The string of hearts has to be one of the more adorable plants out there. How can you not love the little heart-shaped leaves? If you love these, you will be happy to learn there are a few strings of hearts varieties you can add to your collection.
Each of them offers something unique, and you can either grow them individually or even plant them in the same pot for a wonderful, colorful combination. The requirements of all are more or less the same, some being more forgiving when it comes to light.
Ready to find out what all the different ceropegia woodii varieties are? Read on!
String of Hearts Varieties
When it comes to these, the basic string of heart care is the same for all types. You will need to give more attention to variegated ones if you want to keep the colors as they are, but as far as keeping them alive goes, they are all relatively easy.
Read: How to care for string of hearts
They can all be propagated in the same way too, so if you want to share a plant with your friend, it’s easy to do. The propagation has a high success rate too.
Read: How to propagate string of hearts
Regular String of Hearts
The most common string of hearts variety which you can find in most stores. This semi-succulent is easy to grow and, under the right conditions, grows extremely fast. This type doesn’t have a steep price tag, so you can buy a large plant without breaking the bank. As it’s a fast grower, you can’t go wrong with purchasing a baby plant (or asking a friend to give you a strand) as you will soon have a gorgeous plant with long vines full of little hearts.
The leaves are heart-shaped, which is a signature of these plants. The leaves are dark green with lighter green marbled patterns. The undersides of leaves have a pink to purple hue. Depending on the amount of light they get, the pattern can be more or less pronounced. With more light, the underside becomes more purple as well.
Variegated String of Hearts Varieties (Pink or White)
These are the cutest little hearts you will ever see! The leaf shape of any ceropegia woodii is adorable by itself but add a splash of pink on the side, and one can’t help but fall in love with this plant.
Sold under the name “variegated string of hearts” or “string of hearts pink,” you can get these with different amounts of variegation. Some have gentle pink edges, while others have insane amounts of pink. These are a bit harder to come by than a regular ceropegia woodii, but you shouldn’t have many issues finding one.
When it comes to care, these are a bit more tricky than a regular variety or other string of heart varieties that have mostly green leaves. To keep the wonderful pink color and prevent the variegation from reverting, you will need to provide more light (but not too much) than you would with a regular SOH. These are also slower growing than a regular variety, so if you want a full-plant fast, it’s better to purchase a larger specimen from the start.
Important! If the isn’t receiving enough light, it will compensate for this by losing variegation. Once the variegation on the leaf is lost, that leaf won’t get it back – the loss of variegation is permanent (this goes for the white parts of the leaves).
If you only see white variegation but want your plant to get the adorable pink hues, you will need to provide more light.
Silver Glory String of Hearts
Silver glory is another fun string of hearts variety to add to your collection. If you compare string of hearts silver glory vs. regular, you will note the shape of the leaves is slightly different. The regular ones have a more pronounced heart shape, while the silver glory is more like a pumpkin or an apple. You will notice the bottom part of the heart is more rounded or even rounded up (as with the bottom of the apple), whereas, with the regular String of Hearts, the end is a bit more pointed.
The shape of the leaf is the main indicator, as while silver glory is known for the almost completely silver color of the leaves, the regular variety can have almost completely silvery leaves too with decent light exposure.
As far as care goes, these are easy as the regular kind and won’t need any special treatment. Proper light is key to keeping the leaves completely silver and the plant having a purple underside.
Durban – String of Spades
Another type of Ceropegia Woodii, the Durban, often goes by the name String of Spades, too, as the shape of the leaves is a little more pointy, and the heart is less pronounced. The leaves can also be completely spade/diamond-shaped.
These are more light green in color and may grow a little slower than a regular variety.
Orange River
Another fun ceropegia woodii variety is the Orange River. You won’t necessarily see much orange color on the leaves as the name might suggest, as the plant leaves are mainly green. But the green is wonderful. Other non-variegated varieties have leaves that are green but have a more silvery look to them, and the green is duller. The Orange River variety, on the other hand, has a lighter, more pronounced green color of the leaves. If stressed, however, a subtle orange hue can be seen on the leaves and underleaves.
The leaves are heart shaped, but are more pointy and sharp than the regular variety.
These are happy growers that can grow really fast and are easy to maintain.
Mini Star
Mini star is another variety, an uncommon one, where leaves are smaller than with the regular varieties.