How & Why I Pruned My Trailing Fishhooks Succulent

If you want a hanging succulent which grows like crazy & is easy to maintain, look no further. My Trailing Fishhooks Senecio had gotten way too long. The long stems had hit the ground & were trailing along it. See how & find out why I pruned my Trailing Fishhooks succulent or String Of Fishhooks.

If you want a trailing succulent which grows fast and is easy to maintain, look no further because you’ve found it here. The plant of which I speak goes by the names Trailing Fishhooks, Fishhooks Plant, String Of Fishhooks, Senecio “Fish Hooks ” and Blue Pickle Vine as well as its botanic moniker Senecio radicans glauca. Good grief – it’s confusing to have so many names! My own Trailing Fishhooks succulent had gotten too long. It was way overdue for a pruning!

I love this hanging plant but here in warm and sunny Tucson, it grows like a weed. The nickname “Lady Godiva” has been bestowed upon it, and rightfully so. The long stems had hit the patio floor and were trailing along it for at least a foot. Plant debris was collecting in the mass of trails making sweeping more of a chore than it already was. Time for a trim!

Besides the fact this hanging succulent was taking up a valuable real estate on the patio floor, I wanted to prune to encourage fresh new growth to emerge. There was already a bit of it growing out of the top as well as off the sides of a few of the stems. Pruning does many things but one of those keys to a plant’s health and appearance is that it stimulates new growth.

I didn’t realize how heavy all those trails at the bottom were until I cut them off. Tucson isn’t ideal for fleshy succulents (we can get a freeze in winter and it’s blasted hot and sunny in the summer) but most of them do fine in bright shade nonetheless. The plant looks a lot happier already to have a portion of those long stems off!

I use my Fiskar Floral Nips for a project like this because they’re sharp as can be and make clean, precise cuts so all go easier and faster. I’ve used these for years and can highly recommend them for soft-stemmed plants like my String Of Fishhooks.

Succulents can be pruned at any time of year but spring is the best. I avoid winter pruning of these fleshy beauties because the plants are resting.

Once the new growth starts emerging and growing, I might cut all the older stems off. I’ll see how it’s doing after the hot summer months have passed. One thing I know for sure, I’m keeping up on the pruning so the trails stay at this length. My kitty Riley is happier now too. He can easily run across the patio in pursuit of lizards and snakes without having to detour around the mass of trails on the ground!

Happy Gardening!

Nell Foster

www.joyusgarden.com