String of raindrops is an easy trailing succulent once you treat it like a desert plant rather than a leafy hanging fern. Bright indirect light, gritty soil and a lot of patience between waterings cover most of what it needs.
It’s sold under several names, including string of watermelons and string of tears, and it was long called Senecio herreianus before botanists renamed it Curio herreanus.1World of Succulents. Curio herreanus (String of Watermelons) That means care guides for any of those names, and for its close cousin string of pearls, apply to your plant.
How Often to Water a String of Raindrops
Each fleshy bead stores a large reserve of water inside it.2Planet Desert. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops Let the potting mix dry out almost completely before you water again. Soil that stays soggy quickly leads to root rot and makes the beads burst or turn mushy.3Planet Desert. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops
In spring and summer, push a finger into the soil and gently squeeze a bead. When the soil is dry deep down and the beads feel slightly soft, it’s time to water.4Planet Desert. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops Soak the mix with room-temperature water until it runs out the drainage hole, then empty the saucer completely so the pot never sits in standing water.5Planet Desert. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops Cut back in winter, when the plant grows slowly.6Succulents Depot. String of Raindrops Senecio Hybrid
Drying time changes with season, pot size, light and room warmth, so a fixed schedule fails. A small pot in a sunny window may dry out in a week, while a big pot in winter can take a month. When in doubt, wait a few more days.
The surface can mislead you. In a gritty succulent mix, the top inch may look and feel dry while the lower half still holds water. Push your finger in to the second knuckle, or lift the pot to feel how light it has become. For a deep pot where a finger can’t reach, a wooden skewer pushed to the bottom should come out clean and dry. If you learn the weight of the pot right after a soak and again when it’s dry, you can judge a hanging pot without digging.
The beads also tell you what’s wrong. A thirsty plant has beads that shrivel and stems that go limp.7Sprout Home. Senecio herreianus “String of Raindrops” 2.5″ An overwatered plant’s beads usually turn yellow first, then blacken and rot.8Sprout Home. Senecio herreianus “String of Raindrops” 2.5″
If the plant has gone mushy, slide it out of the pot and look at the roots. Healthy ones are firm and pale, rotten ones brown and soft. Trim away rotten roots and mushy stems with clean scissors, repot in fresh, dry, gritty mix, and wait several days before watering. If the base is lost, healthy stem tips can be rooted as cuttings.
Misting does nothing useful and keeps the stems damp, so skip it. Deep, infrequent soaks are better than little sips, which wet the surface while the roots stay dry.
Where to Hang It for the Right Light
Give it bright, indirect light and shield it from harsh midday sun.9Succulents Depot. String of Raindrops Senecio Hybrid A spot near an east window, or a few feet back from a south or west window, suits most homes. Hot direct afternoon sun through glass can scorch the beads, while too little light makes the stems stretch out thin with beads spaced far apart.
A room that seems bright can be much dimmer than what a plant needs, because our eyes adjust. Light drops off quickly with distance from a window, so moving the pot a few feet closer can change things a lot. Sheer curtains turn a strong south or west window into the filtered light this plant likes, which is an easy fix for a spot that’s slightly too sunny. A window facing away from the sun, such as a north one in the northern hemisphere, usually gives too little light unless the plant sits right at the glass.
Long bare gaps between beads usually mean it needs more light. Pale, bleached or crispy patches on sun-facing beads mean too much direct sun. Growth only toward the window means the light is one-sided.
Rotate the pot every week or two so all sides get light, and hang it where you can still reach it to check the soil. In a dark room, a simple grow light a foot or so above works well. When you’re increasing the sun, move the plant gradually so the beads can adjust. Ordinary household humidity with good airflow is fine.10Succulents Depot. String of Raindrops Senecio Hybrid
Temperature, Winter and Growing It Outdoors
Typical room temperatures, roughly 50 to 85°F (10 to 30°C), suit it, with many growers aiming for 60°F (16°C) or above.11Gardenia. Senecio herreianus It isn’t frost-tolerant, so protect it from anything below about 40°F (4°C).12Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears Keep it away from cold drafts such as winter windows and outside doors.13Succulents Depot. String of Raindrops Senecio Hybrid
It can stay outside year-round only in USDA zones 9 to 11.14Plant Vault. How To Guide: String of Tears (Senecio Herreianus) Elsewhere it can summer outdoors and come back inside before nights turn cold.15Plant Vault. How To Guide: String of Tears (Senecio Herreianus)
Start it in shade outdoors and increase the light over a week or two to avoid sunburn. Rain can keep the soil soggy, so place it under cover. Bring it back in when night temperatures start dipping toward 50°F (10°C), checking it for bugs first.
Indoors in winter, heaters and cold glass both stress it, so find a steady spot away from either. Cool, bright conditions with little water are normal rest, not a problem. Slower growth in winter doesn’t mean it needs feeding.
Choosing Soil and a Pot, and Repotting Gently
Use a well-draining succulent or cactus mix.16Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears A pot with a drainage hole is essential, and unglazed terracotta dries faster than plastic. A shallow, wide pot suits its shallow roots and lets the stems drape over the rim.
If you’d rather mix your own, combine bagged cactus mix with perlite or pumice for extra grit. Avoid moisture-holding potting soils with water-retaining crystals. Sitting the stems on top of the soil rather than burying them helps prevent rot.
The thin stems snap and beads drop off easily during repotting, but working gently keeps losses small.17Joy Us Garden. Repotting String Of Pearls: Complete Guide 2026 Any pieces that break off can be rooted.
Repot every couple of years, or when roots fill the pot or the soil breaks down. Spring, at the start of active growth, is the best time. Go up only one pot size, since extra soil stays wet longer, and repot into dry mix, then wait a few days before watering.
Roots poking out of the drainage hole or circling the surface show the plant has outgrown its pot. Water running straight through without soaking in, or soil that stays packed and soggy long after watering, means the mix has broken down. A full, healthy plant in a pot that still has room doesn’t need repotting just because it’s been a while.
Feeding It Without Overdoing It
Like its cousin string of pearls, it’s a light feeder that still needs nutrients to grow full, big beads.18lovethatleaf. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops Small or misshapen beads can be a sign the plant is short on nutrients.19lovethatleaf. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops Overfeeding, though, leads to salt buildup and other problems.20Planet Desert. String of Pearls Plant ‘Care and Growing Guide’ – Everything You Need to Know!
Growers disagree on how often. Some feed just once a year in spring with a balanced liquid fertilizer.21Planet Desert. String of Pearls Plant ‘Care and Growing Guide’ – Everything You Need to Know! Others feed small, diluted amounts more often through the growing season, using a fertilizer made for indoor plants to lower the risk of burn.22lovethatleaf. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops
Dilute liquid houseplant or cactus fertilizer to half strength or less, and feed only onto damp soil, never a bone-dry pot. Skip feeding in winter and right after repotting. A white crust on the soil or pot rim signals salt buildup; flush it out with plain water.
Pruning for Fullness and Growing New Plants
Regular trimming stops the plant getting leggy and sparse and encourages thicker, bushier growth.23Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears Cut with clean, sharp scissors.24Planet Desert. String of Pearls Plant ‘Care and Growing Guide’ – Everything You Need to Know! Cut just above the spot where a leaf joins the stem, so the plant branches from there.25Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears A trimmed vine often sends out two or more new vines, which helps thin, spindly plants.26lovethatleaf. How to Grow and Care for a String of Raindrops
Spring and summer, when the plant is actively growing, is the best time because cuts heal and new vines come quickly. Taking off a third or less of the length at one time keeps the plant from being shocked and still leaves plenty of growth. Cut the longest and thinnest vines first, since they make the plant look sparse. Don’t wait until the stems are bare for many inches, since bare stretches may not sprout back easily.
For cuttings, pick healthy, firm stems a few inches long, because soft or wrinkled stems root poorly. Strip the beads from the lower end so bare stem goes into the soil or water. Let the cut end dry and seal over before planting.27Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears That usually takes a day or two in a shaded spot. Then set the dried end in well-draining succulent soil and keep it lightly moist, and roots usually form within two to four weeks.28Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears
Cuttings can also root in a glass of clean water with the beads kept above the waterline, in bright indirect light.29Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears Move them to soil once the roots are about an inch long.30Succulents Box. How to care for String of Tears
A thin crown is the most common complaint with trailing plants. Lay rooted or fresh cuttings across the bare soil in the same pot. Pinning stems so they touch the soil lets them root along their length.
Mealybugs and Other Problems to Watch For
Mealybugs look like small white cottony specks and hide in crevices and where leaves join stems.31Debra Lee Baldwin. How to Deal with Mealy Bugs on Succulents Ants carry and farm them for the sweet residue they produce, so ants on your plant are a reason to inspect it closely.32Debra Lee Baldwin. How to Deal with Mealy Bugs on Succulents A light infestation does little visible harm, but heavy infestations can make plants decline fast, especially succulents and cuttings.33Gardenia. Mealybugs
Separate the plant from your other houseplants first. Dab visible bugs with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, and repeat every few days for several weeks to catch newly hatched ones. Insecticidal soap is an option for bigger outbreaks; follow the label.
Sticky residue or white fluff points to pests, not watering, since pests sit on stems and joints while rot usually starts at the soil line. Check new plants for bugs before putting them near your others.
Is String of Raindrops Safe for Pets and Children
Houseplants in the Senecio group, such as string of pearls, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, compounds that can damage the liver.34PubMed Central. Toxicity of House Plants to Pet Animals String of raindrops belonged to the same group until its recent renaming, so it’s sensible to treat it the same way. Poisoning usually develops only after an animal eats the plant repeatedly over time, and one-off serious poisoning is rare.35PubMed Central. Toxicity of House Plants to Pet Animals Houseplant poisonings are also less frequent and less serious than poisonings from outdoor ragwort.36PubMed Central. Toxicity of House Plants to Pet Animals Signs in pets include tiredness, weight loss, diarrhea and yellowing of the eyes or gums.37PubMed Central. Toxicity of House Plants to Pet Animals
A pet or child that eats a noticeable amount deserves a call for advice rather than waiting to see what happens. Signs of liver trouble can take a while to show, so a pet seeming normal right afterward doesn’t mean the plant is harmless.
A hanging pot helps, but trailing stems that reach down are easy to bat and chew. Sweep up fallen beads, which look like treats to pets and small children. A pet that keeps nibbling the plant is the riskier pattern, so move the plant out of reach.