The string of hearts plant, or Ceropegia Woodii, is arguably one of the most beautiful plants out there. With their adorable heart-shaped leaves and long, tangling vines, these plants are the perfect decorative addition to your home. However, these vines can grow cumbersomely long.
How can you go about propagating a string of hearts so that you can trim your tangled plant down and grow some more?
In order to propagate a string of hearts, you have to trim the vines, place them in water, and repot the cuttings after a few weeks. This is done with very little equipment and can help you grow new plants from the original one.
If you’re interested in getting the most out of your beautiful string of hearts plant by using parts of the vine to grow some more if you can get right, keep reading for a step-by-step guide on a foolproof method you can use to propagate your string of hearts.
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Learning How to Propagate a String of Hearts
Propagating a String of Hearts is simple and rewarding- all you need is a string of hearts plant and some equipment! If you’re reading because you’d like to start growing one, you can actually buy a living string of hearts plant like this one.
You don’t need much equipment to propagate your string of hearts plant. All you need to propagate your plant is:
- Your string of hearts plant
- Scissors
- A glass jar
- Water
- Soil
- A pot
- A pencil or chopstick
If you’re more of a visual learner, check out YouTube videos like this one for a visual guide on how to propagate your string of hearts plant.
Place Vine Trimmings into a Glass Jar of Water
First, you’ll want to prepare a propagation vase or glass jar full of water. Regular mason jars work fine, but there are pretty propagation vases like this one if you’re looking for a decorative touch.
Cut off however many vines from your string of hearts plant that you’d like- it just depends on your plant and your preferences. You can do a little or a lot, as long as there is enough room for the plants to get ample sunlight and breathe.
You’ll then want to submerge the vines into the water. You can leave the ends hanging out, but you’ll want to make sure that at least one “node” is submerged in the water, as this is where the root for your “baby” plant will grow. A node is the portion of the vine where the leaf meets the stem.
Once you’ve submerged your vine into the glass of water, place the vine in a place with ample sunlight, but not too much. A windowsill that doesn’t get too hot works, or you can put it on a table that gets natural sunlight through the windows. This works best if you’re propagating your plant during its natural growing season.
Wait two to three weeks until you see the first root appear from the node. You’ll want to make sure the root is at least ¼ inch long before you move on to the next step.
Prepare Your String of Hearts Cuttings for Potting
Now that you’re all excited and geared up from finally finishing three weeks of growing your cuttings, remove the string of hearts cuttings from the glass jar.
Take your pair of scissors and trim off any leaves that either grew or were present initially. Make sure you leave the root entirely intact. Once you’ve completed this step, put the leaves and cuttings aside to prepare for step three.
Repotting the Cuttings
Next is the fun part- repotting your leaves and finished cuttings! This will be your baby string of hearts plant’s new home.
Find yourself an indoor pot that suits your tastes. There are plenty of decorative pots online for you to match your string of hearts aesthetic with- these plastic decorative pots are perfect for this project.
You’ll want to fill this up with decent potting or succulent soil depending on how much you water your plants- we like this succulent soil for heavy-handed waterers and this nutrient-rich potting soil for light-handed waterers. Add enough water that the soil feels damp to the touch, but not so wet that the soil becomes mushy.
Find a utensil that has a long, straight shape, like a pencil or a chopstick. Take the utensil and hollow out as many holes into the soil as you have cuttings, and place each vine cutting (with the root going in first) into said holes. Put it in as deep as you have to for the cutting to stay secure after you fill the hole back up with soil. Press down on the soil lightly after.
This is an optional step, but you can also plant the leaves that you trimmed off the cuttings initially into the soil. They may grow roots of their own and grow from the pot, too!
Place Somewhere Pretty and Let it Grow!
By this point, you’re just about done. Hooray!
Place your pot of planted string of hearts vine cuttings somewhere similar to where you put the glass jar- a location that gets ample sunlight without getting too hot.
Once you’re satisfied with your chosen location, you and your new plant are all set! Continue to care for the “baby” plant just like you care for your original string of hearts plant.
Why You Should Propagate Your String of Hearts
Propagation is a term with many uses, but in our case, propagation involves growing more of a plant by using certain parts, like the seeds, cuttings, leaves, etc., to reproduce a “baby” plant that is genetically identical to the parent plant.
Certain plants over the course of time have developed the ability to asexually reproduce from a part of the plant in either water or soil, depending on their natural environment.
For example, you can take the bulbs of green onions and put them in a jar of water for a few weeks, and more green onions will grow using only water and sunlight as their nutrients.
There are many reasons one may want to propagate their plants. One of the most simple reasons is that you may want more of one that you already have.
Some people choose to propagate their “Sweetheart Vine” or “Rosary Vine” because it is growing out of control. By trimming it and using the parts instead of throwing them out, you’re engaging in an environmentally friendly practice that provides you with extra plants to use around the house or give to friends. This is also a budget-friendly way to make Christmas presents for everyone on your list!
This process sounds more difficult on paper than it is in practice. Not everyone gets it right on their first try, but given some time, you’ll master the method of plant propagation and be able to reproduce more of the plant babies you love.
In Conclusion
Propagating your String of Hearts is a fun project that allows you to grow more plants to keep for yourself or give to friends as gifts. Using only a few pieces of equipment, you can repurpose and trim up your string of hearts plant as an environmentally friendly project.
What better a time to take up this hobby than right now?
Not everyone gets this right on the first try, so don’t be too discouraged if you didn’t get it right the first time. Keep trying, and you can only get better. You got this!