What's not to love about those cute round green peas? They make you happy just looking at them. Like something out of Dr Suess. However String of Pearls was also one of the first and few I've managed to kill.
Not so happy after that. With one dead, and one down to a single, sad strand, balding and bare at the base, I almost gave up. But motivated by everyone else's photos of lush, long strings of plump pearls , I changed almost everything, and tried again. And wow. Easy peasy now I know what to do - and not to do. I give String of Pearls a care rating of 1 out of 5.
That easy. Here's what I learned so yours don't end up with the same fate as my first. Speaking of, below is one of my many String of Pearls today.
Don't give up if yours are down to one sad strand like mine was. This girl below is my Variegated String of Pearls who was in the same state not long ago, and look at her now! Talk about major glow up. One of her all-green pea buddies is even flowering right now which smell delicious. Let's start at the bottom. Soil is super important for these vining peas. Okay, they aren't peas, they're succulents. But a happy String of Pearls should be plump and almost completely round , like a pea.
More about what the shape of your Pearls is telling you at the end in the String of Pearls Problem Solving section. Although we're used to seeing them vining at home, in their natural habitat in the deserts of East Africa, they are actually ground cover.
