String of hearts

Observed: Dry throughout, on schedule at the 14-day interval.

Done: Pour-over followed by bottom water and full drain.

Done: repotted into 12cm terracotta, bare-rooted and rinsed from nursery soil before potting.

Mix: 2 parts Gardners cactus substrate : 1 part pine bark 5-15mm : 2 parts pumice 3-7mm : 1 part lava 3-5mm : 1 part zeolite 1-2.5mm : 1 part quartz grit 0.6-1cm, ~63% mineral. Aerial tubers set at or just under the surface. No drainage layer.

Acquired: IKEA, 2026-08-22. Currently in its nursery pot, not yet repotted.

Observed: Trailing vines with heart-shaped leaves showing typical silver-green marbling, several small pale new-growth leaves at vine tips, no visible pest or damage.

Plan: repot planned for 2026-08-23 into the mix worked out 2026-08-16 (see entry -1).

Plan: Buying from IKEA CZ – 12cm plastic pot, 11cm plant, product 105.416.01, 179 CZK (149 CZK in store with IKEA Family). Repotting after quarantine rather than following the label's "no repot needed for a year" line – the nursery substrate is a moisture-retentive greenhouse mix in an oversized plastic pot, wrong for a tuberous succulent next to a heated south-facing window.

In-store checks:

• Mealybug in the leaf axils and where stems coil, spider mite webbing, fungus gnats in the soil
• Firm plump leaves, no yellowing strands, no mushy or blackened stem bases
• Pot weight – reject both bone dry and soggy
• Take stock from the back of the shelf

On arrival:

• Quarantine roughly 2 weeks away from the shelf, neem vigilance as for any incoming plant
• Repot after quarantine – mid to late August is still growing season

Mix: 2:2:1:1, ~67% mineral grit. Volumes for a 12cm pot (~0.8 l).

• Gardners cactus and succulent substrate – 2 parts, 300 ml
• Pumice 3-7mm – 2 parts, 300 ml
• Lava 3-5mm – 1 part, 150 ml
• Zeolite 1-2.5mm – 1 part, 150 ml

Grit choice: Published range for this species is 50-70% mineral grit. Took the top end for Prague indoor winter conditions – tuber rot outweighs the risk of drying faster, and the Gardners base is peat-free compost plus coconut fiber, so it holds more water than a typical peat cactus mix. Deliberately lighter than the 80% Echinopsis mix: Ceropegia grows through leaf litter over rock, not pure scree.

Potting:

• Terracotta, 12cm – same diameter or one size down, prefers to sit snug on a shallow basic root system
• Aerial tubers set at or just under the surface, not buried
• Lava or zeolite top dressing to keep tubers and stem bases off wet substrate
• No drainage layer

First watering: Willow water, then bone dry all the way through. Starting interval 14 days, to be revised once a few waterings are logged. No fertilizer until it is settled.

Toxicity: Safe for Yuvia. Not in the ASPCA database, no known toxic mechanism. No elevation needed.

Stock to check before buying:

• Pumice and lava both 2L, drawn down by the 2026-08-09 cactus repots
• No 12cm terracotta on hand – KLASIK line in stock is 6cm, 9cm, 22cm