Succulent

Ruby necklace plant ultimate care guide to know

Ruby Necklace Plant, Cradle Vine, or Othonna Capensis, is a popular houseplant due to its ruby-colored leaves and long vines that are often grown up on the string. This succulent, sometimes known as “ruby necklace” or “string of pickles,” is distinguished by thin oval-shaped leaves as well as a reddish-purple stem.

The string of rubies belongs to the Asteraceae family and is most closely linked to the Senecio genus. This contains prominent trailing succulents like a string of pearls, a string of bananas, a string of dolphins, and several others.

Beautiful, vibrant, and surprisingly low-maintenance; these are all great ways to describe this plant. It’s easy to care for a plant if you know what it needs – but there are some common issues that can arise while growing this beautiful plant. In this article, we’ll explore the very basics of this plant, with the ultimate care guide to keeping your plant happy!

What are the main characteristics of the Ruby Necklace Plant?

Othonna Capensis The Ruby Necklace Plant is a popular houseplant. It is also known as Gloriosa superba Linn and belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family.

It’s also referred to as “the jewel among plants” since it has many spectacular and bright petals, much like an expensive ruby necklace! People love ruby necklaces for a variety of reasons: they’re attractive, they smell amazing, they have a lengthy flowering period, and they require minimal maintenance or attention.

The ruby necklace plant also called Cradle Vine or Upright Hamelia, is commonly employed in commercial horticulture since it thrives on neglect, is drought-tolerant, and requires little care.

Propagation and Development

The ruby necklace is an invasive plant that can grow in both the sun and the shade. It is unlikely that extra care is required for propagation, but if you want to grow this plant from seeds, you will need to put in some effort and time.

If you are planting it as an ornamental plant, knowing how to propagate this can help you sustain the plant over time.

Place the ruby necklace seeds in damp soil and let them at room temperature until they sprout.

Once they’ve sprouted, place them in a container with damp soil mixed with peat moss or perlite granules (or any other type of potting soil).

Once the ruby necklace plants have sprouted, relocate them to a window with indirect sunlight until they are established.

If your ruby necklace seeds do not germinate, immerse them in water for 24 hours before planting. This will aid in the removal of any germs or fungi that may be present on the ruby necklace seed.

Flowers normally bloom for a few weeks before dying, however, during this time you can gather ruby necklace seeds to try again the following year!

Common factors for growth

Plant fertilizer

The ruby necklace plant grows quickly and requires frequent fertilization. The optimum time to fertilize it is during the winter months when the vines have no leaves and are not actively developing. This will prevent your ruby necklace plants from being burned by too much nitrogen or potassium as they are growing.

If you fertilize the ruby necklace plant in the spring or summer. Then use a small quantity that will not scorch any of your plants when they are actively growing. Fertilizer should be administered every six weeks for ruby necklace plants and once a year for seedlings.

In each application, a plant should get the same amount of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate fertilizer (i.e.: a teaspoon of each).

Pruning

The plant with the ruby necklace is a vine. It has to be clipped and taught to climb up a structure, like a trellis or a fence, as it grows. Pruning is helpful in maintaining this plant and managing it in your house. You may wish to trim the ruby necklace plant in some circumstances to keep it smaller.

Use scissors or a sharp blade for plant trimming. Trim this plant only in late winter when they are dormant and no flowers will be lost. Cutting off more than one-third of the ruby necklace plant at a time is not recommended.

Remove any damaged or diseased stems, trim lengthy branches to just above where they fork from another branch and remove any dead leaves.

Soil for Planting

The soil is the first step in caring for a succulent because this is where it thrives. It is critical to select a decent potting mix that meets all of their nutritional requirements. Gardeners should be mindful of drainage & water retention in their containers. It is also beneficial to employ organic materials to give nutrients to the soil.

If you’re growing the ruby necklace plant in a pot. Then utilize organic debris that will break down and release nutrients into the mix over time.

Humidity

Ruby necklace plants are extremely humidity sensitive. If the plant is continuously in dry conditions, it will eventually give up on growing and die. You can get rid of spraying the leaves of a plant with water. But ensuring excellent air circulation (even if this just means opening your window).

water requirements

Water your ruby necklace plant regularly. It requires a full soaking rather than a spray of water. Overwatered ruby necklace plants get mushy, while underwatered plants become yellow and begin to die back on the margins. If you live in a wet or rainy climate, the plant will require less water than if you live in a dry region.

This plant requires adequate watering to keep the soil moist but not saturated. Try to keep plant roots moist otherwise they will rot!

The color of the leaves is an excellent measure of whether or not your ruby necklaces are getting adequate moisture.

Light

This plant is a dainty flower that prefers strong yet indirect light. If you live in a cold climate, bring your ruby necklace indoors during the winter months or place it near a window. So it will be able to receive indirect light.
If you’re going to use artificial lighting, make sure it’s on the brightest setting. And that the ruby necklace plant has a dark backdrop so that its leaves don’t reflect light.

Common issues with the Ruby Necklace Plant

Here are some frequent issues with this plant:

  • The leaves of a ruby necklace can occasionally turn yellow or red before falling off, but this is not as dangerous as it sounds since new shoots will emerge to replace the leaves.
  • The ruby necklace plant will ultimately turn brown and fall off the vine. This indicates that it has been overwatered or fertilized.
  • Insects such as mealybugs generate red patches on ruby jewelry.

Ruby necklace plant care tips

Caring for ruby necklace plants isn’t difficult if you know what you’re doing. They are low-maintenance plants that grow well both inside and outdoors.

Here are some suggestions for caring for your ruby necklaces:

  • In cold temperatures, the ruby necklace plant suffers.
  • Keep in bright light but not in direct sunlight
  • Water sparingly until the ruby necklace plant is well established in its pot; then allow it to dry out between watering
  • It doesn’t need as much fertilizer, so use half the recommended dose when fertilizing.
  • Pruning should be done on a regular basis by cutting off older stems that are growing toward the ground at the point where the stem turns from green to brown.

Common diseases of ruby necklace plant

Leaf scorch is a frequent disease that affects ruby necklace plants. Leaf scorch happens when the ruby plant loses too much water due to drought or improper watering. The leaves will become brown and dry out before withering completely. If this occurs, it is critical not to water the ruby necklace plant.

If you’ve been watering your plant, don’t give them any more water since it will merely create additional leaf scorch and the leaves will fall off much quicker than they would if not watered.

Leaf spot disease is also fairly frequent in ruby necklaces. Leaf Spot Disease is the reason for the excess of iron in the soil of the ruby necklace plant. Overwatering or underwatering, or feeding the ruby necklace plant with a high nitrogen-rich fertilizer are the main reasons for this condition. If you find that your ruby necklace leaves are becoming brown and have large dark green patches on them, you should water your plant less frequently and apply less nitrogen-rich fertilizer.

Succulent with pink flowers on long stems is also a good choice for your backyard.

Sunbal Razzaq

Sunbal Razzaq is the founder & CEO of Succulent Propagation

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