My Lovely Valentine

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I decided to do a special post about one of my personal favorite plants. String of Hearts! Let's get up close and personal with these lovely little cuties.

String of Hearts was something that I had seen here and there but never really had much interest in them. Honestly, I didn't even want to buy my very own. I should probably be ashamed to admit this but I was so cheap, I asked someone if I could just take three or four small two inch cuttings from theirs. To my surprise, they agreed.

I really neglected these things. The cuttings went into my purse for a few hours and who knows what goes on down there. They were smushed and shoved to the bottom of the bag. I really didn't have much hope for them.

Once I got home, I found a six inch terracotta pot that already had some soil in it. I shoved the cuttings in there and just kind of let it do it's own thing. I kept them on a shelf outside where they got morning sun and were in shade for the rest of the day. I didn't do any research on them because, like I said, they weren't really my thing.

From there, I left them alone aside from watering them every other day with my other outside plants. The Texas heat and frequent watering seemed to do miracles for them. They grew quickly. Within a couple of months, my two inch cuttings had doubled in size. It has now been approximately ten months since I received these cuttings. My string of hearts is now more than two feet long.

Since these were so easy, I kind of fell in love with them. Though they never really caught my eye, their simple nature stole my heart. I started seeing variegated string of hearts more often online. Now those, they caught my eye. Their bright colors and heavy variegation made me melt. I had to have them.

After paying $85 for a "full" four inch pot, I couldn't have been more excited. When they came in, I could not wait to get them opened. I felt very disheartened when I saw what was inside. All of the cuttings were lightly rooted but it was most certainly not a full pot. There were a total of eight cuttings, one of which was dead. Each cutting was only an inch or two long.

I was still excited to have some, despite being given a different idea of what I was receiving. I kept them in the pot they came in and hoped for the best. About a month later, one of the cuttings was about three inches long. I was thrilled. I kept them in a window where they would get a good amount of filtered light in hopes that would increase their variegation even more.

After a long day at work, I came home to check on my beloved VSOH. To my surprise, I found the pot tipped slightly over and dirt on the ground. A few feet away, the long strand that I had been so excited about just a few days before. Puppies and plants don't mix people. I was so upset. The rest of the cuttings are fine and i'm still working hard to grow those but for those of you who know me, know i'm impatient. Since then, I have traded a small Philodendron Atabapoense for a very full and long pot of VSOH. They are a complete dream.

These gorgeous strings do like brighter light. Since they are in the succulent family, water is not a big priority for them. Make sure to pot them in a well draining soil and completely dry out before watering again. These simple babes will thank you if you ignore them a little and have a lighter watering hand. If you're thinking about taking the plunge and buying a fuller pot, stop thinking about it and just do it.