The illustrated growing guide

String of Pearls

Curio rowleyanus

Family Asteraceae

Est. zones 9-11

Botanical illustration of String of Pearls — Succulent · Curio rowleyanus

The trickiest of the trailing succulents: bright light, tight pot, stingy water. Gorgeous spilling off a high shelf where pets can't reach.

Succulent

Where to buy the plant — 2 nurseries

String of Dolphins — a print from the Succulents Vol. 2 collection

From the print shop

The closest print we make

We don’t print Curio rowleyanus. The closest we have is Curio × peregrinus (“String of Dolphins”) in the Succulents Vol. 2 collection — the same genus, Curio, not the same species.

16 designsfrom $21.99white or black groundmatte poster, unframed

Shop Succulents Vol. 2 botanical prints →

Overview

Will string of pearls suit your garden, and what goes wrong.

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Will it thrive where you are?

Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what string of pearls actually needs.

Hardy inZones 9-11

Winter chillNone

String of Pearls at a glance

HardinessUSDA 9–11

Mature sizeTrailing strands to 3 ft

PollinationN/A

Chill requirementNone (not chill-dependent)

Bloom seasonTiny cinnamon-scented white puffs

Harvest seasonNot yet established

Growth rateFast in season

Common string of pearls problems

Mealybugs
Rot from water on the crown

Growing

Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.

How to grow string of pearls: light, water & soil

LightBright light with some direct sun

WaterLow — shriveled pearls say water, burst pearls say stop

SoilCactus mix, shallow pot · pH 6.5 - 7.5

Fertilizer2-3 times a year

PruningAs needed — Trim strands and lay cuttings ON the soil — they root at each node.

SpacingOne per pot

How to plant & propagate string of pearls

PropagateStem/leaf cuttings, division, or pups

When to spray string of pearls

Growing season. Water around the edge, never over the top.

Timing only — the label is the law

This is when to watch and when a treatment is worth considering, not a recommendation to apply any product. Read and follow the product label before you spray — under federal law the label is the legal instruction, and using a pesticide against it is illegal.

Check the pre-harvest interval. Every product that’s cleared for an edible crop sets a minimum number of days between spraying and picking. Find it on the label before you spray anything you intend to eat.
Check the re-entry interval before you or anyone else works in the treated area again, and use the protective equipment the label names.
Confirm the product is registered for string of pearls in your state. A product legal on one crop is not legal on all of them, and state registrations differ — your state pesticide agency or local extension office can confirm both.
Rates and mixing instructions come from the label, never from us. We don’t publish them because they differ by product and formulation.

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The year

What string of pearls asks for, month by month.

The string of pearls year, month by month

No fixed season calendar for string of pearls — its care follows conditions, not the calendar.

Ecology & uses

What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.

String of Pearls in the garden system

MoistureUpland / dry

DeerBrowsed — protect young plants

OriginIntroduced

What string of pearls is grown for

! Some parts toxic — see notesToxic to cats/dogs and kids

UseHigh shelves

UseSucculent collections

Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.

Cultivars

Named varieties of string of pearls, ruled as a catalogue.

Best string of pearls varieties & cultivars

'Variegata'; String of Tears (cousin)

Sources & plant ID

Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.

Research basis

Sources behind this profile

No extension citations are attached to string of pearlsyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.

Plant ID

BinomialCurio rowleyanus

FamilyAsteraceae

TypeSucculent · Perennial

OriginIntroduced

Invasive riskLow

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Where to buy

Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.

Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.

Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

EtsyBrowse growers↗AmazonPlants & supplies↗

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Questions

String of Pearls questions, answered straight.

Is string of pearls safe for kids and pets?

With care. Toxic to cats/dogs and kids Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.

How do you propagate string of pearls?

Stem/leaf cuttings, division, or pups.

Elsewhere

Where string of pearls sits in the library.

Where string of pearls sits in the library

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