I’m going to answer the question once and for all: String of Hearts, or ceropegia woodii, is considered toxic to both dogs and cats.
Why String of Hearts is Toxic to Pets
After MUCH digging and triple checking my facts, ceropegia contains saponins (which are “plant secondary metabolites”) and can cause some tummy trouble in dogs and cats. Even though saponins are ok for humans to ingest, they just may cause adverse effects in pets since they cannot metabolize the metabolites. So, that puts them on the naughty list.
What’s great about string of hearts is that they are a hanging plant, and can be kept off of the floor or shelves easily and suspended from the ceiling. I have one about 4′ long and Krusty will occasional bat at it for no reason but has no desire to eat the plush succulent leaves. Thank god.
I will say that I put all types of ceropegia in the “mildly toxic” category. It would be best out of reach of pets but it’s not a life or death houseplant.
String of Hearts vs Bleeding Hearts
That title may sound like a 90s Battle of the Bands but these very different plants are sometimes confused. String of Hearts (also known as Chain of hearts, collar of hearts, string of hearts, rosary vine, hearts-on-a-string, and sweetheart vine) is not related to the perennial Bleeding Hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) despite the similar goth names. Both are considered toxic though.
Fun Misinformation!
I’ve found some really terrible information about this plant online and had to share as a PSA. Lets take a look on what the Internet says about ceropegia and its toxicity to dogs:
It’s so great (insert Siri voice) STRING OF HEARTS can be a nutrition supplement! But wait there’s more.
THIS. THIS is why it’s so hard to find good information nowadays. This is just garbage. When you’re looking up toxcity in houseplants or if a plant is toxic to a pet there are some red flags to look for on websites. First, look at the website. Is it crawling with ads or is the punctuation way off? Is it colorless and without any kind of personality? It’s most likely an AI website or a site cutting and pasting wrong info from another site. It’s terrible and so dangerous to pet owners looking for sound advice.
In case you missed it, I am writing a book (!) all about pet safe plants. It will be fact checked. It will 100% hand written. And it will be awesome. It comes out in 2027.
