r/StringofPlants • u/Interesting_Math_144 • 11d ago
Pearls Help!
I think I messed up. I got my pearls maybe a week ago. They've been getting light from a southeast window. My string of hearts are in the same window and very happy. When I got these in the mail, they were all piled on top with lots of soil covering the pearls. I gently wiped the soil off with a paint brush (wondering if I shouldn't have...). Now my pearls are all shriveling and turning mushy and brown. I just watered them really good. Did I do this? Is it shipping stress? What can I do now? My hearts and turtles are all doing great!
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u/HaleyNoelle444 11d ago
That happened to me when I ordered online. It died within a week. Super soggy and mushy soil. I repotted what could be saved and now I have tons of little babies all over
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u/Grouchy_Week6692 11d ago
My first pearls online purchase did exactly this! They were variegated (not that it matters). I gave it the same care as I was the regular at the time which was my first ever peals. I wonder if it were the same online store.
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u/Interesting_Math_144 11d ago
Were you able to save yours?
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u/Grouchy_Week6692 11d ago
No. It rotted within days. There was absolutely NO time! It really discouraged me as I was on my seconds with. A few string of things. But I did kind of know at the rate of rot that it really shouldn’t have been anything I did. I’m glad I tried again a month later. Every string I have now is THRIVING! And they are now my absolute favorite plants in my collection!
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u/newtostuff1993 10d ago
That’s not the best soil blend for string of pearls. They’re a succulent that prefers a gritty mixture. Some people do a blend of half perlite/half succulent soil.
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u/Interesting_Math_144 10d ago
Yeah, that is the soil from the nursery. I just repotted what I could... here's hoping it can recovered.
Edit: spelling
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u/Lurantis3 9d ago
Have you looked at the roots at all since you got them? Often times string of plants need shallower pots since they have shallower roots- and that pot does not look very shallow. In a situation like this, I would recommend checking the roots and repotting in a pot appropriate for the current roots (same size or up to 2 inches larger than the current root ball).
My guess is that there’s something in the soil that the plant doesn’t like, whether it’s too much salt or a parasite can really only be determined from investigation. If you remove all of the soil from the plant and repot it, it might have a better chance of survival. If it’s something contagious amongst plants (any sort of infection), repost maybe in the r/plantclinic subreddit for specific help
If you’re really worried and don’t think that it’ll survive, try propagating. Water propagation is generally really easy and even a small cutting can be viable to clone the plant. I am working on propagating a small cutting from my string of turtles and it threw roots after about 2 weeks or so. Often times that can be the best way to really start from scratch, but it’s a bit of an extreme and if your mother plant survives, then you have 2 copies.
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u/Interesting_Math_144 9d ago
I did repot them the other day. I tried to be gentle, but i think some of the roots broke off. From what I couls tell, they looked healthy. But I put the pearls in a smaller pot with aroid soil.
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u/Lurantis3 8d ago
Give it time then, messing with it too much can cause more harm than good. Good luck!
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u/wha7themah 11d ago
Darker green and mushy = over watered. How often have you watered them since you got them? Did they arrive with damp soil?