String of Pearls Plant Care Guide
The String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus) is a trailing succulent with long, cascading strands of round leaves that look like tiny pearls. It’s a great plant if you like something unique but easy to care for.
Light Needs
Your String of Pearls does best with a few hours of direct morning sun, followed by bright, indirect light. If you notice dry brown spots on the pearls, that’s sunburn—move it a little farther from the window.
Leggy Growth
If your plant looks stretched out with big gaps between the pearls, it’s not getting enough light. You can trim the leggy stems, and new growth will fill in where you cut. Move the plant to a brighter spot or use a grow light to keep it from getting leggy again.
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Watering
Like most succulents, String of Pearls stores water in its leaves and is drought-tolerant. Let the soil dry out completely before watering, then soak it well. Overwatering is the most common issue—soggy soil can lead to root rot. If the pearls turn soft and mushy, cut back on watering.
Repotting
Repot your plant when the roots outgrow the pot or start growing out of the drainage holes. Use a well-draining succulent mix and a container with drainage holes. Since it has shallow roots, a deep pot isn’t necessary. Even if it still has room, refresh the soil every two to three years since nutrients deplete over time.
Propagation
The easiest way to propagate String of Pearls is by rooting stem cuttings in water or soil. For water propagation, place cuttings in a small bottle with just enough water to cover the bottom of the stems (keep the pearls out of the water). Change the water regularly, and once roots develop, move them to soil.
For soil propagation, lay cuttings directly on top of the soil, making sure parts of the stem touch the surface. Roots will grow along the stem.
For more details read How to Propagate String of Pearls.
First time i have read comprehensive advice on String of pearls, thank you very much. Now I can confidently grow them.
I’m glad you found it helpful. Good luck with your String of Pearls!
Will the string of Pearl’s propagate from a fallen bead? Can it grow roots from a single bead?
Hi Sandra, I have never had a single pearl grow roots. The roots grow from the stem part. You can always try, but I would toss the loose bead and take a stem cutting if you want better changes.
Great indepth article. I have been buying them for my shop, I will start propagating them soon.
Great to hear this was of help to you Jason. Good luck with your plants and shop!
I believe I can follow the care of my setting off pearls with these easy to follow instructions.
Wish me luck!!!
You can do it! Good luck! 🙂
What if my plant was being watered when it was supposed to end its outside and it’s still not giving pearls
I am sorry, but I don’t really understand your question. Can you clarify maybe, so I can try and help?
How to start from seeds. String of pearls.can i start inwater beeds
Hi Lynn!
I don’t know about the water beads and I haven’t grown the String of Pearl from seeds myself. It is so easy to just create new plants by using stem cuttings and propagate those.
But if you want to try, I would suggest let your seeds germinate, keeping them moist and humid. After germination plant in soil and keep it moist for a few months.
Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
I got a small start from a plant shop and they don’t seem to be growing for some reason. Any tips on how to get them growing and making more? It’s pretty hot here in Ohio lately so I’d figure that there in there growing season?
I have two cats and was wondering if there was a way for my plant to grow more like a draping bush than long strings, so my cats don’t get tempted by them. I already have two toxic plants that I’ve had for years that they haven’t touched, but they are in pots on tables and grow upward. I’m concerned that if the string of pearls are too long, the dangling pearls may entice them. I would like them to be full with a maximum length of 8 inches to a foot.
Do you have any suggestions on how I can do that?
Yes, those dangling pearls can really tempt the cats! You can easily just cut your strings when they get too long. Don’t throw those away though. Remove the first couple of pearls and place the strings in a small bottle of water. Once they form new roots, just plant them back into the soil of the original plant. That way you lose some of the length and end up with a fuller bush.
Wonderful information. Thank you
Hi, my string of pearls is growing well, but the pearls are not round. Maybe, its another species but I doubt it. Any ideas?
You might have a Senecio Herreianus, a String of Beads, instead of the Senecio Rowleyanus, the String of Pearls. These two hanging succulents are very similar, but the beads on the S. Herreianus are a more pointed oval shape than the round pearls. Hope this helps!
Hello,
Can you tell me if String of Pearls can be grown under lights? I grow African Violets on shelves with fluorescent lights on timers. Do you think that would work with String of Pearls? Thanks for all the great information.
Hi! I recently got what was labeled a string of pearls plant, but with further research, I’ve discovered that it’s a string of beads plant. Is there any large difference in care between the two?
I have never had a String of Beads plant in my collection, but as far as I know, it is very similar to a String of Pearls plant. If I would get a SoB today, I would start out with the same care routine I give my String of Pearls plant. Of course, keep a close eye on it and adjust where necessary. Good luck!
When you talk about removing the pearls from the bottom of the cutting, are you talking about removing the pearls where you cut the string or removing the pearls at the bottom where you cut the string ?
Hi Mikki, You want to remove the pearls on the side where you made the cut. Where you want the roots to grow. That side. Hope this clarifies! Good luck with your pearls!
Hi! I just divided a long, sparse string of pearls into a few small pots. Approximately how long does it take for the propagated stems to take root? Is there a way to check without damaging the plant? Thanks!
Hi Helena! I wouldn’t start poking around in the soil to have a look at the roots. That would just stress them.
Roots will start fairly quick, but can take a couple of weeks, about 3 or 4 I would say, to grow and anchor in the soil.
If you have extra stem cuttings, you can plant one or two in the soil and instead of having it hang over the edge of the pot, lay the strand of pearls in a circle on top of the soil. Roots will grow from the stem at different points, and in time new stems will pop up from that rooted stem.
I had part of my plant turn black and shrivel away. I am suspecting not enough light. Thoughts?
Hi Cat, black leaves on succulents are usually a sign of overwatering. Watering too often leads to the roots to rot. How often did you water your String of Pearls?
To save your plant, I would recommend removing the parts that are still healthy looking and propagating those.
Hope it works, good luck!
When you propagate then, where do you keep the plant? In shaded area but good lighting?
I give them a lot of bright, indirect light. Good luck!
Hi,
I got some really small pieces of SOP with short roots on them. When I try to bunch all the roots (of all the stems I received) and try to put it into one hole I made in the soil, some of the roots can’t get covered in soil without some beads being covered in soil. Will this kill the stems if the root isn’t covered? Also will the covered beads (in soil) die?
Do you have suggestions?
Thank you so much!!!
Hi Vanessa,
I try not to have the pearls underneath the soil. Just remove a few of the pearls on the bottom so you have enough empty stem to plant in your pot. You do want the roots to be in the soil. Hope this helps!
When you say the bottom, would that be the uncut end?
Hi Terry, you mean where I talk about removing a few pearls from the bottom when you want to propagate you String of Pearl? I mean remove a few pearls on the side where you just have made the cut. The side that you will put in water and new roots will grow from where the pearls used to be. Hope that helps!
Hello, I received a large SOP plant and it arrived all piled up on top, can I leave it like that in hopes that all the strings piled on top self propagate? I received also a string of bananas and dolphins that way, is this okay with them as well? I’m sure it was done this way for shipping purposes. What are your thoughts?
Hi Lisa,
If you can and want to, you could untangle a bit to let the strings hang down. If everything is all circled up, you can leave it as is. The strings laying on top of the soil will grow roots in between the pearls. New side shoots will grow from the pile, and when growing longer will start to cascade down. Good luck!
Hiya, I bought my string of pearls a couple of weeks ago and I’ve just noticed that towards the top of the stem the beads are shriveling and dying however they are absolutely fine and growing well towards the bottom any suggestion of where I’ve gone wrong and what to do now?
Hi Sophie, How is your String of Pearls plant doing? It sounds like something happened to the roots, showing on the beads nearest to the soil first. Had you recently repotted it? How often did you water it before this happened?
If it doesn’t get better, you can always choose to prune and water propagate the parts that are still unaffected.
All of a sudden, the tips of my String of Pearls, a gifted start from a friend’s plant, have turned black and shriveled. Its been growing healthily up until now. The rest of the plants looks wonderful. What should I do?
Hi Kim, You say the tips turn black and shrivel, do you mean the ends of the strings or the part closest to the soil? Because it sounds like an overwatering problem, but that usually starts at the soil level. If it is on the ends of the strings, and the problem is spreading, I would start with removing the affected parts and check the soil. Let me know how your plant is doing now.
Marg!
My SOP was growing nicely, now the strings on top the soil attached to a pearl look dead, the pearls since depleted☹️. There are maybe three small pearls left, is there anyway to revive what is left? When I tried to take what is left away they broke off the dried up string? Help?
Hi Marg, are there any pearls left still attached to a piece of healthy stem? If so, remove that part from the plant asap and put it in water to root. It will take a while before one string grows back into a full plant, but it can be done. Hope you get to save your String of Pearls!
My SOP and VSOP both have been for 2 years under grow lights (about 12inches distance so it’s not too bright) but they’ve always had small beads, never the big fat ones always seen in pictures. Any advice?
Hi Jennie, I don’t know what your size reference is for the beads on your string of pearls. They are not supposed to be very large. More like a pea than a marble, if that makes sense. I once saw one in a plant store that had larger beads, but that plant was so overwatered the beads just looked like they were about to burst. So if your beads are not super tiny, I don’t think there is anything wrong with your plants.
And PS a variegated string of pearls plant is still on my wish list!
Hi. Thank you for the guide with succulents. I love it. I’ve tried to propagate some. I want to put in a glass container.
Thank you take care lots of love from South Africa.
My pearls have black specs on the hanging part of the basket, I sprayed it with a light soapy solution but it doesn’t seem to help
Hi Charlotte, how is your string of pearls doing? Has it recovered? Are you sure it was a pest infestation since you tried to treat it with a soapy solution? Black spots can also be because of too much water or too much direct sun. The pearls can get sunburn spots. So maybe it’s just a matter of less water or moving it away from the window a bit.