Why Plants Die
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String of hearts

Ceropegia woodii, Apocynaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.

Also called Bushman's Pipe, Chain of Hearts, Chinese Lantern, heart vine, hearts entangled, Necklace Vine, rosary plant, rosary vine and sweetheart vine.

String of hearts (Ceropegia woodii), the whole plant.
Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Sources file this plant under other names: Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodii (RHS). Citations below point at the name its source uses.

Light
Partial shade
RHS, filed as Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodii · read 13 September 2026
Water
Well-drained
RHS, filed as Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodii · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exception
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H1C — 5–10°C 5–10 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

How it usually goes wrong

New leaves arrive smaller and paler than the ones below

A string of hearts reaches. Stems extend between leaves, and the newest growth is the palest thing on the plant while older leaves hold their colour.

Placed below what its source describes, the plant prioritises reaching over building. Longer stems and smaller leaves are that choice made visible.

Telling it apart: Whether it leans. A plant reaching for a window is answering a light question, and it leans before it pales.

RHSDiagnose yellowing leaves on this String of hearts
The plant goes limp and the compost shrinks from the pot

The string of hearts loses its stiffness first at the tips of the newest growth, and the whole pot feels light for its size.

With well-drained soil taken past dry, there is nothing left for the roots to move, and the plant gives up its shape before it gives up its colour.

Telling it apart: Whether the soil has pulled from the pot wall. That gap is the mark of soil taken properly dry.

RHSDiagnose drooping on this String of hearts
Translucent patches low on the plant

Firmness goes first and colour second. A leaf pinched gently stays dented, and the lowest ones may drop away whole.

The water a succulent stores is meant to last through dry spells. Kept in soil wetter than well-drained, it has no dry spell, and the saturated tissue collapses.

Telling it apart: How recently it was watered. Soft tissue within a week of watering points at the water; soft tissue in dry compost points at cold.

RHSDiagnose spots on the leaves on this String of hearts

Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for String of hearts.

Routine care

Watering
Let it dry out fully before watering again. It is dormant in winter, when it needs even less water.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
During growth, water moderately and feed 2 or 3 times with a low nitrogen liquid fertiliser.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
While growing, water moderately and feed 2 or 3 times with a low-nitrogen liquid fertiliser.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Repotting
It prefers crowded roots, so hold off repotting until it is needed.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Layering, seed, stem cuttings
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
In early spring, sow seed and keep it at 66-75°F (19-24°C), or grow new plants from the bulbils on the stem. Another option: in early summer, root stem cuttings 4-6in (10-15cm) long in cactus compost kept at 72-77°F (22-25°C) and keep them moist.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Watch for aphids, mealybugs and scale. Too much water leads to root rot and yellow leaves; too little water leads to wilting. Excess sun scorches the leaves, and wide spacing between leaves shows the plant lacks light.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Scale insects, aphids and mealybugs attack it. Diseases: basal rot if kept too wet over winter.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Flowers of String of hearts (Ceropegia woodii).
FlowersSalicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Ceropegia woodii is a flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, native to South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the related Ceropegia linearis, as C. linearis subsp. woodii. Common names include chain of hearts, collar of hearts, string of hearts, rosary vine, hearts-on-a-string, and sweetheart vine.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Zimbabwe to S. Africa
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Zimbabwe to South Africa
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Zimbabwe to S Africa
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
climbing tuberous geophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Perennial, Succulent; habit cascading, climbing, prostrate
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Trailing (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height Up to 10 cm; spread 0.5-1 metres after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers purple/lavender, white; blooms in fall, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers purple in summer; pink in summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026

More of the Apocynaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.