String of hearts trails on fine stems lined with small, patterned, heart-shaped leaves. Commonly sold as Ceropegia woodii, this tuber-forming succulent is a good match for a bright hanging position where the pot can dry between waterings. Its delicate appearance hides some drought tolerance, but it still needs useful light and healthy roots.
Choose a bright spot for both the pot and the vines
Place the plant near a bright window, allowing some gentle direct sun after acclimation. A curtain may be needed for strong, hot exposure, but every east- or south-facing window does not automatically need filtering. Long vines hanging into darkness can lose their full appearance even when the top sits in good light. Rotate the pot and give the stems room without letting them trail against a heater.
Read the new growth before changing care
Healthy new leaves should form at reasonably close intervals for the plant’s growing conditions. Long, sparsely leafed stretches usually call for a light check. New growth can improve after a move, while old gaps remain. The vines can grow much longer than the low mound of foliage at the pot surface, so a height measurement of only a few centimeters does not describe the display.
Let the root zone dry before watering again
Check deeper moisture and lift the pot instead of judging only a dry surface. When the mix has dried sufficiently, water thoroughly and let the excess drain. Empty the outer pot or saucer. Thick leaves and tubers store reserves, but repeated severe drying can still damage a small plant. Soft leaves in wet mix need a root check rather than another drink. Our succulent watering guide explains the difference.
Use a small, draining pot with airy mix
A suitable succulent potting mix can work, with perlite or another coarse amendment added if the mix dries too slowly in your conditions. Avoid an oversized container around a sparse root system. Repot when healthy roots are crowded or the medium has deteriorated, handling the fine stems carefully. Do not bury the trailing growth deeply while trying to make the top look fuller.
Protect from cold and avoid unnecessary misting
Keep the plant in a comfortable, bright indoor position and protect it from frost. The old suggestion that temperatures only become dangerous below 20°F gave far too little protection for a tender houseplant. Ordinary room humidity usually works. In darker, cooler conditions, growth and water use may slow; adjust to those conditions without assuming every plant has the same fixed winter dormancy.
Feed growing vines modestly
Follow the label on a suitable houseplant or succulent fertilizer during active growth, considering nutrients already present in fresh mix. Excess feed can build up in a small pot. It will not repair stretched stems or decayed roots. Keep fertilizer off an unrooted cutting and pause feeding a stressed plant until its growing conditions improve.
Root stem nodes or attached tubers
Take healthy stem material with nodes and place a node in contact with lightly moist propagation mix. Leaves should remain above the surface. Aerial tubers on an established vine can also provide propagation material when available. Water rooting is possible for suitable stem cuttings, but potting them later still requires careful moisture management. See our stem-cutting guide for the role of nodes and clean tools.
Trim without tangling or stripping the plant
Shorten overlong or bare vines with clean scissors, working on a few stems at a time. Healthy cut pieces can be used to thicken the pot after rooting. Avoid trying to pull a knot apart by force: fine stems can break. Let the plant retain enough leafy growth to support recovery rather than cutting every vine back to the rim at once.
Check spots and pests before treating
Inspect leaf undersides and stem joints for scale, aphids, or cottony mealybugs. Dark spots can also follow physical injury, cold, or prolonged wetness, so identify a cause before spraying. A soft tuber or collapsing stem in wet mix needs prompt attention. Isolate a visibly infested plant while deciding on a labeled treatment.
Recognize flowers and normal tuber growth
Mature vines can form small tubular pink-purple flowers and rounded aerial tubers. These structures are not automatically pests or disease. The RHS string of hearts profile describes its trailing, tuberous habit. Compare string of turtles for a different small-leaved trailing plant; similar common names do not make them the same species. Keep long vines clear of pets that might tug the pot down.
Thank for the link. I’ll give it a go maybe next year. Must concentrate on keeping it healthy and alive first! X
Sounds like a plan!
Thanks. That is really helpful information. I’ve just purchased my first chain of hearts.
Could you tell me the best way to “thicken” out a pot?
I’ve got 7 strands, the longest being 67cm long. It’s in a tiny 8.5cm diameter pot.
I understand that it will take a few years for it to mature but I’d like to think that there will be more than 7 strands in two or three years time.
Will the plant put out new shoots from the top? Or will I have to give it helping hand?
Thanks
Hi! I’m glad the post was helpful.
So your chain of hearts might put out some more strands but I wouldn’t count on that filling out the pot that much more. I’m gonna refer you to the article on Ceropegia woodii propagation here: the best way to thicken vining plants is to just take cuttings at the bottom and pop them back into the planter. With chain of hearts, you can also replant tubers if you find any on the existing vines (but a plant might need to be a bit more mature for that).
I hope that helps, good luck with the plant 🙂
I just got this plant. It’s was doing well at my east facing window sill but I made a macrame holder so that I could hang it a few feet away from my south facing window. Still gets bright indirect light all day long so I didn’t think it would bother the plant, but the new hearts are starting to curl. Do I need to move it back to the window? Or is it something else?
Okay, so, I’m thinking in this case the fact that its leaves started curling is not or only marginally related to the move. Curling leaves suggest a problem related to moisture to me. Have you checked that you’re watering the plant enough but also that it’s draining right? Although the chain of hearts should be watered less than normal houseplants it’s not exactly at succulent level either. Also, if it’s summer where you are, did you check the humidity in your home? They’re not exactly desperate for humidity but if it really is bone dry (from aircon in summer or something similar) that might not be helping.
I hope that helps, it can be such a challenge to figure out what is wrong with our plants!
My string of hearts grows leaves very close together, around 2/3cm apart! It doesn’t get any direct light but is placed around 5ft back from a west facing window so bright light throughout the day. I previously had a different chain of hearts which got around 3 hours of direct sun a day and those leaves were 1cm apart each… What am I doing wrong! My new plant I only got a week ago and it’s already started growing new leaves really close together. Is this too much light still??
Amy
Hi Amy,
I have to admit that I’m not 100% sure I see your problem here. You mention the leaves grow close together, is that something you see as an issue? The leaves on a string of hearts being close together is a sign that the plant is healthy and doing well, if the leaves are sparse the plant isn’t getting enough light. If you look up photos of nursery-grown Ceropega woodii plants you’ll see that the leaves are very close together and super bushy.
Sounds like everything is going well. Sorry if I misunderstood though!
This probably sounds ridiculous but I can never tell with my succulents or semi-succulents whether I’m under or over-watering them. I seem to kill every one I have, regardless of what I do! I try to give them nice containers, well-drained soil, and have tried watering every week, every two weeks, less often in winter, and also tried more regular misting with a spray to the soil rather than watering over a sink and draining.
Could you give me any idea what I could be doing wrong? Could the fact that most are on windowsills be the problem??
I feel like a murderer every time I look at my poor plants and want to be better at keeping them healthy!! Thank you!
Hi Joanna,
Gosh, so sorry you’re having so little luck so far. I can’t diagnose your plants over the internet, but I can ask you a few questions that might lead you to some insights. First off, where do you buy these plants? If you’re killing EVERY one of them that sounds a little suspicious to me, as some species really are very hardy and it doesn’t really sound like you’re doing anything horribly wrong. Were they completely healthy down to their roots when you got them?
More importantly, did you do an “autopsy” after the subjects passed away to pinpoint the cause of death? For example, if the roots are gross and mushy that points to an entirely different problem than if they looked completely dried out and dead.
Without a clear cause of death it’s going to be difficult to figure out what you need to change to keep these guys alive. Next time one passes away (hopefully not anytime soon), you could try sending me a photo of the entire thing including the roots. Or even better – post it in the Houseplant Central Facebook group here so other growers can chime in too, they know much more than just me alone.
Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out! Hope you have better luck from now on. 🙂
Mari
Oh thanks Mary L Fey for the information about the pointy seed pods! I was wondering why they would have two sorts of seed pods because surely the flowers are the things that hold the seeds? And it’s the first time I’ve ever seen these. How long did yours take to open? Mine have been closed up for months now.
the 2 long pointy things are seed pods! my plant got them and when they opened, little floaters like milkweeds have came out with little black seeds on the bottom.
Ah, awesome! Thank you for sharing your knowledge ♥
I have one of these plants on my windowsill at home, it definitely gets the right amount of sunlight a day and usually only gets watered when I do the succulents. Recently I’ve noticed the leaves have gone a little wrinkly, does anybody know what causes this?
Have you kept an eye on the soil, or just watered without feeling it beforehand? It might need a little bit more water than your succulents if it gets lots of light. That could be it!
It’s usually bone dry by the time I get round to watering it, I’ve always been worried it’ll rot so try to water sparingly! I’ll try watering more often and see how that goes. Thanks!
Sounds good, hope that’ll help! 🙂
Hi I have a beautiful very very long Chain of Hearts Vine. I am moving and knowing how tangled it can become! I was wondering if it’s okay to prune it to a much shorter length for the long drive ahead! Maybe you have some other ideas!
Hi! They can get so messy can’t they. Yes, it is absolutely fine to prune it, it’ll just grow right back. If you want to save the cuttings to make new vines, you can take them with you in something like a ziploc bag or little plastic container with a damp paper towel inside. I like to grow the cuttings in a vase, here’s how mine look: https://www.facebook.com/houseplantcentral/photos/a.1698948657059322.1073741828.1695087534112101/1969822039971981/
Thanks for that! Good to know if I decide to cut the vines to a more manageable length they will simply regrow. Will try my best to keep intact though! Yes I’ve regrown cutting’s before and had good success with them as well as tuber’s. Such a great plant!
Glad I could help! Good luck moving 🙂
My chain of hearts plant has grown a very strange thing at the end of one of the chains. It consists of 2 long, hard, pointy pieces at right angles to each other. About 3-4 cams long. Does anyone know what these are?
Oh dear, unfortunately I’m a little lost here without a photo. So they’re not regular chain of hearts tubers or flowers? Very strange!
I can’t see how to attach a photo to my response…… I’ll post it if someone can help me out. Thanks.
You can mail to houseplantcentral(at)gmail(dot)com. I can’t guarantee I can help, but maybe I can offer some insights or share it to my social media to see if anyone else has an idea 🙂