How to propagate: String of pearls (Senecio rowleyanus)

The propagation of the String of pearls plant is so easy that anyone can do it. You need some patience, but the first roots will appear soon. All you need is a pair of scissors, and something to put the cuttings in, of course.

Propagating a Senecio Rowleyanus in 4 steps

Step 1: Disinfect

First clean the scissors you might be using.

Keep the scissors under hot water and clean them well. This prevents you from unnecessarily transferring bacteria during the propagation.

Do you happen to have disinfectant or pure alcohol? Disinfect the tools after using hot water. Let's get away with those bacteria and fungi!

Step 2: Prepare the propagation

The String of pearls can be propagated in two ways. Propagation in water and directly into the soil. Before you start taking cuttings, it is useful to make the choice for the propagation method.

In both cases you start by degreasing the scissors. For this you can use pure alcohol or disinfectant.

Step 3: Take cuttings

Take the stem(s) you would like to cut. Make sure the cutting is at least 10 cm.

You can also choose to cut multiple stems at the same time.

Important: cut the stems long enough. It may be that the lower peas still have to be removed. Keep at least 2 peas at the top of the cutting.

Step 4: Taking care of the cutting

Cuttings in water: position the cuttings in the glass with water. If the lower peas touch the water it's best to cut them off. If you don't cut of the lower peas it's possible that they will become rotten.

Cuttings in soil: cut off the bottom peas from the stem. Then insert the stem into the soil. Instead of putting it in the soil you can also place the cuttings on the soil. Water the soil after the peas are positioned on the right place. Make sure the soil dries out between watering sessions.

In the places where you cut the peas, new roots can develop. When cutting in water, roots will grow sooner than with soil methods. Although the soil method is less time consuming.

After about a month there will be enough roots on the cuttings. As soon as the roots are long enough you can repot the cuttings from the water into the soil.