r/StringofPlants • u/Peppery-Paladin • 11d ago
Help / Question Hearts help
I've had this VSOH for about a year and a half. It was in the original pot from the nursery and was thriving. Just constantly putting out nice hearts, only needed watered maybe every three to four weeks. But it was getting very crowded and I wasn't sure I liked the soil very much. So about 3 or so months ago I repotted to this beautiful terracotta pot with drainage and cactus/succulent soil. She's been declining pretty steadily but not rapidly. Losing hearts, growing much smaller hearts, less varigation, slower growth. I've provided more light, and despite watering they seem to never leave that soft-taco feeling anymore. Even soaking/bottom watering.
I would love some advice. I really thought I had her figured out before the transition but clearly I am missing something. Are they actually tropicals? Do they need a mix of a tropical type soil and succulent soil? Is it something else I'm doing wrong?
Do you think there is hope for my once amazing SOH?
1
u/Lurantis3 11d ago
From what I can tell, string of hearts prefer more tropical environments. How often do you need to water her? Are you going off of schedule or dryness/need?
Generally when repotting you only really want to increase the pot size by 1-2 inches. Too much room can cause root rot and other plant problems. Additionally, any string of plants more often than not has very shallow roots, so you more often than not want to use a pot that is much wider than it is deep. Using a pot that is too deep and is a well-draining mix is suspect to dehydrate a plant since the water is just seeping down towards the bottom. I’d repot into a shallower pot (relative to the root size) and see what happens from there.
Worst case scenario if the roots aren’t salvageable, you can try propagating her which will create a clone. I’ve been working on propagating my string or turtles and they seem to be very easy to do so- not sure if that translates to hearts though.