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Cacti & Succulents House Plants

String of hearts : stem rot or dried up stem?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

This is a new plant that i bought maybe 3 weeks ago. I noticed that the leaves were curling up and the soil was dry so I decided to water it yesterday. Today I noticed one string’s leaves were all curled up and dry so I checked the roots and I found that the stem had died. Is this caused by underwatering or overwatering? The soil mix very well draining with 50% pumice 40% peat moss and maybe 5% orchid bark and 5% worm compost. I would appreciate your help. Thank you!

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
i dont understand your pic ... i cant tell what seems wrong to you ..

new leaves often uncurl??????

could we see a pic of the whole plant ...

also.. its stressed ... moving from grower.. to seller.. to you in the last month .. adjusting to your house.. light.. humidity.. all the usual variables ... i would give it at least another month to settle down.. before i started worrying about 'new' problems ...

its stressed not hungry.. fert is not a response ...

what was your source for this plant.. that they used worm castings in the media???

forgot to mention shipping as a stress.. and that may in fact be where the stem was damaged ... and unless it is the only stem... i wouldnt worry about it too much at this point ...

ken
Peat235 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Peat235
Original Author
3 years ago
Sorry if the pic is confusing. So basically I found one strand all dried up and curled in comparison while the others are plump and healthy, So I decided to check the root and found that the stem near the root was all dried up as you can see in the picture ( the pink circle). So I decided to take it out but the roots detached while I was doing it so you cant see the roots in the picture and I can't find it. I was just wondering what might have caused this. This is my plant.
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I've found the yellow sticky cards not useful for killing fungus gnats---they just aren't that attracted to them, unlike whitefly. I also gave up the cards cuz I would have my house all clean and beautifully decorated with my favorite plants, and then see dead bugs stuck to bright yellow cards everywhere. ICK ICK ICK! My ZZ plant really suffers from gnats too because there is a lot of dirt available around the stems. My favorite product is Gnatrol----it is a naturally occuring bacteria that is only harmful to the gnats. You'll probably have to get it off the internet cuz I've never seen it in stores. It's not expensive---maybe $25 dollars per liter, which will last a LONG time. You mix a small bit of it with water and then just wet down the top inch of soil (do not actually water the plant with it---you'll rot the ZZ and waste the Gnatrol). When you first put it on it'll smell like a ....a bad fart (excuse the language, but that's what my husband thought I was doing in the growing room when I used it---I almost died laughing!). Once it dries there will be no odor at all. :) Happy gnat killing, as I hate those disgusting little buggers. ;) Oh, one more thing. An inch of fine sand on top of your soil will prevent gants too, but it makes it harder to test moisture levels. Personally it's too much mess for me but I know others who successfully use that technique.
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The trunk is composed of leaf stems, so shortening the leaf stems will have little or no effect on the plant (any more than cutting the leaf stems on a maple tree a couple times would have). You should observe closely and remove any portions that are ROTTING - brown mushy stuff - because that will spread. Otherwise, I would let it be, probably let it get some warm sun on days when that is possible, and protect it from freezing, if you get more nights like that. Keeping it DRY should help avoid rotting, whereas sealing it up might help retain moisture and promote rotting. Needless to say, these are not issues we deal with in San Diego.
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Just ignore the leaves for a bit:). Don't babysit them;). Until I got my own little CC and actually felt one. I can see why yours looked the way it did. Mine would have looked the same being in a box for 2 weeks, and who knows how that box was treated. Out of all my succulents my CC feels the most delicate. If I put it out in the sun I know it would just melt like chocolate. I have single Conophytums with barely any roots that feel tougher than my CC. My Glottiphyllum pygmaeum I can handle with rougher hands, and the leaves on those get messed up with one fingernail stab. I think once mine gains size it will get sturdier, but these guys are not your average eachie:). I'm guessing that's why we don't find them for $5 at Home Depot;). I can see why people have issues with them 100%. When they're small that's where the problems occur. Once they get nicely rooted and big you can exhale. A little;). I've just been lucky mine hasn't croaked yet.
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popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
3 years ago
Since these types of plants are often propagated with multiple cuttings, it's possible that one strand just was never seated well in the soil or never fully developed good roots. So it never got enough water and the roots on that strand dried up. If the rest of the plant is healthy, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can inspect the other strands at the base of the soil.

Also, you may still be able to root that piece that came out. Remove the lower set of leaves and stick the strand in a small glass of water or dampened perlite. They develop roots fairly easily. If the leaves on it are still strong, you could propagate using the "butterfly method". This is what I did with the strands someone gave me recently.

You can google it up. But basically, you cut the strand in pieces between each set of two leaves. Then lay them on top of some dampened soil or perlite and sort of push them down a bit to make contact. Wait. They will eventually start to grow. This was started about two months ago from a single strand that I cut up like that.
Peat235 thanked popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)

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