Ceropegia woodii – Indoor House Plants

String of Hearts, Ceropegia woodii, is just one of many species in the genus Ceropegia that are grown as ornamental houseplants.The purplish stems bear many heart-shaped, marbled leaves. The stringy stems are vining or trailing, making this best grown as a hanging plant. The stems can also be trained up a small trellis or topiary frame. The heart-shaped leaves are 1-2 cm wide and long. They are dark green marbled with silver on the upper surface and green to purple on the underside.Plants bloom primarily in the summer and fall, but flowers may appear sporadically at odd times throughout the year. The interesting and distinctive inch-long flowers have a bulbous base and tubular corolla in shades of white to pale magenta. The five purple petals are fused at the tips, forming a cage-like canopy so the blossoms resemble a small inverted pink vase. The waxy flowers are lined with small, downward pointing hairs that act to trap small flies that are attracted by the scent and enter the flowers.Rosary vine is another commonly used name for Ceropegia woodii, along with chain of hearts, collar of hearts, and hearts entangled.

Scientific name: Ceropegia woodii
Common name: chain of hearts, collar of hearts, string of hearts, rosary vine, hearts-on-a-string and sweetheart vine.

How to grow and maintain Ceropegia woodii:

Sunlight:
Bright light with some direct sun

Watering:
Keep the soil gently soggy in spring and summer. Water sparingly in fall and winter. A semi-succulent, this plant is more tolerant of dry soil than wet.

Temperature:
Normal room temperatures 65-75°F/18-24°C

Soil:
Mix 1 section great quality preparing blend and 1 section sand or perlite for quick seepage.

Manure:
Feed month to month in spring and summer with an adjusted fluid compost weakened considerably.

Spread:
Take stem tip cuttings and embed cut closures in damp soil. Then again, cut off stem tubers and place them on the surface of the soil.