String of Dolphins
Curio × peregrinus (syn. Senecio peregrinus)
Through the year 🗓️
🍂 Fall now
Stretch the days between waterings and stop feeding as growth slows.
❄️ Winter
Rest it nearly dry in a bright, cool spot. This lean, cool spell is what triggers the cinnamon-scented blooms.
🌱 Spring
Refresh or repot if crowded, tuck in a few cuttings to fill the pot, and give a light feed.
☀️ Summer
Bright light and thorough-but-infrequent soaks; let it dry out fully each time.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Bright indirect with some gentle direct sun; strong light keeps the leaves plump and dolphin-shaped, while in a dim spot the "fins" flatten out and the strands stretch
- Ideal PPFD
- 250–500 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 8–14 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- Soak-and-dry: water thoroughly, then wait until the soil is completely dry and the leaves start to look a touch soft. The fleshy dolphins store water and rot quickly if kept damp.
- Fertilizer
- Cactus/succulent feed at ½ strength, once or twice across spring–summer; it's a light eater.
Home & habit
- Soil
- Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix with extra perlite or pumice; pH 6.0–6.5
- Humidity
- Low to average (30–50%); dry air is no problem
- Temperature
- 65–80 °F; keep above 50 °F
- Mature size
- Trails to 2–3 ft
- Repotting
- Every 2–3 yrs; it likes a snug pot and a shallow root run
- Propagation
- Lay a stem on top of moist mix or tuck a cutting in; the nodes root readily.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- Mushy, translucent, bursting leaves and rotting strands at the soil line
- Underwatering signs
- Shriveled, flattened dolphins that plump back up a day after watering
- Common pests
- Mealybugs (their favorite), aphids, spider mites; root rot from overwatering
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when String of Dolphins looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
Mushy stems and shrivelling dolphins
Likely cause
Overwatering — the usual end for this plant.
What to do
Water only when the leaves start to flatten, in a gritty mix that never stays wet.
Deflated, wrinkled dolphins
Likely cause
Thirst if the soil is dry, root damage if it is damp.
What to do
Check the soil first — the two look the same from above.
New leaves losing the dolphin shape
Likely cause
Not enough light; it reverts to plain rounded leaves.
What to do
Bright light with some gentle direct sun restores the shape on new growth.
More like this 🌿
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