String of hearts can be multiplied from healthy vine sections or the small aerial tubers that develop along mature stems. Ceropegia woodii cuttings need nodes, light, and moisture around the rooting area. Layering a tuber while it remains attached is another practical way to start a new pot.
Take vine sections with sound nodes
Choose healthy growth and cut with clean scissors. Include nodes where paired leaves join the vine, removing lower leaves only where they would be submerged or buried. Short sections can make a fuller pot when several are rooted together. A leaf without the associated node is less useful for a dependable propagation project. Inspect the parent for pests before distributing cuttings to other pots.
Root vine cuttings in water
Place an exposed node below the waterline while keeping the leaves above it. Use a clean vessel in a bright position protected from harsh direct sun. Refresh the water and inspect the stems for decay. When a useful root system develops, transfer the cuttings to a small draining pot with suitable medium. Roots in a jar do not remove the need for nutrition and root management if you choose long-term water culture.
Root directly in a suitable medium
Arrange nodes against lightly moist, free-draining propagation mix, or insert a short exposed section into it. Secure the vine gently so it stays in contact while roots form. Keep leaves above the surface and use a small container with drainage holes. Check moisture instead of misting automatically every day. Bright filtered light and steady warmth support establishment without the overheating risk of a covered pot in sun.
Layer an aerial tuber while it stays attached
The University of Wisconsin string-of-hearts guide describes pressing an aerial tuber into the medium of another pot while it remains attached to the vine. Keep the rooting area moist but aerated. Once the tuber has rooted and is growing, sever the connection with clean tools. Handle the thin connecting vine carefully rather than pulling the two pots apart.
Use detached tubers or seed for additional projects
A sound detached tuber can be placed against suitable medium with its growing tissue intact. Monitor it without repeatedly digging it up. Seed growing is also possible when flowers are successfully pollinated and mature seed is available. Use identified seed and follow appropriate sowing instructions, maintaining light moisture and ventilation. Seedlings may differ from a named variegated parent, so vegetative propagation is preferable when preserving that form.
Wait for sustained growth before changing care
Rooting speed varies with material and conditions. A living cutting can take time to develop new vines, and early roots are easily damaged by repeated checks. Remove decaying material and review moisture if losses occur. Once plants are established, gradually allow the medium to dry more between thorough waterings. See our succulent watering guide for the general approach.
Give the new plant light across the top of the pot
Bright conditions help maintain compact, patterned growth. Acclimate plants gradually to stronger exposure and keep the crown from sitting in deep shade while only the trailing ends receive light. Use a draining mix, protect from frost, and feed active growth according to a suitable product’s label. Our string of hearts care guide covers ongoing conditions; string of pearls propagation offers a related project with different foliage.
Hi, I have been trying to propagated my string of hearts I haven’t had any issues with them growing roots in water but once I’ve transferred them to soil they don’t do too good, their leaves get so much thinner and don’t look as healthy compared to being in water. Should I keep the soil more moist during the transferring them to soil? Or is watering them once a week or so good enough Thankyou heaps!
Hey! That’s an annoying effect of propagating in water that can sometimes happen. They need some time to adjust. If they tend to fail to adjust for you then yes, you could maybe water a bit more often. Spraying directly where you know the cutting’s roots are would be a handy option. Or propagate in soil in the first place. Good luck! 🙂
Hey! So one of my strands on my VSOH grew so long that it actually came out of the pot, leaving all of the roots in the soil and the strand with the tuber on the ground. I almost cried. Should I replant it back into the same pot? The leaves on the strand that fell out are more shriveled and thirsty looking than the other ones in the pot, probably because the roots were tearing and it couldn’t retain water properly. I’m lost on what to do. HELP!
Sorry about the late reply! No crying about plants please! They are almost always fine. As you can read in this guide, if strands get too long, prop ’em! The part that has roots can just go back in the pot and the propagation of the other piece works fine in water or soil as described. Your plant will be alright 🙂
Hi.
My chain of hearts is in a small plastic hanging basket, out under the trees. It seems to be quite happy there, even on frosty nights, so I leave it alone, and only water about once a week, or fortnight if it rains.
But the small basket is rather full of leaves and it is hanging about 3 feet now.
I was wondering if I should repot it into a larger basket now, or leave it until Autumn. I has flowers and seed pods on it at the moment, happy as larry!
That sounds great! You could repot it if you want it to grow even larger, just try not to disturb it too much while doing so, so as not to hamper that awesome growth. Alternatively, you could pick off vines here and there and propagate them, although since you commented on the string of hearts propagation post I guess you’d thought of that one yourself as well! It’s up to you in the end 🙂 Good luck.
Hi! One of my vines completely lost its leaves while in water propagation. However the tuber is still present with small roots. Does this mean my vine is still alive or has it already died? Thanks!
Sounds like it’s still alive to me. I’d leave it for at least a couple more weeks to see if it does anything. Hope it works out! 🙂
I think you should change the water some often to be clear, it will help you to have good roots
Hi, I’m currently propagating from a tuber with 2 leaves. I cut the vine from the mother plant. But the tuber already had roots when I planted it in soil. Should I spray it with water every day to keep the soil moist? Or water it thoroughly and water again when the soil is dry?
Hi! If the tuber has an established root system, you can follow normal string of hearts watering guidelines. If the roots are on the sparse side then I’d water a bit more until they’re fully established.
Good luck! 🙂
Hi. I noticed my sweetheart vines are having some kind of spots on their leaves and Im not sure what’s really causing that. Pls help me. I’m so desperate coz I really love it and I don’t want it to die..
Hi! It’s really difficult to identify what’s wrong with a plant without seeing it and knowing the environment it grows in, the soil, watering etc.
What color are the spots? Are they crispy and brown or are they black? If you want, you can post some pictures + more info in the Houseplant Central Facebook group so that I and others can have a look and see if we can figure it out.
Good luck!
Hi, this may be a daft question, but I recently bought a trail of hearts of e-bay, and a fair few of the leaves came of to leave the trails looking sparse.
So I was planning to propagate the bottom notch with leaves at the bottom. But as this will still leave several notches until the next leaves I was wondering, does the cutting need to have leaves to root? as long as it has a node in soil or water will it root, even without leaves?
I’m a bit of a novice at this so any help will be appreciated,
thanks a lot
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
Not a daft question at all! To tell you the truth, I’ve never tried this so I can’t tell you for sure what will happen. Following logic I’d say that a cutting without leaves isn’t ideal, since it won’t really be able to photosynthesize and get the required energy to produce roots and continue growing. On the other hand, plants are stronger than we’d think… what I’m trying to say is, I’d just go ahead and try if it was me. I’d go with water propagation myself.
Sorry I can’t be clearer about this, plant growing is a game of trial and error in many cases! If it works out be sure to comment and let us know, I’m sure you’re not the only one with this question. 🙂
How did you trail the string of hearts…is that a wire or anything else. Can you please guide?
I assume you’re talking about the lovely heart-shaped string of hearts, right? It’s not mine, but from what I can see in the photo that does seem like wire or maybe a premade shape. Shouldn’t be too hard to do this yourself I’d think! 🙂
I propagated some cuttings in soil and have been misting them daily for about 3 weeks, and now most are showing some roots and new growth. But I just noticed that the original leaves are feeling soft/limp now, is this normal or am I over/underwatering? The roots are still babies and I wanna make sure they grow, but I don’t wanna overwater them either. I’m hoping I didn’t do something wrong and mess up my cuttings! Thank you!
Hey! Sorry about the late reply, how are the cuttings now? Limpness does seem to indicate overwatering, the original leaves do often die but it’s more usual for them to shrivel.