String Of Pearls Plant: Overwatered Vs Underwatered (Solution)

The string of pearls plant is one of the succulent varieties which looks very beautiful. This plant looks the same as a necklace that has pearls. In order for the String of pearls plant to thrive we need to water it carefully otherwise they suffer from different pests, root rot…

An overwatered watered string of plants normally roots become soggy and it will end up suffering root rot. The solution is to water the plants less frequently & give enough light. An Underwatered string of pearls plant shrivel, sometimes it turns their color to brown, yellow. The solution is we need to place plants in bright, indirect sunlight and mainly by giving enough water.

Please read till the end of the article to get complete information about the overwatered and Underwatered string of plants.

Over Watered Vs Under Watered String of Pearls Plants

Overwatering and Underwatering are the two things that most affect the string of pearls plant. If it is not taken care of at an early stage then the plant can also eventually die.

Here are different points that I experienced while parenting a string of pearls plant.

Over Watered	Under Watered
Roots become Soggy,	Turns the color of plant yellow or brown
Normally suffered from Root rot	Due to less water & bright indirect sunlight plant will get burned
Attracts pests because of more water	The plant will shrivel, be mushy, and be weak.
Can be recovered by lowering the frequency of water and by giving enough indirect light	Can be recovered by giving enough water to recover the plant and eventually plant with get’s new life.
Decrease watering to once every 10 days and see the difference.	Increase watering once every week, give plant good drink instead of light mist, allow water to reach roots.

1. Overwatering string of pearls plant

Don’t water the plant blindly with the duration (1 or 2 days interval). Check the soil before you water the string of pearls plant.

Avoid watering if the top layer of the soil is already moist. you can check the soil moisture by moisture meter or simply by finger.

Overwatering leads to the major problems of plant-like root rot and fungal infections, when a string of pearls plant overwatered, leaves that store the water burst and become white spots.

Water thoroughly but don’t overwater the plant. Ensure you have a drainage hole in the pot so that water won’t stay a long time in the pot.

Don’t use slow draining Soil for string of pearls plant

slow draining soil is always a problem for any plant. If you use slow draining soil for a string of pearls plant then it will cause root rot problem for sure.

Slow draining soil and less exposure light are the main causes of root rot and eventually plant will get infested by pests or it will have mold and the plant start turning white, brown, black.

Root Rot of String of Pearls plant, because of overwatering

In the string of pearls plant if we use low draining soil or over water the plants where water sits near roots. This will affect the plant roots.

when the roots got weak then it’s easy for pest infestation or causes mold so this will make the string of pearls turn white in long term.

Pest Investation

A string of pearls plant is mostly affected by bugs or pests as sap-sucking creatures that drain the nutrients from plants and weaken the string of pearl plants.

Mealybugs are one of the bugs which can easily be found on plants, white substance on a string of pearl plants. These bugs easily multiply in less time and cause many problems for a good-looking string of pearls succulent plant.

When these pests are attacked lead to white molds on plants and stop the growth of plants.

Spider mites on a string of pearls plant. If you find the web-like structure on a plant then it is affected by spider mites. They are commonly in red color and belong to the spider family.

Scale infection is also one of the things we found in strings of pearls. use the below solution to fix the problems.

we need to keep checking always if the string of pearls is attacked by any pests if they are not identified at an early stage then they can kill the plant.

Solution:

1. seperate the infected plant from other plants, prune the infected and damaged part of the plant.
2. Dip the cotton in rubbing alchol and dab the areas where you notice the insects,
3. Use insecticides to plant that attacks the outer body of pests and kill them.
4. Use 1 tea spoon of Neem oil with 1 gallon of water and spray it on the plant every 7-14 days.
5. wash the plant under running water to get rid of certain pests such as spider mites.
6. Use Horticulture oil to fix the scale infection on string of pearl plants.

Molds

The white substance on the top layer of the soil basically molds and they are harmless, If you leave the molds untreated then it will attract other problems for the plant.

Make sure the plant doesn’t sit on excess water after watering, use well drainable soil. provide sufficient light and adequate water.

Keep checking plants once they have molds so that you won’t miss any signs.

Solution:

1. Provide sufficient sunlight to plant.
2. give adequate water to plant.
3. make sure plant doesn’t sit on excess water for too long.
4. Use well drainable soil so that it won’t sit in water.
5. Use filter water to watering string of pearls plant (to eliminate excess salts like fluoride).
6. Don’t water blindly check soil before watering.
7. Reduce the watering during winter as the plant is in dormant period.

Watering Place

Watering from top for string of pearls plant

watering the string of plants will make the whole plant wet, and sometimes if we make the beats also wet then there will be more chances of it being attracted by pests.

Sometimes it is difficult to make out for a string of pearls kind of plant to check the moisture by finger because the plant will be crowded in less space. At this time we choose to water from the bottom.

Watering from Bottom for string of pearls plant

I suggest watering the string of pearls plant by bottom because it’s difficult to check the moisture content of soil by finger as the plant will be crowded in less space.

We need to choose the pot accordingly to water the plant from the bottom.

2. Underwatering String Of Pearls Plant

Water once or twice a week is more than enough for the string of pearls plant during summer, if it is winter then I only water once every week.

Solution:

1. Check the soil before you water the string of pearls plant.
2. Water if the top layer of the soil is dry.
3. Usually i water twice a week, this can differ depending on climate contions, sun intensity and humidity.
4. In dormant period we need to water less compared to summer because growth of plant will be reduced.

Water thoroughly but don’t overwater the plant. Ensure you have a drainage hole in the pot so that water won’t stay a long time in the pot.

If you Overwater leads to major problems like root rot and fungal infections, when a string of pearls plant overwatered, the plant will die if action is not taken in time.

You also need to take care of potting mix as if the water sits for more time, then it leads to another problem.

you may also read this to know how tap water affects the string of pearls plant.

Chlorine or Fluroid in Water affects string of pearls plant

Water the plant only when it is dry, If you find the top layer of the soil kind of white substance then extra salts that have in the water. So avoid using Tap water.

Use filtered water to water the plants. Give more light to a string of pearl plants.

Reduce quantity and frequency of watering in winter (dormant period).

FAQ:

How to save overwatered string of pearls?

An overwatered watered string of plants normally roots become soggy and it will end up suffering root rot. The solution is to water the plants less frequently (mostly ten days once and check) and give more indirect light.

How to save underwatered string of pearls?

An Underwatered string of pearls plant shrivel, sometimes it turns their color to brown, yellow. The solution is we need to place plants in bright, indirect sunlight and mainly by giving more water (at least weekly once and check).

Final Thoughts:

These are the tips I normally use to recover my string of pearls plants. Let me know in the comments how do you find these tips are they useful?