String of Watermelons

String of Watermelons Senecio herreanus is a succulent plant of the genus Senecio in the family Asteraceae. It's called String of Watermelons because its striped shape is somewhat similar to a watermelon.

The stems of String of Watermelons grow prostrate, the leaves are fleshy and teardrop-shaped, green, with a stripe on the epidermis, and the stripes will turn purple when there is a large temperature difference and sufficient light, and even the whole leaf will look a little purple-red. In addition, String of Watermelons has a thicker and somewhat transparent stripe on the leaf surface.

Care Tips

Light: The most suitable way for it to sunbathe is to receive sunlight in an environment that has been dispersed by sunlight. It can not accept too much direct sunlight to itself, if it receives direct sunlight, its leaf color will become yellow from bright green. If the situation is serious, it may even lead to the withering of the whole plant. It should not be exposed to sunlight either.

Water: It does not require much water, and its roots tend to rot if the soil is waterlogged for a long time. In spring and autumn, it can be watered more often, which makes it easy to grow in groups and look very good. When the temperature is very high in summer, you should reduce the amount and frequency of watering, but you can spray some mist or sprinkle some water into the air. Of course, you can't water too much in winter, for one thing, it grows very slowly and doesn't need much, and you have to pay attention to prevent freezing.

Soil: In order to meet its requirements for loose soil, you can choose to mix perlite, peat, kiryu zuna / kiryu sand, etc. The amount of perlite added should be slightly less game. In addition, it is best not to use a substrate like vermiculite, because it can easily harm the root part of this plant.

Potting: It is recommended to use ceramic pots, ceramic pots have a certain degree of permeability, clay pots lose water too fast, plastic pots retain water too strong, and poor permeability. Also they do best in hanging baskets.

Temperature: Like a warm growth environment, it is adaptable, relatively hardy growth of the appropriate temperature is between  55 - 77°F (13 - 25 ℃), winter overwintering temperature is generally not less than 41°F (5 ℃).

Humidity: Prefer a humid environment 50% to 60% humidity, can give sufficient moisture, but the summer stifling heat should pay attention to ventilation. It grows well in average household humidity levels when grown indoors.