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String of pearls – common problems

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The most asked about plant these days is the magnificent String Of Pearls. Botanically called Senecio Rowleyanus and collaquially called the Bataani plant by old bangloreans, this is a beautiful cascading succulent that is exquisite and was a collector’s pride in most banglorean homes. They are relatively easy to maintain and as any other succulent, thrive on neglect :). Ideal spots to have them shine and prosper is shaded porticos, they also thrive well indoors - adjacent to open, airy windows, where they are get  a couple of hours of morning sun.

These are some of the common complaints that I have seen from our dear customers. 

Plant is looking too stringy and weak

These plants do not have a great solid root system. So when we plant a  single stem in a pot, these long strings weigh out the root ( since we allow one string to grow robust). The best way to tackle the problem is  to make the plant stronger, its ideal to rotate the string within a pot so, it roots in several places and then makes itself real strong to let its many legs wander about exploring the world.
Picture courtesy Ms.Pradeepa from our ever growing Mudfingers family!

 Watering issues with String of pearls:

Shriveled Pearls:

Succulents store water in their leaves for use in dire times. When the plant is under-watered or neglected for a lot of time, they use up all the stored water and shrivel. In this case the leaves look very dry. Its easy to recover such plant, the stem is usually nice, its only the  leaves that have shriveled, water them deep and they will jump to form within a week.

Surprisingly over watering too shrivels the leaves but this is also accompanied by the pearls turning soft and mushy. You need to completely stop watering and check the plant stems. If the base is completely weak and almost black, cut the good parts and try propagating.

Also they don’t like misting. Water the plants deeply so that the entire root system gets wet. Allow it to dry completely before watering again.

Pearls are dropping:

If the plant is healthy and leaves are dropping … it may mostly be an indulgent pet or a physical movement. However if the plant is looking sad and droopy, this can be due to low lighting. This plant loves bright places, but not direct south Indian harsh sunlight. So make sure they are in placed in a bright but shaded areas

If the leaves are turning yellow or sooty … there is most likely a serious issue of a fungus or aphids or mealy bugs. Check the plant properly and use a mild neem spray regularly once every week till they are completely controlled. Make sure you check for ants as well as these spread the aphids and mealy bugs. For ants, organic turmeric powder works very well.

Identifying a problem, is almost half the resolution in plants! Hope I have covered most common issues that we encounter in this plant. Now its time to get your hands dirty!

 

 

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