String of Pearls

Check your light →

Dim light is one of three things NC State says it won’t tolerate; the other two involve your watering can. Keep it bright and shielded from strong sun; a touch of gentle sun is fine.

In the wild it tucks itself under shrubs and between rocks in dry country (NC State), and that’s the light to copy: plenty of brightness, with something taking the edge off the sun.

An east or west window works well (RHS). Near a south-facing one, hang it back from the glass or behind a sheer, because harsh rays can scorch the pearls (NC State).

Summering it outside? NC State suggests partial shade there, and it can’t take any frost, so bring it in well before the first cold night of fall.

In short: all the light you can give, as long as none of it is harsh enough to scorch a pearl.

About every 10-14 days in summer, every 2-3 weeks in winter. It forgives a missed week, but not soggy soil, which rots it, nor a long stretch bone dry.

A round leaf offers the least surface for what it holds, which cuts water loss (University of Wisconsin Extension), and each pearl’s core is made of water-storage cells (Missouri Botanical Garden). That’s how it coasts for a couple of weeks between drinks.

In winter it prefers to be cool, around 50-60 degrees (NC State).

Limp, wilting strands can mean overwatering or underwatering (NC State). Think back over the past few weeks: the answer is usually in your memory, not the pot.

Gone for a while? Three weeks is fine; soak it the day you leave and the pearls carry it through.

Kept full, it reaches 1-2 feet, with beaded strands that swing 1-3 feet below the rim like a curtain. Hang it high or set it on a mantel, and tuck snipped strands back in to fill out the crown.

In the wild it never hangs at all. Its stems creep across dry ground, rooting wherever they touch soil and knitting into a dense mat (Missouri Botanical Garden). A pot rim is just the first edge it has found to fall over.

That rooting habit makes it easy to renew, which matters: NC State notes these plants tend to die back after several years. Rather than nursing a thinning old plant, lay 3-5 inch cuttings on fresh mix with a few nodes covered, and they’ll root. A single pearl dropped on soil can root too, though slowly and less reliably.

Hang a few pots at staggered heights in a window and the strands read as a bead curtain, one that keeps getting longer.

A dog or child who eats a few pearls may vomit or get diarrhea, and the sap can leave a rash on skin. Cats can react beyond the stomach, with tremors or slowed breathing, so call the vet if yours chews it.

Cats are the exception: beyond an upset stomach, a cat that chews it may show agitation, tremors, or slowed breathing or heart rate (Pet Poison Helpline).

The trouble traces to a pyrrolizidine alkaloid in the leaves and sap, which NC State ranks low in severity overall.

Hands meet the sap most when you trim, repot, or take cuttings, and gloves keep it off skin it might irritate (NC State, RHS).

For a child or dog, a stomach upset usually passes on its own. If it doesn’t settle, or anything worries you, Poison Control or your vet can talk you through it. With a cat, call the vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (a fee may apply) as soon as you know it chewed some.

Good news if you still want one: it does well in a hanging pot, and the ASPCA notes that makes it easier to keep from pets. With a cat at home, hang it well clear of shelves, sills and furniture a cat could leap from, and pick up any pearls that fall.

1. Pet Poison Helpline: toxic for cats.
2. NC State Extension: mild for kids.

Dogs: ASPCA news article and one extension source; no database entry.

Cats: Most of the leading sources agree.

Kids: No poison-centre listing; rated from university extension sources.

Anywhere from 50-80°F suits it, and humidity can drop to about 10% without trouble.

Temperature

50-80°F

Mealybugs hide at the stem nodes, between the pearls, and at the soil line, while aphids gather on soft new tips. Whiteflies sometimes sit under the strands, and fungus gnats in the moist top layer of mix.

• Mealybugs
• Aphids
• Whiteflies
• Fungus gnats

Few pests; root rot from wet soil is how most are lost.

Mealybugs look like tufts of white cotton on the strands; aphids are small, soft bugs on new growth. Dab them off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, then check again next week. If they come back, an insecticidal soap spray is the next step.

Fungus gnats are tiny dark flies around soil that stays damp, a sign it’s getting too much water. Water less often and they fade away.

Rot shows as pearls going soft and brown near the soil, then strands dying back. Snip off healthy strand tips to root as a backup, let the pot dry out, and water less often from then on.

In spring, give it one light feed and repot into a shallow clay pot every 1-2 years. Trim weak, straggly stems back to the base as needed. Once it dies back, root 3-5 inch cuttings every few years.

• Feed1× a year
• Repot1× a year
• Prune1× a year

A shallow pot with a drainage hole, clay rather than plastic so the soil dries faster, filled with cactus mix, or potting mix cut up to half and half with coarse sand, grit or perlite. Its roots are shallow, so a deep pot only holds extra wet soil.

Repot every year or two, in spring, into a pot only a little bigger.

Food is optional: a light feeding in spring is plenty.

Pea-sized green beads, all one plain color, string together into strands that spill over the rim. Each pearl is smooth and slightly glossy, and the strands leave some soil still showing.