Complete Guide to String of Rubies Care and Growth

The Sweet Spot

String of Rubies wants bright light with two to four hours of gentle direct sun. A spot right beside an east-facing window is close to ideal. A south or west window works too, as long as you pull the plant back a foot or so from the glass during the hottest summer afternoons.

This is one of the more sun-tolerant trailing succulents. Unlike the String of Hearts, which mostly wants filtered light, String of Rubies actively rewards a little direct exposure. Morning sun is what turns the stems that deep ruby color you bought it for. In medium indirect light it stays mostly green, still healthy but missing the signature look.

Too Little Light

Stretching is the first sign. Stems lengthen between leaves, the crown thins out, and new growth comes in green instead of red. You may also see leaves drop from the inner part of the plant while the tips keep growing, which leaves you with long, sparse strands and a balding center. A grow light a foot above the crown fixes this quickly if you have no bright window to offer.

Too Much Light

Hot afternoon sun pressed straight against the glass can scorch the leaves, leaving brown, papery patches that do not heal. If the leaves look bleached white or faded yellow rather than richly red, the plant is past color stress and into actual sun damage. Step it back from the window or add a sheer curtain. Plants moved suddenly from a dim shop to a south window also burn, so transition over a week or two if you brought yours home from a low-light store.

Watering Frequency

Use the soak-and-dry method. Wait until the soil is bone dry all the way through the pot, then water thoroughly. In spring and summer with good light, this often lands every 10 to 14 days. In winter, you might stretch to once a month or less. Forget the calendar and check the soil instead. A wooden chopstick pushed to the bottom of the pot is the simplest moisture meter you can use.

You can also read the leaves. Plump, firm beans mean the plant is well watered. Slightly soft, less-rounded beans mean it is ready for a drink. Wrinkled, deflated beans mean you waited too long, but a thorough soak usually plumps them back up within a day. For a deeper walkthrough of the technique, our watering guide covers the basics that apply to every succulent.

How to Water

When you do water, drench the soil until it runs out the drainage hole, then dump anything in the saucer so the roots are never sitting in a puddle. Light sips on a schedule cause shallow roots and crown rot.

Bottom watering is a great alternative once the crown gets dense. Set the pot in a shallow basin with an inch of water for 15 minutes, then let it drain. This keeps water off the packed stems at the soil surface.

Signs of Trouble

• Mushy, translucent leaves and blackened stems near the soil: classic early root rot. Pull the plant, cut back to firm tissue, and repot in dry succulent mix.
• Shriveled, wrinkled leaves with bone-dry soil: thirsty plant. Water thoroughly.
• Shriveled leaves with damp soil: rotted roots can no longer absorb water. Same fix as root rot: unpot, inspect, salvage what is firm.
• Yellowing leaves dropping from the crown: usually a sign of soggy soil. Hold off on water and improve drainage.

What the Soil Needs

You want a gritty, fast-draining blend that dries within a week of being watered. Standard potting soil straight from the bag is too rich and stays wet too long. The roots of this plant are shallow and fine, and they suffocate fast in damp peat.

DIY Soil Mix

A simple recipe that works every time:

• 2 parts cactus or succulent potting mix
• 1 part perlite or pumice
• 1 part coarse sand or fine gravel

The added grit creates air pockets, which is what shallow succulent roots need to stay healthy. If your finger sinks into the mix easily and water disappears through it in seconds, you have it right. Our soil and potting guide goes deeper on why drainage and aeration matter more than nutrients here.

Pre-Made Options

A bagged cactus and succulent mix will work straight from the store if you add a generous handful of perlite per pot. Look for blends that already include pumice, perlite, or sand. Avoid moisture-control mixes and peat-heavy "indoor plant" blends, which hold far too much water.

When and How Often

Feed once a month during spring and summer with a balanced succulent fertilizer diluted to half the recommended strength. Stop feeding completely from late fall through winter. The plant slows down in cool, short-day months and unused fertilizer just builds up in the soil.

Always apply fertilizer to soil that is already lightly damp. Pouring fertilizer onto bone-dry roots is the fastest way to chemically burn them. For a broader primer, see our fertilizing guide.

What to Use

A cactus-and-succulent liquid fertilizer is the easiest choice. A balanced 5-5-5 or 10-10-10 also works if you dilute heavily. If you want to give the plant a small bloom nudge in fall, a fertilizer slightly higher in phosphorus (the middle number) can help, but it is not required.

Over-Fertilizing Signs

Soft, leggy, oddly pale new growth is the first clue you are overdoing it. Crusty white deposits on the soil surface are mineral buildup from too much fertilizer or hard tap water. Flush the pot thoroughly with plain water until it runs clear from the drainage hole, then back off the feeding for a couple of months.

Ideal Range

Aim for 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 27 Celsius) during the active growing season. In winter, it tolerates a slight chill down to about 50 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius), and a cooler rest can even encourage heavier blooming. It is not frost-hardy. Anything below 40 Fahrenheit (4 Celsius) will damage leaves and stems quickly.

Drafts and Heat Sources

Keep the plant away from cold drafts in winter, especially near windows that get icy at night; pull it a few inches off the glass when temperatures dip. Equally, skip the spot directly above a radiator or near a heating vent. Constant hot dry air desiccates the leaves and stresses the plant into dropping foliage.

Ideal Humidity

Average household humidity of 30 to 50 percent suits it perfectly. You do not need to do anything special. In fact, do not.

What to Avoid

Skip the humidity tray, the misting routine, and the bathroom shelf next to the shower. Persistent moisture on the leaves invites fungal issues, mealybugs, and soft tissue rot. If you grow it alongside humidity-loving plants like ferns or Anthurium crystallinum, keep it on a drier, well-ventilated side of the room.

What the Flowers Look Like

The blooms are small, bright yellow daisy-like flowers on slender stalks raised an inch or two above the foliage. They open during the day and close slightly at night, with a faint sweet fragrance. A healthy plant can carry dozens of buds at once across the crown and trailing strands.

How to Trigger Bloom

Two things drive flowering: light and a cool winter rest. Plants kept in bright light year-round, with a slight drop in temperature and watering during late fall and early winter, bloom heavily from late autumn through spring. A south or east window with two to three hours of direct sun gives the best chance of a full show.

This makes String of Rubies a much more rewarding bloomer indoors than String of Pearls or String of Bananas, which usually need outdoor conditions to flower reliably.

If It Won't Bloom

The two usual culprits are not enough light and too much warmth in winter. Move the plant closer to your sunniest window and let winter temperatures dip into the low 60s Fahrenheit (around 15 to 17 Celsius) for a few weeks, with watering cut back to mimic its natural dry rest. Resume normal care as days lengthen.

Othonna capensis (the standard form)

This is what most shops simply label as "String of Rubies" or "Ruby Necklace." Bean-shaped green leaves, bright red stems, deep burgundy color under strong sun. It is the form you should expect when buying.

"Little Pickles" Selection

Some growers market a slightly more upright, smaller-leaved form under the name "Little Pickles." In practice the differences are subtle, often just a function of how the plant was grown rather than a true cultivar. Care is identical to the standard form.

How It Compares to Other Strings

If you are building a collection of trailing succulents, String of Rubies fits in beautifully alongside String of Pearls, String of Bananas, String of Dolphins, and String of Fishhooks. It is the easiest of the bunch and the only one that reliably flowers indoors. The closest visual relative in terms of cascading red-tinged stems is the Wax Ivy, although that plant has flatter, ivy-shaped leaves rather than rounded beans.

When to Repot

Repot every 2 to 3 years, or when the crown spreads across the entire surface of the pot with little soil visible. A telltale sign is water running straight through without absorbing, which means the roots have filled the pot and there is no soil left to hold moisture. Spring is the best time to do this, just as growth picks up.

Choosing a Pot

Go up only one size, no more than an inch or two wider than the current pot. Oversized pots hold too much wet soil around the small root ball and lead straight to rot. A shallow pot suits the shallow root system better than a deep one. Terracotta is excellent because it wicks moisture away from the soil between waterings. Whatever you use, a drainage hole is non-negotiable.

Step-by-Step Repotting

1. Stop watering for a week before repotting so the soil is dry and the root ball comes out cleanly.
2. Gently tip the plant out of its old pot, supporting the crown with one hand.
3. Tease off the old soil and inspect the roots. Trim any black, mushy, or hollow sections back to firm white tissue with clean scissors.
4. Add a layer of fresh gritty mix to the new pot, set the plant at the same depth it grew before, and fill in around the roots.
5. Wait a full week before watering. Letting any small wounds in the roots dry and callus first prevents rot from sneaking in. Our repotting guide covers this approach in more detail.

When to Prune

Spring and early summer are best. Pruning during winter dormancy slows recovery and can leave the plant looking sparse for months. Avoid heavy cuts during a bloom cycle if you want to enjoy the flowers.

How to Prune

Use clean, sharp scissors and trim the longest or balding strands back to a length you like. Cut just above a node, which is where leaves meet the stem. New growth will branch from that point, making the strand denser over time. Save every cutting; they are propagation material.

Pinching for Bushiness

Pinching the tips of healthy strands encourages branching from the crown, which is the best way to keep a String of Rubies from looking like a few long thin tails. Pinch once or twice a year and the plant stays full. If yours has already gone leggy, see the leggy growth guide for recovery steps.

Best Method

Stem cuttings in soil are the most reliable approach. Water propagation works too but is slower and slightly riskier, since roots formed in water transfer poorly to soil and often have to regrow a second set.

Step-by-Step

1. Take 3 to 6 inch cuttings from healthy, plump strands. Make the cut just below a node.
2. Strip the leaves off the bottom inch or so of the cutting.
3. Let the cut end dry and callus over for 1 to 3 days. This step is non-negotiable. Fresh cuts placed straight into soil tend to rot.
4. Lay the cuttings flat on top of damp succulent mix or press the callused end gently into the soil. Several cuttings in the same pot give you a full plant faster than a single strand.
5. Place the pot in bright, indirect light. Mist the surface lightly every few days to keep things barely damp, not wet.
6. Roots usually form within 2 to 3 weeks. Once you can give a cutting a gentle tug and feel resistance, it is rooted. Switch to normal soak-and-dry watering from that point.

Tips for Success

Spring and early summer give the fastest rooting. Winter cuttings often sit dormant until light and warmth return. For a fast, full hanging basket, plant cuttings all the way around the rim of the pot so new growth spills over the edge. Our succulent propagation guide covers the broader technique.

Solo Setups

A hanging basket near a sunny window is the classic look and lets the strands cascade naturally. A pedestal pot on a side table works just as well and lets the strands spill down past the rim. Pale pots, white planters, and natural unglazed terracotta all let the ruby tones do the talking. Avoid busy pots that compete with the foliage.

Grouped Arrangements

In a mixed succulent bowl, String of Rubies makes a brilliant spiller around upright plants. The red stems pop next to silver-leaved succulents like Silver Squill, and the trailing habit balances out compact rosettes. It also looks fantastic grouped with other String plants. Pair it with String of Pearls and String of Bananas for a three-way contrast of round, banana, and ruby-bean leaves all dangling from the same shelf.

Where Not to Put It

Anywhere dim. A pretty but dark corner is the fastest way to lose the ruby color and the bloom potential. Same for bathrooms with no bright window: too humid, too dark. The plant tells you where it wants to be by what it does with its color.