Let us continue to grow our plant collect from the ground up, or in this case from the ceiling to the ground. Trailing plants are plants that grow out of their pot, but instead of growing up, like a typical plant, they extend down. Today, we are going to look at two different trailing plants that are both easy to maintain and fast growers.
We are going to start strong with my favorite plant in my personal collection, Ceropegia, also known as the string of hearts. This lovely lady gets her name from her beautiful heart-shaped leaves. Do not let the look of the string of hearts fool you because she is actually a part of the succulent family. If you know anything about succulents, you will know that they require lots of light. The same stands true for the string of hearts. You must pay attention to the leaves of your plant, as they will tell you exactly what you need. Browning leaves, dry leaf edges, and stunted growth are all signs that the string of hearts is receiving too much direct light. In this case, filtered sunlight may be in store.
Continuing with its succulent-like nature, the string of hearts does not require much watering. Once a week or when the first inch of the soil is dry would be the best time to water this plant. The best way to water your string of hearts is to bottom-feed. When she is ready to be watered, simply add water to a bowl and place the plant (pot and all) into the bowl for about 10 minutes. To do this the pot must have drainage holes. (A good plant parent would always be sure to have drainage holes in all of their pots!!)
The string of hearts is also a fast-growing plant that can grow up to 2 feet long. Because this plant is a trailing plant, it thrives in a hanging position such as on a shelf or hanging from the ceiling.
Our next trailing plant is also a fast-growing plant. The string of pearls, Senecio Rowleyanus, can grow between five to fifteen inches each year. Doing some quick math, we can conclude that it can grow over an inch every month!
The string of pearls is once again a plant that thrives in a hanging pot or pretty much anywhere that her long bulblike leaves can fall. As another member of the succulent family, the string of pearls requires a lot of light and very minimal watering. Like the string of hearts, the string of pearls will also tell you exactly what it needs. If the bulbs are green and plump, the plant is perfectly healthy. If you begin to see the bulbs shrink, that could mean that the plant is not receiving enough water. If the bulbs shrink and become brown, the plant is receiving too much water. A normal watering schedule for the string of pearls would be the same as that of the string of hearts.
The string of pearls is a part of a family of plants that are all very similar. This family includes the string of dolphins, tears, watermelons, bananas, and fishhooks. All of these plants look very similar but differ in bulb shapes. Since these are all in the same family, the care for all of them remains consistent with the care of the string of pearls.
Both the string of hearts and the string of pearls are easy to propagate! Simply cut off a stem and place it onto dirt. After plenty of sunlight and no time, you will begin to see roots!
The string of hearts and the string of pearls are great plants for beginners or someone who is trying to add a unique feature to their collection. So, no matter how many plants you have or how far you are on your plant journey, these beautiful trailers are great for you!
These two plants are so pretty! You mentioned that your favorite plant in your personal collection is the string of hearts. How many plants do you have in your collection? Are they all on-campus with you now? I’d love to learn how to take care of plants better, so this blog seems like a really great source for the future! I had a few succulents for a while, but they all eventually died. Definitely ready to try growing them again though! Luckily, at the moment, my roommate is taking care of a few plants in our dorm so I get to benefit from their presence in our room without worrying about taking care of them! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this info about the string of hearts and the string of pearls, though; they seem to be great house-plants.
My plant collection is currently around 12 plants… which actually makes me sad because I would love to have more. I do not have all of them here at college :(. I have 4 in my dorm and the rest were either given to friends or at home being taken care of by my mom. I have two huge ones at home that would take up about a quarter of my dorm, so sadly they could not come. I wish I could have gotten more plants, but about a year ago I stopped buying new ones in preparation for college. Stick around because one of my future blog posts will be on succulents (probably the 3rd or 4th post). Hopefully that will help you out!
I will never forget the day a classmate of mine in elementary school’s mom had a project with us to plant spider plants in 2-liter bottles. We would cut the mouth of the bottle off and turn it upside down inside of the bottle, placing a paper towel like a wick. By keeping the bottom of the bottle full, we were able to have our very own spider plant! I remember being very young, and it was the first living thing I ever had to care for. They all died under my watch, but experiences like that helped to spark my lifelong passion for gardening and agriculture, as well as the environment.