If the soil mixture contains peat, which can reject water as it dries up and prevent moisture from reaching the roots, string of pearls plants may dry up. A dried-out, shriveled appearance in string of lettuce can also result from underwatering and overwatering.
Continue reading to learn why, despite being watered, your strand of pearls can dry out and how to fix the issue.
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String of Pearls Drying up Due to Wrong Potting Soil
Native to South Africa, the string of pearl succulent thrives on stony soil, scorching temperatures, and infrequent rainfall.
However, even with a sensible watering schedule, they may still experience drought if they were planted in the incorrect potting soil.
In order for the roots of the string of pearls to be able to absorb the moisture while also having the excess water be able to drain out to prevent root rot, the soil must have good drainage.
To avoid frequent issues caused by moisture stress, it is essential that the potting mix dries out a little bit between watering sessions.
Succulents shouldn’t be planted in conventional potting mixtures, especially those that contain peat since peat can become hydrophobic (water-repellent) when it dries up.
Although you may be watering your plant, it will eventually dry up because dried-out, baked soil repels water off its surface, frequently down the side of the pot, and out the drainage hole in the base.
Typically, a specially prepared succulent and cactus soil mix, which is readily accessible from garden centers and on Amazon, is necessary to grow string of pearls successfully.
The dirt for succulents and cacti differs from regular soil in that it maintains a more porous texture even after being totally dried up.
This enables water to effectively penetrate the soil, even after it has been dry for some time, and reach your plant’s roots rather than simply flowing off the surface.
By doing so, the soil conditions of the string of pearls’ natural habitat—where it thrives—are more closely mimicked.
The answer is…
To assist your dried-up plant grow again, replace your soil mixture with a particular succulent and cactus mix.
With a fresh potting mix, you may give string of pearls the ideal moisture balance for growth, enabling it to access the moisture it needs after watering while avoiding any negative effects from overwatering.
People frequently overcompensate when a string of pearls plant has dried out, become brown, and the pearls have shriveled. This can result in root rot, which turns the leaves brown or yellow and makes the pearls feel mushy rather than hard.
Read my article for the solution if it has happened to your pearl string.
Watering Too Lightly Causes String of Pearls to Dry up
If the soil is like a string of pearls, with only the top inch or so receiving any moisture, water will not get to the roots where it is needed, causing the leaves to dry out.
Giving string of pearls plants a good bath before letting the soil dry out completely is the proper technique to water them.
This mimics the watering circumstances seen in the strong of pearls’ natural home, where it survives dry spells by storing moisture in the pearls and then draws water up after a downpour, which swiftly drains away in the porous gritstone soil.
To keep your string of pearls from drying out, give it a good bath as opposed to a gentle watering.
(To learn how frequently and how much to water string of pearls plants, read my post.)
Under Watering Causes leaves to Dry and shrivel
Underwatering is a crucial factor in the drying out of a string of pearls.
Due to their adaptations to flourishing in an arid climate in their native South Africa, string of pearls are drought tolerant plants.
This does not imply, however, that they can be completely ignored for a long period of time without any water.
A string of pearls plant typically thrives when watered with a thorough soak every two weeks in the spring and fall.
String of pearls, however, frequently enters a dormant state in the summer as a response to high temperatures, which is a survival tactic to deal with the environment becoming hotter and drier in the summer.
Due to less evaporation throughout the winter, it may also require less water.
The plant should typically be watered once every two to three weeks in the summer and once every three weeks in the winter to prevent drying out and root rot.
Water frequency can, however, vary depending on a number of circumstances, such as:
- ambient temperature
- sun for hours.
- Sun intensity.
- Whether the pot is close to a heating source inside the house.
- Whether a forced air or air conditioning current is blowing past your string of pearls.
- depending on how humid your climate is naturally.
- artificial humidity produced at home using things like kitchen or bathroom steam.
To avoid the plant drying out but also to avoid overwatering, some experimenting with how frequently to water your string of pearls may be needed to achieve the proper moisture balance in your home and according to your conditions.
When you observe the pearls beginning to shrivel just a little bit, this is a good time to water since moisture is stored in the pearls, which is why they turn brown and shrivel as a reaction to under watering.
You can determine the ideal watering schedule for your houseplants to prevent them from drying out by experimenting with watering.
Lack of light Causes Lower Leaves to Dry up and Drop Off
A succulent called a “string of pearls” needs bright light, yet it is sensitive to direct sunlight, which will burn and brown the leaves.
Your string of pearls may become lanky and have few leaves as they grow in search of more light if it does not receive enough light or if only a portion of the plant is in bright light.
As a result, the plant may divert its energy toward growing the stem to seek for more light, which may cause the lower leaves to dry up and fall off.
(Read my article on how to save a dying string of pearls plant for additional information.)
The answer.
The string of pearls should ideally be moved to a place with more natural light; however, avoid placing it directly in the sun because the difference between a shaded location and a strong sun will burn the string of pearls’ leaves.
To avoid any shock from a sharp change in light intensity, it is preferable to gradually expose your string of pearls plant to more light by transferring it for an additional hour or so every three days to the brighter area.
The strong of pearls tends to be more compact in the ideal bright indirect lighting settings because it no longer needs to extend to find additional light.
Keep in mind, though, that the plant grows very quickly for a succulent, and this can lead to the lower leaves naturally drying out and falling off.
I advise propagating the plant from cuttings because it is a very simple and affordable technique to grow extra plants if your string of pearls plant has become lanky and sparse. For information on how to cultivate string of pearls plants, view this instructive YouTube video: