How to Rejuvenate a String of Pearls Plant

My String of Pearls plant, or Senecio rowleyanus, took a bit of a nosedive. Alright, truth be told, it’s a shadow of its former self. Fortunately it’s on the road to recovery and because it grows fairly fast, it should be looking all plump, sassy and filled out by next Spring. Read on to find out what happened and how I’m rejuvenating it.

looking into a beautiful Southern California garden with a gravel hardscape & bright blue patio set

This is the entry into my front garden. The aforementioned succulent grows in a pot on a patio at the end of the pathway.

The String Of Pearls was growing along happily as can be last year and I had to routinely prune its long trails up off the patio. You can see its glory days in this post here. Then, late last Fall, my neighbor cut down another large pine tree that filtered out some of the strong afternoon sun that streamed into the garden.

Fast forward, we had a very dry and very warm Winter followed by a copy cat Spring. This, along with my “neglect by habit”, caused the String Of Pearls to head south. Dried pearls are nowhere near as purdy as those fresh green ones.

4' trails of string of pearls succulent trailing over a large pot — *Here are my pearls cascading over & down the pot last Spring. I had to prune them up off the patio every 2 months in the growing season.*

a large ceramic pot with sparse stems of string of pearls trailing over it — *Here they are this October, boo hoo. A mere wisp of their former selves. You can see more of them in the video below.*

What I mean when I said “neglect by habit” is that I don’t water my succulents in the Winter (except for those on my covered porch). The days get shorter, the weather cools and the rains come so there’s need.

Plus, even plants in a temperate climate like Santa Barbara need to go through a period of rest when they’re not actively growing. But, our California drought has taken its toll, even on some of the succulents.

No time for crying. I took action. First, I cut out all the strands with the dried pearls except for one.

I took as many cuttings from this plant as I could from the strands that were growing on the ground or had branched off the main strand. I also took a cutting from a plant in another pot which you’ll see a few pics down.

a hand holds an unhealthy string of pearls stem & a healthy string of pearls stem — *I’ve cut the dried String Of Pearls out but left 1 strand so I could show you how different it looks.*

short & scraggly stems of string of pearls growing out of a pot — *Here are some of cuttings with those nice, plump pearls rooting in as you read this.*

As the icing on the cake to celebrate the onset of my plant’s recovery, I added and top dressed with my favorite amendment: worm castings. These are great for succulents because work slowly and last a long time.

Read why I think worm castings are the cat’s meow here.

a broken blue pot sits in a garden with succulents growing out of it — You can see the String Of Pearls peeking out from underneath my Aeonium Suncup. It’s very happy in the crack of this broken pot. I cut a couple of the strings which were trailing onto the ground & had rooted to use as cuttings to plant in the other pot.

close up view of string of pearls stems growing out of a pot — *These pearls are very happy underneath the cover of the Aeonium. Partial sun, protected from hot, direct rays, is best for String Of Pearls. See how nice & succulent they are?*

There you have it, plain and simple, even a well-seasoned plant person like myself can run into “horticultural issues” every now and then. I just wanted to share this in case something similar happens to you.

Fortunately, succulents are easy as can be to propagate by cuttings so I’ll do a video next Spring to show you how they’ve progressed. Phew … I’ve redeemed my green thumb in stellar standing!

4" pots of string of pearls succulents on a nursery bench — *This is what my String Of Pearls looked like in the greenhouse when I bought it as a little 4″ young’un.*

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About the Author
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Nell Foster

Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.

www.joyusgarden.com/about/

36 Comments

I always end up killing these, and I don’t know what I am doing wrong. Maybe its watering. So, I wait till the soil is dry – but how do I actually water them? Do I soak them? Do I spray them?

Hi Gretchen – I always water mine well (until the water thoroughly drains out) & then wait until they dry out before watering again. As houseplants they can be a bit tricky because those stems are so small. Soaking is definitely best. Spray them once or twice a year if they’re dirty &/or covered in dust. The pearls don’t like to stay wet. Nell

Hi! I have a bunch of SOP all shriveled but still green. It shriveled a week after Ive purchased it and repotted. Ive read somebody let theirs sit in a pot with water and the beads turned plump after a month. I did the same, keep out of direct sun and let the pot sit in water. I know this is unconventional and opposes all laws of succulent care but what choice do I have. I havent been able to revive it despite bottom watering every week plus misting everyday.

Hi Ethel – If the plant is too dry, the pearls look dried up. If it’s too wet, they look soft & mushy. I always water mine when it’s dry & let the water completely drain out. Nell

Hi! I LOVE my string of pearls and wanted to get another one. my local nursery is selling “string of pearls” for $37.99CDN and “string of beads” for $17.99CDN. Both are insanely expensive but I was wondering why the price difference?? aren’t they both the same? The “pearls” has more round pea like leaves and the “pearls” is more like little cappers or teardrop shaped. Are they the same plant? different morphs?

Thanks much!
Steph Bennett

sorry – edit for above! – the string of pearls is more round and the string of beads is the tear shaped one.

Hi Steph – Wow, that’s expensive! The names String Of Pearls, String Of Beads & Rosary Plant get used interchangeably. The most common here in the US is Senecio rowleyanus which is SOPs. Technically, the pointed, teardrop SOBs is Senecio herreianus. It’s like Thanksgiving Cactus are generally called & sold as “Christmas Cactus”. I find the SOPs to be more commonly sold here in the US & priced closely to the SOBs. I have no idea why the price difference. Price & demand maybe?? Nell

Just commented back Steph. I know the SOPs to be more round too. Nell

Hello,
I am looking for help. My plant has strange white spots. The balls ceased to be firm and seemed to be dull. The plant has been hanging for 1.5 weeks in the southern window. When transplanting (universal soil + de-acidified peat + coarse sand) I kept the plant in water to clean the roots from peat. I watered my plant 2 days ago. Did I do the right thing? Is it sunburn or lack / excess water?

I attach photos (no virus, I just wanted to upload a URL to the photo so you can see what the plant looks like. I used the site: imgbb.com):
ibb.co/kiBXhJ
ibb.co/d1B9Uy
ibb.co/hmVgbd
ibb.co/hv3Zwd

Help!

Hi Kamila – I can’t open the images so I can’t help you out. It could also be mealybugs. Nell

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