Skip to main content

String of pearls – common problems

Image
By



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!

 

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Succulents at home!

By
Growing succulents at home What would you be looking for while choosing plants for your garden? In case easy-to-maintain and good-looking top the list of requirements, then succulents totally fit the bill. Plants whose leaves and stems store water to become juicy and swollen are called Succulents. They do this to store excess water which they can use later in conditions of water scarcity. Plants from over 50 families come under this category, and include the ones native to dry terrains as well as some which thrive in rainforests. A few grow along the coast, where their succulent tissue adapts them to the high salinity in soil. Cacti are a subset of the succulents. Succulents make for great house-plants. Some of the commonly available succulents are Agaves, Aloes, Echeveria, Sedum, Sempervivum, few Euphorbias and some type of Orchids. You can find them in many shades of green to purple to orange and more colours that you can think of! This wide variety in this family makes th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blooms & Ivy - Story so far...

By
The story so far… There lived a couple in the quaint old town of Bangalore, in the quiet and empty lanes of Banashankari. That was the Bangalore of yore. It was truly the garden city then. The couple too had a small garden. But it was mo re than just a garden for them. Every day, the couple tended to their garden and sowed seeds and raised saplings. All year through and many years like this, the couple toiled to raise and nurture the greens growing in it. Soon there were Violets, Anthuriums, Chrysanthemums and Marigolds sprawling across the green space. From this humble beginning, many years later in June 2006, Blooms and Ivy took birth in a small store in Jayanagar, Bangalore.  The expert at the helm of affairs was Mr. Vishwanath, who had just retired from the famed Indo American Hybrid Seeds after 42 years of service as a Horticulturist.   Ably by his side was h is wife, Mrs. Uma who had spent 30-odd years magically growing practically anything and everyth...
Post a Comment
Read more

Begonia - The Royal One!!

By
The Royal One The name Begonia brings to mind the word ‘royal’. With its large leaves, often seen having a metallic sheen and its beautiful flamboyant flowers, this plant is one royal treat to the eyes. Earlier known for its pendulous flowers (in the case of Tuberous Begonias), today this species is mainly known for its foliage variety which can be grown as ornamental potted plants in a greenhouse or at home. With 1,795 species, the genus Begonia is one of the largest genera among the Angiosperms. The genus was first identified and documented in 1700 and named in honour of Michel Begon, a French botanist and administrator of Santo Domingo in the West Indies. Begonias are widespread in the world, and have adapted to varying conditions, resulting in the extensive variety seen in the species. They occur in tropical and temperate climates of South America, Central America, Africa and South Asia. Some of the different types of Begonias are: ·       T...
Post a Comment
Read more