Shannon, Wallace’s new houseplant extraordinaire has big love for the string of hearts!

It is our pleasure to introduce you to Shannon, the new houseplant extraordinaire at Wallace’s Garden Center in Bettendorf! Shannon estimates that she has somewhere in the range of 100 to 200 plants at home, although if we’re honest, she’s a little afraid to count at this point! Like all good plant parents, it is indeed difficult to choose just one as a favorite, but Shannon is really digging the vibes of the string of hearts (Ceropegia woodii) in our greenhouse. So, in honor of Shannon and her absolute love of all things plants, we’d like to give you a bit of the down-low on the string of hearts, including how to care for it, and how to make it a little bit fuller!

About The String of Hearts Houseplant

The string of hearts houseplant is a beautiful addition to the homes of both seasoned and newbie houseplant owners. It is a sweet little succulent-like trailing vine that is easy to grow, propagate, and care for; it is a relatively fast-growing plant and will eventually treat you with cascading vines that can grow anywhere from 3 to 9 feet long, if cared for properly.

How To Make String of Hearts Fuller

This is one of the most common questions we get asked about this trailing plant. If you are hoping to make your string of hearts plant fuller, there are a few ways to go about it. We will tackle how to make an existing string of hearts plant fuller with some easy propagation tips, so you end up with a fuller plant once established.

General Care Tips To Help Fill Out Your String of Hearts

Light

Too much sunlight may scorch the leaves on your string of hearts. Symptoms include dry leaf edges, stunted growth, or just generally brown or ‘crispy’ leaves. On the flip side, not enough light exposure is one of the reasons why they end up growing spindly. The best location for your string of hearts plant is somewhere that it will receive bright, but dappled sunlight. If you plan to bring it outdoors next summer to soak up some extra rays, be sure to do so gradually and mimic the light conditions it has experienced indoors for a successful transition.

Watering & Soil

The string of hearts is a relatively drought-tolerant houseplant, but it does need a little more watering than other succulents you might have in your household. It also hates being left in standing water, though, so ensure it is planted in well-draining soil. Water it thoroughly, letting at least the top inch to two inches of soil dry out between waterings.

Fertilizing

Fertilizer is your friend when it comes to making your string of hearts houseplant a little fuller. It will totally appreciate regularly being fed a fertilizer specifically designed for succulents (they have lower nitrogen levels).

How to Propagate String of Hearts for a Fuller Houseplant

There are several different ways to propagate a string of hearts houseplant to make an existing plant a little fuller. When you take cuttings from a string of hearts by removing a portion of a vine or via the butterfly method (this involves cutting the vine between each set of leaves within a particular cutting.) You are left with several ‘butterflies’ which you can propagate in soil or sphagnum moss. We prefer to propagate in sphagnum moss as it’s pretty quick, has quite a high success rate, and it’s super easy.

You can purchase sphagnum moss here at the garden center. Once you have your sphagnum moss, grab a container (we like to use a good old clear Tupperware container so you can see if roots are establishing), soak the moss and place a layer in the container. If possible, select a container that is approximately the same diameter as the pot you intend to transplant your new string of hearts plant into. Now, lay several of your ‘butterflies’ on the mat of moist moss, as if you were distributing pepperoni on a pizza.

Ensure that the nodes of each cutting are in contact with the moss, and place it in a warm spot with bright, indirect light. You should see roots forming in about a week! When your sphagnum moss is dry, soak it again, and then you should be able to transplant your newly propagated plant into its permanent home within about a month; adding these new babies in with the original plant will give you a much fuller plant! And there you have it, just a few simple ways to make your string of hearts houseplant a little fuller.

If you’re ready to add to your plant collection or pick up your very own first string of hearts houseplant, come see Shannon at our Garden Center. She can give you more tips and tricks on how to care for your houseplants and introduce you to a few more of her favorite plant babies!