I find this a difficult plant to grow. Over watering is my problem with these (I think). Give it the brightest light you have. Be patient it is winter in the North which is a slow to dormant time with most houseplants. Your pot looks to be some what too large for the plant's current size. The Larger the pot is relative to the plant size the longer it takes to dry out. Also when you next repot this plant you might want to add additional Perlite to the Cactus Blend potting soil. This aides in aeration and drying of the soil.

I copied this off exoticangle's web site:

Plant Care

String of Pearls must have bright light including two to three hours a day of direct sunlight through the year, or 14 to 16 hours of strong artificial light daily in the growing season; however, they will grow well in bright indirect light. Reduce artificial light to 12 hours a day in winter. This plant should be grown in a well draining sandy mix and repotted into fresh soil every 18 months or so. Because younger plants are more attractive than older ones, take cuttings every year and begin new plants so that when the older plant seems to have run its course for attractiveness, you have a fresh new plant to carry on.

Your plant is not getting enough light, very visible on new growth that is very etiolated (few circled in red):

I wouldn't add any sand to the mix. It could have some soil, but it should be well draining. What is visible in the photo is, IMO, water-retaining. Mix that is 50/50 C&S soil and sifted perlite would be better draining. Pot seems to be way too large for plant - too deep I would repot into much shallower pot and into mix made of C&S soil+perlite. I water mine more often than most succulents, but make sure potting mix drain well. Slowly introduce better light - what kind of grow light are you using, and how far is it from the plant?

"water more often" Rina what guide lines would you suggest for watering these?

String-of-pearls likes bright light, but not direct sun. The LED grow light will help. As LED lights are cool to the touch, you can set the light very close to the plant without burning it. Note that as your plant grows you will need light that reaches the leaves hanging over the side of the pot. Hang the plant in a bright window when the strings get longer. Your plant looks good. The pearls are fat. The new stems are longer than they should be, but that is probably because the plant wasn't getting enough light. The LED light should make growth be more compact. String-of-pearls grows fairly quickly.

It is best to let the soil dry out between watering. Some people only water once a month, but you should keep an eye on the leaves to make sure you are watering properly. If the leaves look wrinkled the plant probably needs to be watered. Essentially, when dry the interior of the pearls (the leaves) shrink and the outside shrivels slightly. Be cautious, though. Too much water can cause root rot that can also make the pearls shrivel because the damaged roots can't take up enough water. It's best to soak the soil and allow the pot to drain well before you set it back on its saucer. Young plants tend to need more water than older plants, but err on the side of too dry.

Sans, I find that these are mid fall-->spring growers and are dormant during the hot months. I was thinking that could be why you struggle with them. During their growth they can take much more water than other succulents. It’s important to have good drainage and air circulation with these guys or they will rot.

Since they’re winter growers I will leave them out if the temps are above 40F and let them absorb all the winter rain, but the summer I protect from sun and water maybe once a month. They look terrible when getting too much sun, they’ll turn this ugly tan green color. Yuck;)!

Kara, those last pics are mind-blowing - who woulda thunk?

Sans

I water most succulents about 1x/10days or so now, and senecio about 1x/6-7days - this is approx. If I did 1/month, they would desiccate. Senecio is not directly under lights now (as most others that are about 2.5-7" from source), but in hanging pot/basket just above, and get good light. Plant was about 4'+ long, but most 'strings' started dying in summer (I believe it was too dry for a while...) and I cut them considerably. Started growing again, longest string is about 10" or so, and it just finished blooming. Here is photo of one of the blooms:

This is one of very few succulents where I used some soil in the mix (maybe 25-30%), but it has lots of sifted perlite and grit (these 2 are in approx. equal amounts), so it drains well. Pot is not very deep and never sits in a saucer. While outdoors, I have it hanging on east side of house, so it gets some direct morning sun (perhaps until 10am or so).

I believe my plant is Senecio herreianus (String of beads - some beads are elongated and pointed beads) and op has Senecio rowleyanus (String of pearls - all beads are round) - but plants are just about same and require same care.

Thank you everyone for the help! I was worried the pot was too big at the moment. So I will work on repotting it into a smaller pot.

These are the lights I’m using. It has all different dimming settings. I had it about 8-10in above it so I’ll try bringing to closer.

Melissa

When you repot, improve the potting mix too. Your mix looks too wet, but I am only looking at the photo. If nothing else, I would mix sifted perlite (or pumice) with soil, making it 50/50 mix.

I am not familiar with those lights, but from the way plant looks they are not enough - or are too far. Make sure they are closer, moving them slowly-gradually.

I rescued a string of tears last year. My friend said she was killing it and did I want to take it. You have excellent advice above. One thing I read about them is that if the top layer isn't healthy, then you really don't want them to drape over the sides. Concentrate on developing a healthy top layer and the eventual hanging part will come. I had a lot of stringy stems so I wrapped those back onto the surface of the soil and pinned them down with little pins I make from flora wire (like open hair pins). They will root along the stem wherever they touch soil. Mine started to look a lot better after I did this. Mine loved being outside in the Summer. It was VERY happy hanging in an area on my deck that got filtered sun (through a sun sail) most of the day. Moral of that story, if it still looks sad once it's warm enough, put it outside.