Rejuvenating My 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.
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.
Related: Tips For Growing A String Of Pearls Outdoors, 10 Reasons You May Be Having Problems Growing String Of Pearls Indoors, Repotting String Of Pearls: The Soil Mix To Use & The Steps To Take, String Of Pearls Q&A
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.
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.
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!
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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.
I’m wondering how
How do I make my SOP look fuller? It had a near death experience when it got too dry a little while ago, but I managed to save some strings and now they’re growing alright, but look very scanty. Propagate more and tuck them into the soil with the exising strands?
Amelia – Taking cuttings of the healthy growth, new mix which drains well & not over watering. Nell
Hi Amelia – SOPs have a growth habit on the thinner side. If yours have gotten very thin, it could be due to too much water, too little light, wrong soil mix, etc. You can propagate those thin stems & propagate. Here’s another post which might interest you:https://www.joyusgarden.com/10-problems-growing-a-string-of-pearls-plant-indoors/ Nell
What is the rosary plant called as my grandma use to.have all the time but I’ve looked for years and can’t find thanks