Soil looks quite wet in the photo. Even 1x/2wks could be too much if the soil is water-retaining. While 'leaves' look good sized and plump, there is way too much space between them - could be from them falling off because of wet soil? I would think that it doesn't get enough light, and plumpness is from too much water. These are observations based on what I see in photo. What kind of soil is it potted in?

Hello Rina,

There are no leaves lying under the basket and in the space around, so I don't think many of them have fallen off. I bought it at a local plant store, and I don't know what type of soil it is potted in. is there any way I can find out that you know off?

Thanks for the help so far,

Hidde Strikwerda

Most often, soils that plants are sold in contain lots of peat. It isn't easy to keep it from either drying up, or being very wet. Peat holds lots of water, and takes time to dry up. On the other end, if kept dry, it becomes hydrophobic - very dry, hard and difficult to rewet. Try to check soil deep inside of pot, using bamboo/wooden skewer or chopstick or even pencil. Insert at least 3/4 deep into pot; leave in for few min. When pulled out and is dry and clean, soil is dry. It would be time to water. If it is damp - feels cold, and may also have small particles of soil sticking to it, it is wet nd shouldn't be watered.

How long do you have the plant? Was it fuller when purchased? They usually come from a grower that had optimum growing conditions, and they could be more difficult to maintain at home.

Thanks for the information. I watered the plant this morning, so right now it is definitely still wet.

I bought the plant 4 weeks ago, I don't think it was fuller back then, but all the stems and leaves where still green, whereas a lot of them have turned brown and shriveled now

The leaves that are there look plump and well watered which tells me you aren't underwatering it. So the most likely issue is overwatering or a container medium that holds far too much moisture.

I’m going to take a stab at this because I understand your frustration. I’ve been growing and killing string of pearls for a few years now and I finally managed to keep them alive for a full calendar year First things first, you need to clip off all of the good plump growth and start from scratch. Somewhere here on gardenweb there is a recipe for “gritty mix” I believe your string of pearls will love that. I happen to have four human children aside from my plant children and realized I don’t have the time to sift and mix and do all those good things to obtain the gritty mix (the plants I have in the batches I did make have NEVER given me any problems). What I do now is keep a bag of perlite handy and mix it with regular succulent soil to keep it as airy and quick draining as possible. It isn’t ideal, but it’s worked for me and makes things quick and easy.

String of pearls love light. However, in my zone, summers are so intense that they burn and turn crispy and wrinkly. In my zone, I keep my string of pearls in bright shade. They maybe get 3 or 4 hours of sunlight but even that is too much for them when temps get over 90.

They also love water more than other succulents. They don’t however like to remain wet. Your pearls will turn a mushy yellow and in my experience it always starts by the roots exactly as in your picture. It may look like they’re disappearing or drying off. This is why I believe they will do very well with the gritty mix.

My suggestion again would be to find yourself a fast draining mix. Lay the healthy clippings over them and mist them lightly until they begin to root. I find that sprinkling a little potting mix over the beads helps them root a little better (like burying your toes in the sand). Afterward I would keep them outdoors under a covered porch so that they can have very bright indirect light. Depending on where you live you can bring them in at night if temps get under 40.

Once rooted water once a week. Make sure your soil is never soggy or wet, rather moist. And I wait to water until it’s completely dry to the touch. I realize I kept repeating “my zone” often in my previous comment. I learned the hard way that the general standArd succulent advice doesn’t work well for everyone. I naively planted over $100 worth of sempervivum and sedums on my south facing lawn when I first started because they were “hardy” and needed “full sun”. Ha. Not true. Likewise, my string of pearls can thrive in one area of my garden yet another pot of pearls three feet away can perish.