Senecio rowleyanus, a string of pearls for your hanging baskets
Curio rowleyanus
- Exposures
- Sun, Half-shade
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 10b (1.7°C ≤ T° < 4.4°C)
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Genus
- Curio
- Species
- Curio rowleyanus
Other name:Senecio rowleyanus
Curio rowleyanus grows in South Africa. While its cousin in the Asteraceae family, common Senecio, is a weed hunted by gardeners, succulent enthusiasts appreciate Rowley's ragwort in suspension as a houseplant. It was previously known as Senecio rowleyanus.
How to recognize Curio rowleyanus?
Curio rowleyanus takes the form of green stems up to 60 to 90 centimetres long. Each stem is dotted with leaves. In the wild, the stems are creeping. In pots and hanging baskets, they adopt a drooping habit, like the lianas of chain of Hearts.
To survive in desert regions and arid climates, the leaves of Senecio rowleyanus form water reserves. Green and round, they measure six centimetres in diameter and look like peas or pearls. It's because of this foliage that the fat plant is nicknamed pearl necklace.
At the end of winter, white flowers with colorful stamens appear. They are grouped in trumpet-shaped flower heads.
This greasy plant is dangerous for animals. It causes digestive disorders, vomiting and hypersalivation. It is also toxic to humans, either by ingestion or by simple contact with the sap.
Our care tips
Behind its delicate appearance lies a robust plant. Curio rowleyanus fears nothing, except excess water and lack of sunlight.
Watering
Water only when the potting soil has completely dried out. Your plant prefers one copious watering to several less generous sessions. In this way, it can build up its water reserves and its roots won't rot. The substrate should remain moist for two days, the time it takes for your succulent to store water.
Place your Curio rowleyanus in its pot in your sink or in a container such as a bowl or terrine. Water the soil until the water begins to run into the container. Continue until you reach the height of the drainage layer (about two centimetres). Once this limit has been reached, stop watering and replace your pot in its saucer. Empty stagnant water when it appears.
To determine whether your fat plant is thirsty, observe its leaves. If they become less fleshy, thin or hollow, it's time to give them a drink.
Misting
Curio rowleyanus grow in arid regions and do not like humidity. No need to spray them.
Repotting
Before repotting, make sure that the potting soil is dry and that your plant is not thirsty. Get a pierced terracotta pot rather than a plastic one. Moisture will evaporate more quickly and roots will be less likely to rot in the event of excess water. Your Curio rowleyanus will develop its roots on the surface and not very deep down. A cup-shaped pot is ideal.
Pour a drainage layer (pebbles, shards, clay balls, etc.) into the bottom of the container, followed by a layer of potting soil for cacti and succulents. Plant your Curio rowleyanus in the center and fill with substrate.
Fertilization
You can stimulate the development of your plant during its growth phase, in spring and summer, with fertilizer.
You can feed your Curio rowleyanus with a fertilizer for cacti and succulents.
Prune
Remove spent flowers after flowering.
If the vines on your Curio rowleyanus become too long for you, or get tangled, cut above a knot with clean scissors.
If the vines on your Curio rowleyanus become too long for you, or get tangled, cut above a knot with clean scissors.
Taking cuttings
Cutting is carried out during the strong growth phase, generally in spring and early summer.
Using a clean, sharp tool, remove a ten-centimeter section of stem.
Leave it to dry for 48 hours to prevent any risk of rotting.
Leave it to dry for 48 hours to prevent any risk of rotting.
Prepare a pierced pot filled with substrate for cacti and succulents. You can also make your own mixture with one third potting soil, one third sand and one third pozzolana.
Make a pilot hole with a pencil or pick. Stick the end of your cutting into the hole. Place the rest of the stem on the soil in a spiral. Use paper clips to keep it in contact with the substrate.
Spray with non-calcareous water to moisten the soil when it dries out.
Wintering
To bloom again, your Curio rowleyanus needsa period of rest after flowering.
Place your Curio rowleyanus in a room with a temperature of around 10 degrees Celsius.
Reduce watering and stop fertilizing. It will flower again at the end of the following summer.
Reduce watering and stop fertilizing. It will flower again at the end of the following summer.
Disease / Threat
Information
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Exposures
- SunHalf-shade
- Substrates
- Humus soilSandy soil
- Planting method
- In pots
- Categories
- IndoorSucculentHanging plants
- Tags
- BeginnerToxic
- Origin
- South Africa
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 10b (1.7°C ≤ T° < 4.4°C)
- Leaf color
- Dark green
- Flower colors
- WhiteViolet
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Gynura aurantiaca 'Purple Passion'
Florist's Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum × morifolium
Find all our tips in the Monstera application
