Necklace Plant Curio rowleyanus

String of Pearls is a plant in the daisy family that is native to South Africa. It was named after Gordon Douglas Rowley, a British botanist.  His specialty was succulents and cacti.  

In its native habitat, it will grow in a vine-like manner, creeping and crawling along the ground where roots are formed whenever the plant comes contact with the ground.  

It can be grown both indoors as a houseplant or outdoors in more tropical locations.  Being limited to USDA Hardiness zones 9B through 11b, it is most often grown as a houseplant.  Outdoor locations should include partial shade while indoor plants flourish in areas where they receive bright, indirect sunlight. Cactus potting mix or a combination of potting soil mixed with sand or perlite is an ideal planting or container medium.

Not liking wet feet, ensure that good drainage is provided for both indoor and outdoor plants. Containers should have a minimum of one hole in the bottom.  Allow your plant to dry out in between waterings.  When allowed to remain in waterlogged or soggy soil, root rot can occur.  If the situation is allowed to continue, that is a sure path to the plant's demise.  

The rounded, fleshy leaves of String of Pearls are quite unique, each resembling a pearl, a bead or a marble.  The rounded shape of the leaf also decreases the amount of surface area exposed to the arid desert air, therefore, reducing loss of water or moisture.   Each leaf has an epidermal window, which is a small slit of translucent tissue where light is allowed to penetrate the inside of the leaf.  This increases the available area where photosynthesis can take place.  

Propagation can be easily and quickly accomplished by taking a 3-5" stem cutting and covering a few of the nodes in the potting mixture  This will allow new roots to form.  A slower and less reliable form of propagation can be done by simply dropping a leaf onto your soil mixture.