This potting mix is a must have in my household. And no better day to talk about String of Hearts care than on Valentine’s Day. Right?
This recipe is the potting mix I use for my String of Hearts plants (I currently own three) but it would be a great mix for most of the caudiciform plants that are popular right now. I’m thinking of all of the Desert Rose plants (Adeniums) especially. If you own a very young SOH plant, you may not even be aware that they will form a caudex. Plants that have been started by cuttings may not even have developed a caudex yet, but fear not, they will form in a year or so as your plant matures.
Well, let’s get to the potting mix recipe. Also for your convenience, I will include links to the products I use below. These are the products that I use in my own home with my own plants. I trust these brands or I would not recommend them to you. But always feel free to do your due diligence and research brands and products before purchasing. Some or all of these links may be affiliate links.
Let’s begin with Coco coir. Add any amount you want to a bowl or container. The coir should be moistened (it always cracks me up to see how much water it can hold) and will equal 50% of our mix. If you do not like coco coir, add peat instead. I use coir because I believe that using coir is much less impactful on our planet than using peat.
The next ingredient for our potting mix is lava rock. The lava rock should equal approximately 40% of the total mixture. I am very particular about what type of lava rocks I use, mostly because of the size of the pieces. A lot of lava rock comes in large pieces which messes up the total surface area of the lava compared to the other ingredients. Whether you choose to use the Bonsai Jack lava or your own brand, aim to buy pieces between 1/4″ to 1/2″ pieces.
Horticultural charcoal is the next ingredient. It should equal about 5% of the total mix. Charcoal is an important ingredient because it will help with the prevention of root rot. I’ve stated this before for other potting mix recipes but I’ll say it again here too; make sure to use horticultural grade charcoal when adding it to a potting mix. Using just any old charcoal can potentially introduce insects or diseases to your plant.
We have 5% of this mix left and I’m squishing two ingredients into that percentage. SOH need to be fed so I like to add worm castings because it is a fertilizer that will be immediately available to the plant. Then for an extended release fertilizer, I add some Nutricote. The combination of the castings and the Nutricote should equal 5% of the potting mix.
So that’s it, my friends. I hope this was interesting and helpful to you. If it was, make sure to follow this blog. Simply head to the Home page, scroll to the bottom and press the Subscribe button. It will ask you to add your email and you’ll be notified when a new article is published. Thanks for reading!
Oh, and if you are new to houseplants in general or String of Hearts in particular, here is a link to my String of Hearts care guide.
I wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Potting Mix for String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii)
- 50% Coco coir
- 40% Lava rock
- 5% Horticultural charcoal
- 5% Worm castings / Nutricote
Mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.
Liquidambar Girl Gardening 
Great sounding mix! Diffently will try! Thank you!
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Yay! Thanks Michele!
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Great info, Thanks! I was checking my favorite shops on ESTY, and they say you are taking a break. Hope everything is okay!
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Hi Connie! Yes, all is well. I closed the shop for a week because I’ve been at the Ohio Grape and Wine Conference and wouldn’t have been able to send out any orders. Thanks for reading and thank you for checking on me, my friend!
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When you calculate the percentages, does 50% of coco coir mean 50 percent of the solid coco coir or 50 percent of the coco coir with the water. That is, if I have a one-pound block of solid coco coir, after I add water, I end up with about four pounds of coco coir. So, would the calculation be 50% of one pound or 50% of four pounds? Also, since I already did the mix calculating from the solid block, resulting in a lot less of the rest of the ingredients if that was incorrect, should I repot everything using higher percentages? Thank you very much for all your information and for your help.
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Hi Christine! I want to apologize for my late response. I just got back from the Ohio Grape and Wine conference and I’m trying to get my life back into order.
I generally add water to my coir before I start eyeballing my mix percentages. Just because it expands so drastically. I feel bad saying this however because I see that you have already used your potting mix. But you may want to just take a handful or spoonful of your mix and see if you are seeing similar percentages to what I’ve recommended here. If not, maybe consider adding more of your soil amendments and repotting (cringe…sorry to create more work for you).
I wish you very good luck! Let me know how things are going!
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Thank you so much for getting back to me! I really appreciate it. I’ll go ahead and repot all my plants. I’ll guess as to how much of the amendments to add and keep my fingers crossed. Actually, the plants are looking pretty good at this point, but I certainly don’t want the soil to go back to a hard block. Again, thanks so much. Oh, one more thing if I may: can I use the recipe for all other houseplants (ficus, fern, etc.)?
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