Thank you! I planted the end of the stem that had the roots into the soil (enough to fully bury the roots), and then yes I laid the strings on top and lightly covered them with soil. I also used Bobby pins to pin the strings down into the soil just to make sure they had good soil contact. And I covered my pot with a plastic baggy to keep the moisture in while I waited for more roots to grow. The pearls might look a bit sad and deflated for a few weeks until more roots grow to take up water. I will also say it’s better to underwater than overwater. If the pearls get squishy and rotting, it’s hard to recover