Dischidia Ruscifolia (Million Hearts Plant)

I often see this one sold in nurseries where it will adorned into a heart shape and sold as a decor piece. But the downside of this that the plant can get stressed so badly that all the succulent leaves start to drop within few weeks.

And so, maintaining them to have a good dehydration is very important to ensure longevity of this dischidia or else it will all dried up left with only a frame of stem like skeleton. 

This particular one does bear cute tiny white bell like flowers and may produce nectar that attracts ants.

Do take caution on the leaf ends as they can be sharp and may easily bruise the skin. Also they produce a milky latex that can irritate the sensitive skin so caution is necessary.

Just like any other dischidia, I find them doing so well wrapped up in kokedama balls and my successful experience in cultivating them.

I had also found there are different varieties available in the market. This particular variety has red coloration on the foliage - it's a pity that this one died on me. That time, I was still experimenting on them and still figuring it out how to grow and cultivate them.

Basic Care & Maintenance of Dischidia:

Medium:
This require a fast draining medium - something like orchid medium mix.
It does well with a mixture of perlite, sphagnum moss, cocopeat & bark mix.

It should not be a strong drainage mix where it doesn't hold any moisture at all but it should not be holding water too where the roots and stem can rot too. The balance of both is ideal.

Sometimes the nursery plant them - rolling them in a coconut husk making a ball from it. Another medium will be coconut husk stuffed inside a seashell with the dischidia hanging from it.

For sometime - it would look cool but eventually it get spend and burned due to lack of root growth and nutrients - making the plant leggy and trying to escape elsewhere.

Watering:
I water daily and twice during the hot dry days. These can go without water for few days to a week and perhaps you have to take note on how the foliage appearance - if it appears withered or drying than watering is mandatory. The downside of watering will cost the leaves to turn yellow and start rotting - therefore - the right balance is necessary.

Sun:
Dischidia is not a totally shade loving plant but you can place them in bright indoors area. I for one had experience where when it is placed in dark areas - they rarely show new growth and appears to be very leggy (the leaves nodes along the stem appear to phase out far apart and it is very unsightly especially when you prefer to have a compact foliage plants)

These are trailing plant and more on the wild side. The seemed to do well in most unforgiving conditions but at times - just barely surviving and it is indeed a slow growing plant - so don't expect much if you received a small cuttings and looking forward for new growth - It may take many months to actually notice anything.

I for one, just place them in their ideal spot and consider that done there and routinely water them on daily basis and weekly spray flowering fertilizer on them hoping them to bloom. Otherwise, it's another trailing foliage plant that I'm contented with.

Other Factors:

1) Do take effort to foliar fertilizer on them to induce new growth or else it will remain in that same size for months.

2) It's a trailing plant - so do allow space for it to grow and trail heavy, it will climb and vine everywhere - so do take note on that garden space in place them permanently as once it captured and coiled within the garden space - it will be difficult to remove them without cause damage to the vine or foliage.

3) This plant does produce aerial roots and may start off new shoots hence a new plant from a different location where it had rooted. You can propagate new plants from here but do it soon or if in case it had established itself - it would be too difficult to remove them without damaging them.