String of pearls, scientifically known as Curio Rowleyanus, are exclusive vining succulents that are easily distinguishable by their small pea-shaped leaves. These plants are native to South-West Africa and exist as leaf litter in their natural habitat. But as houseplants, these plants serve sliding vines from window boxes, hanging baskets, pots, or from glass pots. 
The main feature of String of pearls plant is that it grows very fast both indoors as well as outside and can be propagated very easily. Well in this article we are going to answer how to propagate a string of pearl. So that you can easily make your pot looks fuller.
How to Propagate String of Pearls?
How to propagate String of Pearl? Like any other plant, String of pearl can be easily propagated from its stem cuttings by following some simple steps. Propagation of String of Pearl includes stem cuttings, propagating from seed, and by Potting or Repotting String of Pearls. Propagation of string of pearl totally depends on its stem cuttings, type of soil, temperature, humidity, and tools used. Propagation results better only if you are taking care of your new plant effectively.
Let’s read it in more detail.
Propagating String of Pearls from Stem Cuttings
The steps involved in how to propagate string of pearl from stem cuttings are as follows-
- Tools needed to propagate string of pearl are- sterilized scissors or pruning snips, a 4- or 6- inch pot or any planter of your choice, and succulent or cactus soil.
- You have to cut several 4- or 5- inch stems from your mother plant. Remember to cut the stem just below the leaf node. Remove the last two leaves from the node and lay out the cuttings for about 1 to 2 days before you are going to plant it. The cut ends from where the leaves were removed need to be hardened and thickened and get them dry.
- After your stem is ready to plant, fill a pot of minimum height with cactus soil. Also, make a hole in the center where you are going to plant the stems.
- Now it’s time to place the cut ends into the hole of the pot about at least an inch deep. Remember that all leaves should be above the soil. After this, packed the dirt around the stems. Now, wait for some days before you started watering it thoroughly.
- If you want it indoor, then choose a bright spot in your place. And for outdoors, the plant thrives well in partial sunlight.
Important note: Water the soil of the plant only when it dries up.
Propagating String of Pearls from Seed
Another method mentioned in the list of How to propagate string of pearls entitled Propagation from seed. So if you are thinking about the whole procedure involved in How to propagate string of pearls from seed then please read further.
The process includes Taking the seeds of a String of pearls and planting them in a cactus potting mix or fast-draining succulent mix. Don’t let the soil dry up. If it is impossible for you to maintain the moisture of the soil then cover the new plant with a clear plastic bag, it will help in maintaining the moisture. Now have patience because here, the germination of seeds can take time from weeks to 2 to 3 months. The germination of seeds can be faster in the spring or summer season as compared to the winter season.
Important note:
We never recommend you to propagate string of pearl from seed. It is very difficult to grow string of pearl with seed because to germinate from seed, the flower heads need to be pollinated in the soil and the seeds you are germinating you don’t know whether they are usable or not until you plant them.
Potting or Repotting String of Pearls
Repotting a plant means repotting a plant that is not growing well in its current vessel. Propagation of string of pearl from Repotting is not an easy task because strings of pearls are very delicate plants with shallow root systems. So whenever you want to repot the plants just handle them gently. The soil should be dry while repotting the plant. The season best for repotting is the beginning of its growing season, which is spring. As in the case of Strings of pearls you don’t need to repot them every year until you see that they become very big for their current vessel or the plant has become root bound.
Now let’s learn how to propagate string of pearl by repotting.-
- Just bring or fold the hanging stems up to the center top of the plant very smoothly.
- To lessen the damage to the beads while repotting the plant from a hanging basket, remove all the clips and hooks from the hangings first.
- For repotting, firstly loosen the soil by gently tapping the bottom of the pot. Then place one hand on top of the plant and then flip the pot over to help the plant to slide out. By doing this, you can remove the String of pearls from the older pot without damaging its delicate beads.
- Now it’s time to prepare your soil mix of cactus or succulent. To provide better drainage in the middle of the pot where the String of pearls goes, add perlite or coarse sand with your soil mix and then apply around the side of the new pot.
- Repotting is in the final stage, just be careful and place your string of pearls in the pot and again put some soil around the plant to fill in any open spaces.
Once you are done with repotting place your new plant in a bright location but away from direct sunlight.
Benefits of String of pearl plant
Apart from being easily propagated, there are many other benefits of the String of
Pearl plant. Like:
- The string of pearl is a cascading plant and hence looks great as a hanging planter anywhere inside your house.
- This is not a very common plant, so when placed in guests’ line of sight they must ask you about it. So it acts as a conversation starter.
- The string of plants doesn’t need much care or time and therefore it can be easy to maintain.
- The string of pearl doesn’t need years to grow and hence is one of the fastest growing plants.
How to Take Care of String of Pearl Plant?
You become familiar with the String of pearl plant and have already come to know about How to propagate the String of hearts plant. Now it’s time to know about how to take care of the Strings of Pearls plant. The string of pearl plant is not appropriate for its conditions. It will grow very quickly in favorable seasons if it will be provided with enough light and fertilizers.
As compared to other succulent plants<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>, Strings of pearl plants are easy to grow and moreover, they bloom if cared properly. Because String of pearls plant has no powerful disease problems, therefore it doesn’t require much care. But the thing it requires the most is plenty of light all around the year. Apart from it there are many other factors that are necessary and kept in mind while taking care of it. So if you also want to know about how to take care of String of pearl plant read on to know.
Light
You can either plant your string of pearls as a houseplant or you can also propagate it outside, but in both the cases it needs a mixture of bright light and partial shade of sunlight to grow. For outdoors, it can be placed at a spot where it can get 6-8 hours of sunlight per day but again you have to place it in a partially shaded spot for rest of the day. And for indoors, you have to find a place for your String of pearl where it can get full strong natural light, like you can place it near an east- facing window.
NOTE: If you don’t have proper light for your string of pearl at your place, you can also keep them under any fluorescent light fixture in your house for minimum 12-16 hours of a day so it will fulfil their daily need of light.
Temperature
String of Pearls temperature tolerance should be the next factor that has to be kept in mind while taking care of it. Because string of pearl flourishes well in room temperature ranging between 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit from spring to autumn, but on the other hand, in winter the temperature that suits them is between 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. As a houseplant, string of pearls never thrives in humid areas like Kitchen or bathroom. They should never be kept in a place with an air-conditioner as this may cause the leaves to drop. Try to keep them in low-humid areas.
Humidity
As we have read in the above section, String of pearl doesn’t require a lot of humidity to grow. But for as a matter of fact, this succulent is natural to dry areas because dry air doesn’t harm it. Rather string of pearl plant enjoys standard household humidity setting which is 40% relative humidity to grow.
Fertilizers
Like any other plant, string of pearl doesn’t require any fertilizer because excessive use of fertilizers can destroy its Pearl Succulent. But still if you want, you can fertilize string of pearl once in every 2 to 4 weeks in spring and mid-summer during its growth time. Also there is need of fertilizer in the winter or fall.
Water
The next question that would scratch your head was How often to water String of Pearls? As we know succulents are very sensitive to overwatering. So to protect your String of Pearls from overwatering, just make sure you watered them in proper quantity. You should water them once in every two weeks while in winter cut back watering to once per month. To avoid your plant from overwatering just make sure your soil would be half an inch (1.2 cm) dry before the next water.
Soil and pot
If you are thinking about the Best soil for a string of pearls or the Best type of pot for string of pearl then here is your answer. Like any other succulent plant, Pearls plants also needs good-draining soil to flourish. Hence to grow your pearl plant effectively and make them happy, choosing a well-drained pot will be the first choice. For this purpose terracotta and unglazed ceramic pots would be a great choice because of their extraordinary drainage.
After the type of the pot, another important factor for succulents to grow is choosing the perfect size of the pot. The pot should neither too big nor too small as if the pot is too big then the soil in it will stay wet for long time and the beads planting on it will get rot. Also we have read that Strings of Pearls have very shallow roots so a deep pot is not required for them. Also the head of the pearls stay at the same level with the top of the pot, otherwise the aeration decrease and with wet soil the crowns and stems get rot very easily. Moreover you can start planting string of pearls with any kind of succulent potting soil but preferably best soil for string of Pearls is sandy soil. Just take this mix with 3 Part good potting soil and 1 part sharp sand.
Pruning
If your string of pearl plant is getting too long, you can cut or trim those hangings using scissors or pruners and propagate new plants from those cuttings. In this way pruning helps to make your plant fuller and bushier.
The lifespan of String of Pearl plant
The question how long can string of pearl plant live? Doesn’t have a heart-breaking answer because before start losing their vitality and begin to die, a string of pearl plants can live about 3 to 5 years. So to make your plant live on indefinitely you can easily propagate by stem cuttings to create a new plant.
Recap
The strings of pearls plant are short-lived plants. So this summer brings a new member to your home nursery and plant your string of pearls right now. Also, try different methods of how to propagate string of Pearls plant and how to take care of string of pearl. Also, don’t forget to share with us!
