String of Hearts care guide for the UAE

String of Hearts stores water in its leaves and tubers, so it behaves like a succulent: it wants far more light than the average trailing houseplant. In Dubai, the ideal spot is within a metre of an east- or west-facing window where it catches two to three hours of gentle direct sun. A south-facing window works too if the glass is shaded in the July–August afternoons, when sun through hot glass can scorch the leaves.

Too little light is the most common problem we see in UAE apartments. The tell-tale signs are long bare gaps between leaves, leaves that shrink and lose their silver marbling, and a plant that simply stops growing. Move it closer to the window before you change anything else.

Let the soil dry out completely between waterings, then soak it thoroughly and let the excess drain away. In a 22–24°C AC apartment that is usually every 10–14 days; on a warm, bright balcony in May or September it may be weekly. If the leaves feel soft and slightly deflated, the plant is thirsty; if they feel firm, wait.

Overwatering is the fastest way to lose a String of Hearts. The tubers rot quietly under the soil and the vines collapse all at once. Use a pot with a drainage hole, never a cache pot without drainage, and skip the saucer of standing water.

Use a cactus and succulent mix, or a standard potting mix with a third of perlite or coarse sand stirred in. The plant grows a shallow mat of roots and tubers, so a wide, shallow pot suits it better than a deep one. Repot only every two to three years, in spring, going up one pot size at most.

It is happy anywhere between 18 and 28°C, which covers a normal UAE interior all year. Average indoor humidity is fine; it does not need misting. Keep it off a balcony from June to September: pots overheat in 45°C air and the leaves will dehydrate faster than the tubers can replace water. In the cooler months, October to April, a shaded balcony is a great growing spot.

The easiest method is the butterfly method: snip a vine into sections with one pair of leaves each, lay them on moist soil with the leaf node touching the surface, and keep them humid and bright for two to four weeks until roots form. You can also press the small aerial tubers that form along the vines into soil while still attached to the mother plant; once they root, cut the vine free.

Thin, small or pale leaves: not enough light. Move it to a brighter window.

Curling, wrinkled leaves: thirsty. Give it a deep soak and let it drain.

Mushy stems near the soil or a sudden collapse: overwatering and tuber rot. Unpot it, remove rotten tubers, and repot the healthy sections in dry cactus mix.

Leaf drop after delivery: normal transit stress. Give it a bright spot, do not water for the first few days if the soil is damp, and it will settle within two weeks.