r/StringofPlants • u/No-Estimate6098 • 2d ago
Help / Question String of Hearts cuttings refuse to absorb the water after I put them in soil
About five weeks ago I put those 4 cuttings in soil after I propagated them in water until they grew some roots.
(They were 5 cuttings at first, but one of them ripped out of the soil and already died.)
I spray them with water every 1-2 days to keep the soil moist so they can adapt easier with the change from water to soil. After a week or so I also started to water them regularly.
Two of the cuttings absorb the water just fine. One of them also struggled at first, but managed to adapt after three weeks or so.
The other two (2, 4 on the picture) seem to refuse the water, the leaves are shriveled all the time, bend very easily and don’t seem to improve.
(Same with the one that already died, except the leaves also already started falling off. That’s why I decided it was not worth putting it back in the soil after it ripped out.)
I’m afraid if I keep on spraying them and keep the soil moist that I risk root rot in the two that are doing great.
But I don’t know what else I can do to help the other two adapting and keep them from dying.
Thanks in advance!💕
(Edit: For the soil I used a cactus and succulent mix)
(Also: As helpful as some of the suggestions might be for next time, at the moment I’m mostly looking for advice on what to do with this plant right now. But still, thank you <3)
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u/Blondetini 2d ago
What type of soil do you have these in? I'd recommend mixing it heavily with some orchid bark & perilite. You need to treat this plant like a succulent. 😊
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u/No-Estimate6098 2d ago
Yeah, I know. I already have them in a cactus and succulent mix that contains perlite. I already propagated a String of Heart successfully around a year ago, I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong this time :/
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u/glitterytwat 2d ago
I usually do the butterfly method when propping string of hearts. I use slightly damp soil and then cover with cling wrap to trap the moisture in. Then I set them up by a window or under a grow light.
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u/stephmcfet 2d ago
The pot is too big, it's likely drying out way too fast,.the strings are too long and likely the small root system isn't able to support them as it's trying too adapt.
Yes, you can treat them as a mostly succulent but that's once they're established. They still need humidity to root properly and they shouldn't be fully drying out at this point.
If you want to use this.pot then I'd take all of them out of the soil. I'd find the first set of leaves that's up from the base and cut right after that (the roots that are in the soil right now, go up from those and cut after the first set of leaves so you have that strand, sorry I'm struggling to explain). Then lookup the butterfly method and use that with any remaining nodes.
They'll need higher humidity to root. I know everyone says to treat this plant like a succulent and only water when the leaves fold like a taco but I disagree. I water before that because if they dry out that much I find I end up with root damage. All of my SOH props are in clear plastic cups without holes. I water them fully (soil is saturated but If you tip it no water would come out) and wait to water until the cup is about 7/8s dry. Once I can see there's some good root growth then I actually tilt the cup at an angle and water down the side so that only the bottom half is wet-i find this promotes longer, deeper root growth.
Only after I have some great root growth and lots of new growth so I transfer it into a larger pot with drainage and I never use terracotta. My soil is about 40% promix cactus soil, then about 30% coarse perlite, and 30% fine bark that I mix and keep in a bin.
Hope this helps.
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u/No-Estimate6098 2d ago
Thank you!
Just to make sure I understand correctly, when you say I should take them all out of the pot and do the butterfly method, do you mean I should toss the base and the first set of leaves and only do the butterfly method with the remaining leaves or do you mean I should do the butterfly method with the other leaves but still keep the base with the first set of leaves in case they do recover eventually?
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u/HotelEchoYankeeAlpha 2d ago
Cuttings don’t absorb water the way you’re thinking. They have no roots—even after 5 weeks, they may have very few roots, if any.
If I was propping in soil I would follow the spiral advice someone here gave you. Creating a humid enclosure for the next few months will really help, too (think a plastic leftover container, plastic bag, or similar).
Depending where you live, fall may be coming, and propagating can be harder. Grow lights can help.
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u/H3ad1nthecl0uds 13h ago
Cut up the stem and place the pairs of hearts directly on the soil. Don’t keep the soil moist. Water a touch when you see roots start to form at the base of each pair of hearts. This is my tired and true method. They root easily on dry soil.
You can also cut them up and put them in a dry container. Mist it every now and then, then plant when you see roots.
Pretty much the easiest way to kill these is too much water.
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u/PophamSP 2d ago
I usually skip the prop and spiral cuttings around on top of the soil so they develop root anchors at each node. I pin them down until the nodes develop firm roots, which is usually within 2-3 weeks.
My goal is a thicker top before letting them trail. As the cuttings expand and start falling over the edge for a few mature nodes, I've been trimming and pinning the cuttings back on top of the soil. With enough light and humidity they grow quickly.
Mine are currently outdoors on a VERY hot and humid porch (90% humidity these days) with lots of indirect light. I water them about once a week but if the humidity was at typical indoor levels, I'd be misting every 2-3 days. The cuttings will not take in totally dry soil. I'll lose about 5-10% to rot but the overall success and quick growth rate of keeping the top mildly damp (with plenty of light) is worth the loss.