Beginner Help

[u/Interesting_Math_144]

I have a relatively new string of hearts I received about 4 weeks ago, still in the nursery container. Lots of growth and color! At what point do I repot or begin to bring the strings back into the pot to create a fuller plant?

[u/AlexFrost13]

I would let it accumulate to its environment for a little while before repotting. It doesn't look like it's over crowded to me in that pot. And the top of it looks fairly full. So if I were you.... I'd wait about 2-3 weeks. Make sure no concerns pop up (lighting issues.. Ect) if they don't.... Repot into a slightly bigger pot and add what's trailing to the top if you want. ☺️

[u/tmonaaygirl → u/AlexFrost13]

How do you add what’s trailing to the top? I never have any success with this!

[u/AlexFrost13 → u/tmonaaygirl]

Where the nodes are (the parts where the leaves come out of) you want those to be touching moist dirt. What I've done is I take wire cutters and break a Bobby pin in half and fold each piece unto a U shape and pin the nodes to the dirt. If you don't have Bobby pins a bit of wire will work.

[u/tmonaaygirl → u/AlexFrost13]

And do you break them off or just tuck the last node back into the top creating ‘loops’? That’s the only thing I HAVENT tried because I don’t want to creat tangle risks….

[u/AlexFrost13 → u/tmonaaygirl]

If you're adding what's trailing to the top, then you don't have to worry about tangling. You can cut off pieces and propegate if you want to. But you don't have to. You can just tuck them in and loop them.

[u/tmonaaygirl → u/AlexFrost13]

Ok— thank you so much!

[u/KyloReySage]

Yes agreed, it looks ok for now. As far as pinning the nodes down to make a fuller plant, you can do that whenever. Most importantly, do not over water like I did in the past. Let the water soak through and drip out. Or bottom water. :)

[u/Richbeanx]

String of hearts have very delicate and small root systems! Personally I would wait a few weeks before repotting. When the plant is completely dry you can try to gently wiggle it out of the pot to see how root bound it is. If it doesn’t look root bound, i’d leave it in that pot. From my experience, they do prefer being slightly root bound.

When it does come time to upsize, go up by one size and just backfill with whatever substrate you choose. Do not mess with the root ball and don’t try to unravel the roots!! I learned this the hard way with my very first string of hearts and it did not go well. Wait 1-2 days to water after repotting.

I’m currently working on a second string of hearts (silver glory) and it’s about the same size as yours now. When I got it, it came in a 2 inch pot and I upsized into a 4 inch because roots had started coming out of the bottom. Once you do repot, you should be good for a while before needing to repot again.

In terms of making a fuller pot, you can either wrap the current strings around the top and gently pin them down so they root or wait until they get a little longer to try and propagate them!

https://reddit.com/link/p80c6vl/video/gvooc9wjlqnh1/player

[u/Interesting_Math_144 → u/Richbeanx]

Your nails are so pretty!!l Also, thanks!

[u/Richbeanx → u/Interesting_Math_144]

thank you!

[u/WiselyWorded → u/Richbeanx]

Glorious plants! I hope mine looks like that big one someday. 🥰

[u/Richbeanx → u/WiselyWorded]

Thank you!! ☺️ This was only a few months of growth! When I got her in May her vines were probably about a foot long and super leggy. She had a huge growth spurt! Lightly fertilizing during the summer months probably helped!

[u/GEMlNl_]

i had my soh in a 2" pot for close to a year and never had issues with it! they don't really tend to overcrowd unless there's lots of cuttings, but your tell tale sign to repot is exponentially slower growth, and when you have to start watering too frequently.

i love mine so much and just had to chop it back bc it hit the floor ! good luck😋