This week’s plant hails from Zimbabwe and the Eastern Cape of South Africa: Ceropegial linearis.
While this plant may resemble a coleus or caladium, it is in fact a succulent!
Plant Profile:
Name: Ceropegia linearis subsp. C woodii
Common name: Rosary Vine, Heart Vine or String of Hearts.
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Category: Succulent
Height/Spread: 3ft high; indefinite spread.
Growing Habit: vine/climber
Foliage and flower characteristics: Pendant evergreen with twining stems with heart-shaped, fleshy, mid-green leaves. The leaves are usually 1/2″ in long, purple underneath with gray-green or purple marking above. Leaves redden in sun. Will frequently produce bulbils from the leaf axis. Flowers are lantern-like, purplish-brown, 1/2″ – 3/4″ long with pinkish-green tubes margined with fine dark purple hairs. It has tuberous roots. Flowers are fragrant with a cinnamon-like scent.
In warm dry climates, they can be grown outdoors in hanging baskets or trained to climb pergolas and or trellises.
Care Requirements:
Bloom time: Spring to Autumn
Hardiness Zone: 12 – 15
Light Requirements: Partial Shade/Partial Sun
Soil Requirements: If growing indoors or in greenhouse, use 1 part loam, peat and leaf mold to 2 parts sharp sand and keep in bright filtered light. Grown outdoors, grow in sharply drained, poor, humus-rich soil or loam soil. Shelter from full sun.
Water & Fertilization Requirements: Low water needs. During growing season, water moderately and fertilize 2- 3 times. Keep dry at other times, as overwatering and low temperatures leads to basal rot of the caudices.
Propagation: Propagate from stem bulbils by taking stem cuttings 4 – 6″ long in early summer; root in a sand and peat mix at 72 -77°F (22-25°C) and keep moist.
Pests and Diseases: Prone to aphids, scale insects and sometimes mealybugs. No known real disease issues.