Trailing Succulents for Hanging Pots

The best trailing succulents for hanging pots are string of pearls, string of bananas, string of dolphins, string of hearts, burro’s tail, ruby necklace, rat tail cactus and mistletoe cactus. All of them cascade over the rim of a pot or basket, and most can grow strands 2 to 3 feet long or more. Keeping them full is a matter of three habits: give them the brightest light you have, water only when the soil has dried, and tuck cuttings back into the top of the pot whenever it starts to look thin. Below are the most reliable hanging succulent plants, what each needs, and how to keep them lush instead of stringy with a bald crown.

Part of our Houseplants & Container Gardening guide →

In this guide

1. Best Trailing Succulents at a Glance
2. The Best Hanging Succulent Plants
3. Light: The Key to Full Plants
4. Pots and Soil
5. Watering Hanging Succulents
6. How to Keep Trailing Succulents Full
7. Feeding, Temperature and Outdoors
8. Common Problems
9. Pets and Safety
10. Frequently Asked Questions

Best Trailing Succulents at a Glance

Plant	Trail length	Light	Ease
String of pearls (Curio rowleyanus)	2 to 3 ft	Bright indirect to gentle sun	Moderate
String of bananas (Curio radicans)	3 ft or more	Bright light, some sun	Easy
String of dolphins (Curio x peregrinus)	1 to 2 ft	Bright indirect	Moderate
String of hearts (Ceropegia woodii)	3 ft or more	Bright indirect	Easy
Burro’s tail (Sedum morganianum, S. burrito)	2 to 4 ft	Bright light, morning sun	Easy but fragile
Ruby necklace (Othonna capensis)	1 to 2 ft	Sun for best color	Easy
Rat tail cactus (Disocactus flagelliformis)	3 ft or more	Bright light, some sun	Easy
Mistletoe cactus (Rhipsalis)	2 to 6 ft	Bright indirect; tolerates less light	Easy
String of turtles (Peperomia prostrata)	1 ft or so	Bright indirect	Moderate
Calico kitten (Crassula pellucida ‘Variegata’)	1 ft or so	Bright light	Easy

The Best Hanging Succulent Plants

String of pearls

The classic trailing succulent, with pea-shaped leaves on thread-thin stems. It is beautiful but less forgiving than its relatives: the shallow roots rot quickly in wet soil, and the crown thins out in low light. Use a shallow pot, bright light and careful watering. Our full string of pearls care guide covers the details.

String of bananas

Curved, banana-shaped leaves on faster, sturdier stems. It is the easiest of the “string of” succulents, tolerating a bit more water and less light than string of pearls, and is a great first trailing succulent. See how to care for string of bananas.

String of dolphins

A hybrid with leaves shaped like tiny leaping dolphins. It trails and also tends to mound. Care is similar to string of pearls, with slightly more tolerance for water.

String of hearts

Technically a succulent vine with small, heart-shaped, marbled leaves on long purple stems. It grows quickly, forms small tubers along the stems that make propagation easy, and handles average indoor conditions better than most succulents. Variegated and silver-leaved forms are widely available. Read how to care for string of hearts for specifics.

Burro’s tail and donkey tail

Thick, rope-like stems densely packed with plump blue-green leaves. Mature plants are heavy and dramatic. The leaves drop at a touch, so hang it where people will not brush past, and avoid moving it often. ‘Burrito’ has shorter, rounder leaves and a tidier look.

Ruby necklace

Bean-shaped leaves on purple-red stems that turn ruby with bright sun and cool temperatures, plus small yellow daisy flowers. It grows quickly and handles more water than most succulents.

Rat tail cactus and mistletoe cactus

Rat tail cactus has long, spiny, pencil-thick stems and showy magenta flowers in spring. Mistletoe cactus (Rhipsalis) is a spineless jungle cactus with cascading green strands; it tolerates lower light and more humidity than desert succulents, making it a good choice for bathrooms and east windows.

String of turtles and calico kitten

Both are small, slow trailers suited to little pots and shelves. String of turtles is a semi-succulent peperomia that likes slightly more humidity; see how to care for string of turtles. Calico kitten is a variegated crassula with pink, cream and green leaves that color best in strong light.

Light: The Key to Full Plants

Almost every leggy, sparse hanging succulent is starved for light. Indoors, hang the pot directly in or just beside a south- or west-facing window, within a few feet of the glass. A hanging pot near the ceiling may get much less light than you think, because the window’s light hits lower in the room. If you have no bright window, a full-spectrum grow light 6 to 12 inches above the plant for 12 to 14 hours a day works well.

Outdoors, most trailing succulents like bright shade or morning sun with afternoon shade. Full afternoon sun in hot climates can scorch string of pearls and burro’s tail; acclimate plants gradually over one to two weeks when moving them outside in spring.

Pots and Soil

• Drainage holes are essential. Decorative hanging planters without holes are the fastest way to rot.
• Shallow and wide beats deep. Most trailers have shallow roots. A 6 to 8 inch wide, shallow pot suits most plants.
• Terracotta breathes and dries faster, a forgiving choice for beginners. Plastic holds water longer and is lighter to hang.
• Gritty mix: use a cactus and succulent mix with extra perlite or pumice, roughly 50 percent mineral grit. Our recipe for how to make succulent soil walks through it.
• Weight: mature burro’s tail plants get heavy; use a sturdy hook rated for the load.

For planter styles, hanging hardware and self-watering options to avoid with succulents, see our roundup of the best hanging planters, and browse the houseplants and containers hub for more indoor plant care.

Watering Hanging Succulents

Hanging pots are easy to forget and easy to overwater. Use this routine:

1. Check the mix with a finger or wooden skewer; water only when the top 1 to 2 inches are dry. For string of pearls, wait until the pearls look very slightly less plump.
2. Take the pot down and water thoroughly at a sink until water drains out the bottom.
3. Let it drain completely before rehanging, so water does not drip onto floors or pool in a saucer.
4. Expect to water roughly every 7 to 14 days in spring and summer and every 3 to 4 weeks in winter, but always check first.

Signs of overwatering include mushy, translucent or yellowing leaves and stems that rot at the soil line. Underwatering shows as shriveled, wrinkled leaves that plump up within a day of watering.

How to Keep Trailing Succulents Full

Over a year or two, many hanging succulents develop the same look: long, healthy strands hanging below a sparse, bald top. The stems at the crown get old and bare while new growth happens at the tips. You fix this by moving some of those tips back to the top.

1. Snip several 3 to 4 inch tip cuttings from the longest strands in spring or early summer.
2. For string of pearls, bananas, dolphins and hearts, lay the cuttings flat on the soil surface at the bare spots and pin them down with a bent paper clip or floral pin so the nodes touch the soil. They root along the stem.
3. For burro’s tail, ruby necklace and calico kitten, let cuttings callus for a day or two, then push the cut ends into the soil.
4. Mist the surface lightly every few days until you see new growth, then return to normal watering.
5. Trim very long, thin strands back to encourage branching.

Doing this once or twice a year keeps a basket full almost indefinitely. For more propagation methods, see how to propagate succulents. Also rotate the pot a quarter turn every week or two so all sides get light, which prevents a lopsided, thin back side.

Feeding, Temperature and Outdoors

Feed lightly with a balanced or cactus fertilizer at half strength once a month in spring and summer; skip winter. Most trailing succulents prefer 60 to 80 degrees F during the growing season. Many, including string of pearls and string of bananas, flower more freely after a cool, bright, drier winter rest around 50 to 60 degrees F. Outdoors in Zones 10 to 11 several of these can live year-round in sheltered spots; elsewhere, bring hanging pots in before nights fall below about 40 to 45 degrees F.

Common Problems

• Long gaps between leaves: etiolation from low light. Move closer to the window or add a grow light, and propagate the stretched tips.
• Strands dying back from the soil line: stem rot from wet soil. Cut healthy strands, let them callus and restart them in fresh, dry mix.
• White cottony spots in leaf joints: mealybugs. Dab with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and repeat weekly until gone.
• Leaves dropping from burro’s tail: usually physical bumps or moving the pot; occasionally overwatering.

Pets and Safety

Hanging pots help keep plants away from pets, which is useful because several trailing succulents in the Curio and Senecio group, including string of pearls, bananas and dolphins, are considered toxic if eaten. String of hearts, burro’s tail and mistletoe cactus are generally listed as non-toxic. Hang toxic plants well out of jumping range for cats and clean up dropped leaves.