Snake Plant, an Indoor Evergreen Plant You Need to Know About

This plant is easy to grow and helps you purify indoor air

Alex7 days ago

12 4 minutes read

The Snake plant is a hardy plant, popular even with those without a green thumb, not just for its beauty, but also because of its ability to purify indoor air. Let’s learn how to take care of it for good results.

Contents

1 Snake Plant: description and varieties
2 Snake plant: how to grow it
3 Diseases and pests of Skane plant
4 Curiosities about Snake plant
5 More on this topic

Snake Plant: description and varieties

The Snake Plant is an evergreen houseplant. It originates in Asia, but we also find it in southern and western Africa. In many countries, it’s also known as Mother-in-law’s tongue, due to the sharp shape of its leaves.

The leaves are very long and fleshy, of a beautiful dark green with silver and light green veins. Two different categories can be distinguished, those with an upright habit and those with a rosette.

The former tend to grow quickly, even reaching 150 cm, the rosette ones are smaller and grow very slowly.

Its flowers are usually white tending to green in color and bloom in summer, but much also depends on the climate in which they live. They develop along white colored spikes and produce a really pleasant scent.

The Snake Plant belongs to the family Liliaceae. There are at least 60 species that differ in size and flower colors. Let’s find out some of the better known ones.

Sansevieria trifasciata

The Sansevieria trifasciata is the most common variety of Snake plant. The leaves are dark green in color and feature silvery, cream-colored edges on the sides.

Over time, various cultivars have been created, some reach a height of one and a half metres, others are dwarf. It is also used to obtain textile fibres.

Sansevieria Cylindrica

This is another popular variety and it’s particularly appreciated because it can be highly decorative. The peculiarity of this variety is the tubular leaves, which stand tall.

Sansevieria Zeylanica

This, on the other hand, is a “giant” species, being able to reach two meters of height. The habit is rosette and the leaves are gray with lighter or darker stripes, creating a nice contrast.

Sansieveria Halii

At the opposite end of the spectrum we find a variety only 30 cm tall, the Sansevieria Hallii. It too grows in a rosette shape and with leaves characterized by silvery veins.

Sansevieria Grandis

The special feature of Sansevieria grandis is the presence of oval green leaves with red-colored edges. It’s a very small variety, that grows no more than 25 cm in height and develops with a rosette habit.

sansevieria trifasciata snake plant — Detail of Sansevieria Trifasciata

Snake plant: how to grow it

Let’s now find out what care should be given to this plant, taking into account its specific needs.

Which soil to use

Let’s start with the choice of soil, which must be very light. Combine it with the sand and also add a layer of clay to aid drainage, or pieces of earthenware.

Exposure and watering

Snake plant loves heat and sunlight (but not direct), while it fears cold and frost. So during the summer you can move it outside. In any case, avoid exposing it to drafts.

It should be watered only when you notice that the soil is dry, generally once a month during the winter. In summer you can increase to once a week. Do not pour water directly onto the collar as it could stagnate and cause damage.

For fertilization proceed once a month. Be careful not to water too much,as you could risk root rot. Let us always remember that it is a succulent plant.

sanseveria — There are also very colorful varieties of this plant.

When to repot a Snake plant

The plant should be re-potted approximately every two years, moving it to a slightly larger pot. This is done in the spring period, a good time also to carry out its multiplication. Add some fertilizer to strengthen the plant, preferably liquid.

How to reproduce Snake plant

If you are wondering how to reproduce Snake plant, you must proceed by dividing the tufts or cutting the leaves. In the first case, young suckers that have reached at least 20 cm in size are taken. They are placed in a pot where you have prepared the soil and you wait for their growth. Otherwise, you can cut the leaves into sections of about 10 cm. Let the ends dry well and then plant them in the ground, so that the roots begin to grow shortly thereafter.

Potting

This plant does not need pruning, but leaf cleaning is necessary. Dry leaves and diseased parts should be removed, thus preventing the spread of fungi.

Diseases and pests of Skane plant

We talking about a very hardy plant here, so it is really difficult for it to get sick.

However, excessive watering could cause root rot. An early sign of this is the appearance of soft leaves.

Another danger to Snake plant is the invasion of mealybugs, often caused by the very same moisture.

Curiosities about Snake plant

Another positive quality that can be attributed to this plant is the ability to purify indoor air. Incidentally, that’s why it is often recommended as a species to be grown indoors.