String of Pearls- A Sad Story About Root Rot.

String of Pearls

A sad story about rootrot.

Looks can be deceiving. She looked pretty AMAZING but she was on struggle street. Her growth looks long and green but on closer expection her new growth was spindly and we spotted brown bits.

When we looked even closer we noticed her pearls shrivelling up and going crusty. Some people mistake this for a dry plant where infact it means the plant has been overwatered enough to cause root rot.

If the plant was underwatered the green peas suck in like pictured below.

While this crusty look below is a sign of root rot.

So we had a few options.

1. Let it be. Hope it dries out enough to recover. This is ok if the damage is minimal and you have good light conditions. As we were getting closer to winter we decided that was too risky.

2. Next we could have simply repotted and removed any of the rotten roots. We chose not to do this as the plant was so big we were unsure on how much roots would be left to support the plant.

3. Cut off healthy strands and repot roots separately. This is the most extreme option but decided it was the best because of the size of the plant and the cooler weather coming.

So with a heavy heart J made the cut.

As you can see we potted the cuttings together straight into the soil. We have now planted it in a terracotta pot which is an ideal option for growing this plant as it helps dry out the soil quickly.

We will need to water the strings with small amounts regularly until roots have developed. Some people do this step in water which is very quick and easy then transfer the cutting to soil. 

We have also kept the original roots and plant to grow. We removed all the dead roots and stems and put in it a sunny spot on a covered deck.

Looking forward to seeing this baby grow!!!!

This plant needs:

Light: Very bright light even some direct light. 

Watering: Only when soil is completely dry and can dry out quickly. In winter when the plant is dormant only water tiny bits infrequently. 

Soil: Fast draining soil. Cactus or succulent soil.

Pot: Must have drainage. Concrete or Terracotta helps dry it out quickly.

Tip! If you have a small cutting you can grow it in a glass jar with rocks at the bottom and then soil. It can be much easier to see when soil is wet or dry.