by me after this method.

Here is how to propagate a string of hearts :

1 . Sterilize your Cutting Tool 

This step is important as cleaning your tool before cutting is the best habit so that your plant doesn’t get any microbes or bacteria that may harm the plant.

2 . Take out a cutting of tuber or rhizome

You need to cut the stem and take 3-6 inches of stem with tubers/rhizomes.

If you don’t know tubers, they are small potatoes like rhizomes which are present in the middle of any stem you see. they are large in size and without that stem can grow longer.

3 . Lay the Tuber Stem into the soil

Now it’s time for the tuber stem to lay on the new potting mixture. this will automatically grow and keep watering in check.

4 . Water it and Wait for it to grow.

It is necessary to provide this plant water as this will need water until the roots develop.

When roots start coming out of the tuber then it means you have followed every step properly. 

5 . Enjoy your new String of Hearts plant.

After it gets roots, you can now enjoy a string of hearts plants.

This plant is easy to propagate, doesn’t take much time and can easily be grown. 

If you want to know about 6 different ways on how to propagate string of hearts Read.

Using Water to propagate this succulent :

1 . After taking cutting from the existing Succulent.

If you have this plant it is very much easy to grow it. Just take a cutting and this time you don’t even need a tuber with the stem.

Only 4-6 inch will do that work and grow perfectly.

2 . Place it in Water.

After taking its cutting you need to put that in opaque water glass or container.

This will grow in water as they are vine plants and it has a protective stem which doesn’t have much effect on water.

3 . Find a Place where it gets dark.

Now you have to put this in a dark room or a place where there is no light.

As this plant requires no light when growing in water. 

4 . Enjoy, Roots started to grow.

Once it grows in water , now you can place it in new pot soil.

This is how you can successfully propagate this plant in water.

The 3rd method is the simplest and doesn’t require you to get your hands dirty. So what you need to do is grab its hanging vines and put in a new pot with well drained soil.

And daily give it water until it starts to grow.

After It Starts to grow new shoots you can Cut the part from the middle of the existing hanging plant & voila you have a new string of heart plant.

This is how you can successfully propagate this plant.   

If you want to read how I propagated string of hearts seed pods.

String of hearts Problems

As you know this succulent is a powerful plant but it doesn’t mean it can’t get any pests.

This succulent encounters 2 major issues in its life, if you care for your plants better than may be no problem can be seen in this plant.

String of hearts problem is connected with pests and watering. The first one is over-watering, when the owner doesn’t check whether its soil dries or not, Make sure you don’t make this mistake and only water it whenever necessary. what you can do is check its soil surface if its dry then water it else don’t.

The second problem is with bugs , it’s name is mealybug it is a small pinkish color pest that eats your plant and weakens its growing stems.

It can affect everything leaves, stems, rhizomes and leave a white cotton web that just makes the leaves go pale. What you need to do is wash it up with a clean cloths.

If this problem gets bigger use insecticidal spray, I am using Bonide insect soap spray that can kill the mealybugs pests easily.

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Variegated String of Hearts

Variegated String of Hearts is is unique variety which looks quite beautiful , and yes it will make you remember the Snowfall and winters as this looks like white cream , green, pink colored leaves which are again heart shaped.

The stem is of violet purple color with tiny tubers but yes sizes vary and it grows on the base of the plant. With its pink – purple appearance it was named as Rosary Vine. Even its name is quite cool.

This plant can grow in full sun as well as partial shade too, it can grow about 80-90 cm long. The USDA growing zone for this plant is 11 a.

The temperature should not go below 41° F and they don’t like winters the same as other succulent plants and go dormant. It is non toxic succulent which doesn’t harm animals and us (humans). 

This one also can propagate using seeds, tubers, stem cutting and all those methods are easy and basically this succulent is adaptable and grow-able. 

How to make string of hearts fuller

When making a string of hearts fuller make sure to fulfill every requirement of the plant like watering, pruning and fertilizing it in the growing season. Making these plants fuller takes time but with succificent watering and timely trimming the long strands of string of hearts may limit them from growing longer but it will eventually focus on the growth part that will be to make it fuller with short length of stems.

With Adequate light it will surely grow more and perform better. Using a fertilizer that is rich in nutrients and succulent needs can make a string of hearts fuller.

String of hearts white balls

String of heart white balls are tubers they grow in air with the vines  that’s why it is called aerial tubers. These white balls are round, white in color, growing from the node of stem. It can be sown on the potting mix again which can eventually give birth to another string of hearts plant. The propagation of these tubers or white balls are easy. Once you simply lay the stem with that tuber inside the soil and put some sand above the tuber it will start to grow in some weeks. 

These white balls are going to rot so you have to put them back in soil if you take them out just to check otherwise they will rot in no time. There are many methods you can multiply the string of hearts and white ball or tuber propagation is one such technique to do it.

Many people get curious when they first see these white balls growing with stems, hanging. This is shocking because the rhizomes never grow outside of the soil but in the case of this plant the aerial tubers are growing above the soil as well as in air with more stems attached to it. 

String of hearts light requirements

String of hearts is a succulent plant requiring low light to bright indirect light. It doesn’t have full sunlight requirements but prefers moist soil for growth. If you provide them full sun then it may give it boost in growth as fastre stem development take place with that problem like dried leaves, yellowing foliage because with sunlight you need to give water to the plant in regular basis otherwise from drought conditions it will not thirsty and won’t grow until someone pours water.

If leaves of the plant are falling off, or the plant is not getting fuller then it is because the soil does not have sufficient water. There is another thing like if leaves have large space between each heart shaped leaves then it could be because of legginess and the plant might not be getting light that is required.

Light requirement for the string of hearts that works best is partial light but sometimes you can still put them in full sunlight to grow. Just like any other succulent your plant also needs some sort of sun every 3 days to grow better. Otherwise if you want them to limit the growth then low light area is best. In winters they can easily survive. You just need to take care of watering because they don’t require water in those days. Only provide water when the soil is completely dry.

Conclusion

In my suggestion this plant can be used in decorative purpose and with its ability to grow and propagate it was the best choice as a succulent plant.

It is small so this plant won’t take much space . One thing is that it is beautiful and you can’t ignore it.

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