String of Hearts Care Guide

String of Hearts Care Guide

I bought my first String of Hearts on a whim three years ago at a farmers market. The seller had them hanging from her tent poles, and I thought they looked delicate and interesting. I took mine home, hung it in my kitchen window, and promptly almost killed it within two months because I treated it like a pothos. Turns out, these plants are nothing like pothos.

String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii) is a trailing succulent from South Africa. The leaves are small, heart-shaped, and they grow on thin, wiry vines that can get ridiculously long if you let them. Mine is now about four feet long and doing well, but I had to learn some hard lessons first. The most important thing I can tell you is this: stop watering it like a regular houseplant. It is a succulent, and it wants to be treated like one.

Watering the ‘Taco Test’

When I first got my String of Hearts, I watered it every week because that is what I did with my other plants. Big mistake. The leaves started looking translucent and mushy, and I panicked. I looked it up and realized I was drowning it. These plants store water in their leaves and in little tubers that grow along the vines and under the soil. They do not need frequent watering.

Now I use something I learned from a String of Hearts forum called the “taco test.” You gently fold one of the leaves in half, like a tiny taco. If the leaf bends easily and feels soft or thin, the plant is thirsty. If it resists folding and feels firm or plump, it has enough water. This method works because the leaves actually deflate a bit when the plant uses up its stored water.

I water mine about once every two weeks in the summer and once every three to four weeks in the winter. Your schedule will depend on your home’s humidity and temperature, so do not just copy my routine. Check the soil too. Stick your finger about an inch down. If it feels damp, wait. If it is bone dry, you can water.

When you do water, water thoroughly. I take mine to the sink, soak the soil until water runs out of the drainage holes, and let it drain completely before hanging it back up. Do not let it sit in a saucer of water. That is a fast track to root rot, which I have also dealt with. Root rot smells terrible and turns the roots black and slimy. If you catch it early, you can cut away the bad roots and repot in fresh, dry soil, but prevention is way easier.

According to the University of Vermont Extension, succulents like Ceropegia woodii are adapted to periods of drought and prefer a “soak and dry” watering method rather than consistent moisture. That matches what I have experienced. Overwatering is the number one way people kill this plant.

Bright light for variegation

My String of Hearts sits in an east-facing window. It gets bright, indirect light in the morning and some direct sun for about an hour. This works well. The leaves are a nice mix of green and silver, and the variegation is clear. When I first got it, I had it in a north-facing window because I thought it would be fine with low light. The vines grew, but they got leggy. The spaces between the leaves got longer, and the leaves themselves were smaller and less colorful.

If you have a variegated variety (the ones with pink or cream in the leaves), light becomes even more important. I do not have one of those yet because they are expensive and hard to find, but from what I have read, they need more light than the standard green and silver version. Less chlorophyll means the plant has to work harder to photosynthesize, so it needs more light to compensate.

That said, too much direct sun can scorch the leaves. I learned this the hard way when I moved my plant outside for the summer. I put it on my balcony in full afternoon sun, and within a week, the leaves were crispy and brown on the edges. I moved it to a spot where it got morning sun and shade in the afternoon, and it recovered.

If you do not have a bright window, you can use a grow light. I use one for my African violets in the winter, and it works fine. Just keep the light about 12 to 18 inches away from the plant and run it for about 10 to 12 hours a day. You will know the plant is happy if the vines keep producing new leaves and the variegation stays strong.

The Royal Horticultural Society notes that Ceropegia species generally prefer bright, indirect light and will tolerate some direct sun, especially in the morning or late afternoon. This matches my experience pretty closely.

Above: A close up look at the symptoms.

Untangling the vines safely

String of Hearts vines tangle. They tangle with each other, they tangle with themselves, and if you hang the plant near anything else, they will tangle with that too. My cat also loves to bat at them, which makes the tangling worse.

I used to try to untangle them whenever they got messy, but I kept breaking the vines. They look delicate because they are delicate. The vines snap easily, especially near the nodes where the leaves attach. Now I am much more careful.

If you need to untangle your plant, do it slowly. Start at the end of the vine and work your way back toward the pot. Support the vine with one hand while you gently separate it with the other. Do not pull. If a section is really knotted, sometimes it is better to just leave it alone. A tangled plant is better than a broken one.

If you do break a vine, do not throw it away. You can propagate it (more on that in the next section). I have a small jar on my windowsill where I keep broken pieces until they root. It is not ideal, but at least you get something out of the accident.

Another option is to train the vines. Some people wrap them around a small trellis or a hoop. I tried this once with a wire wreath frame, and it looked nice for a while, but then the vines started growing past the frame and tangling again. Now I just let mine hang and try to keep the cat away.

One trick I use is to occasionally rotate the pot. This keeps the vines from all growing in one direction and getting lopsided. I rotate mine about a quarter turn every time I water. It helps keep the growth more even and reduces tangling.

Propagating the tubers

String of Hearts is one of the easiest plants to propagate, which is great because it means you can share it with friends or fix a plant that is looking sparse. There are a few ways to do it, but the method I like best involves the little tubers that grow along the vines.

If you look closely at your plant, you will see small, round, bead-like bumps along the vines. Those are aerial tubers. They look a bit like tiny potatoes. You can cut a section of vine that has a tuber on it, lay it on top of moist soil, and it will root. I have done this probably a dozen times, and it almost always works.

Here is my process. I cut a section of vine about three to four inches long with at least one tuber and a few leaves. I fill a small pot with cactus soil (or regular potting soil mixed with perlite), and I lay the cutting on top of the soil with the tuber touching the surface. I press it down gently so it makes contact with the soil, but I do not bury it. Then I mist the soil lightly every few days to keep it slightly damp. Within two to three weeks, roots start growing from the tuber.

You can also propagate in water. I have done this too, mostly with broken pieces that do not have tubers. I put the cut end in a small jar of water and wait. Roots usually appear in about two weeks. Once the roots are an inch or two long, I transfer the cutting to soil. Water propagation is easier to monitor, but I find soil propagation gives me stronger plants.

There are also underground tubers that grow in the soil. If you ever repot your String of Hearts, you will see them. They look like small, lumpy root vegetables. You can divide these when you repot and start new plants that way. I have not tried this yet because my plant is still in its original pot, but it is on my list.

North Carolina State University Extension mentions that Ceropegia woodii can be propagated from stem cuttings or by separating the tuberous roots. Both methods are effective, which gives you options depending on what you have to work with.

Above: The tools you need to fix this.

Best soil for hanging succulents

I killed my first String of Hearts by using regular potting soil. It held too much moisture, and the roots rotted. When I bought my second plant, I repotted it immediately into cactus mix, and it has been much happier.

String of Hearts needs soil that drains fast. Regular potting soil is designed to hold moisture, which is great for ferns and tropicals but terrible for succulents. I use a mix that is about 50% cactus soil and 50% perlite. You can also add coarse sand or pumice if you have it. The goal is to create a mix that water runs through quickly.

If you do not want to mix your own, you can buy pre-made succulent or cactus soil. Just make sure it actually drains well. I have bought some “succulent” soils that were still too dense and held water for too long. You can test it by watering a handful in a pot and seeing how fast the water drains. If it takes more than a few seconds, add more perlite.

The pot matters too. I use a plastic hanging pot with drainage holes. Terracotta would be even better because it is porous and helps the soil dry out faster, but it is heavier and harder to hang. Whatever pot you use, make sure it has drainage holes. I cannot stress this enough. No drainage means the soil stays wet, and wet soil kills this plant.

I repot my String of Hearts about every two to three years. It does not need frequent repotting because it likes being a bit root-bound. When I do repot, I go up only one pot size. I also check the roots for any signs of rot and trim away anything that looks bad.

A study published in the Journal of Horticultural Science found that succulent plants generally perform best in well-draining substrates with high porosity, which supports the use of amended potting mixes for plants like Ceropegia woodii. This lines up with what most hobbyists recommend and what has worked for me.

If you are new to String of Hearts, start with good soil. It is one of the easiest changes you can make that will have the biggest impact on your plant’s health. I learned this the hard way, so you do not have to.

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String of Hearts is not a hard plant to care for once you understand what it needs. Treat it like a succulent, not a tropical. Let the soil dry out between waterings, give it bright light, and do not stress too much if the vines tangle. If something goes wrong, you can almost always propagate a piece and start over. That is what I love about this plant. It is forgiving in its own way, even when you make mistakes.

References

North Carolina State University Extension. “Ceropegia woodii.” NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

Royal Horticultural Society. “Ceropegia woodii (String of Hearts).” RHS Plant Finder.

University of Vermont Extension. “Succulent Care.” Department of Plant and Soil Science.

Journal of Horticultural Science. “Substrate composition and drainage effects on succulent plant health.” Vol 78, Issue 4.