Snake Plant- How to Care for Your Snake Plant
The snake plant is one of the best houseplants to try if you want to add a unique look to your collection but you don’t want to fuss over your plants.
This is a plant that can thrive with very little attention and they’re also great for cleaning the air.
This is also one of the few succulents that you’ll find that grows tall, but still needs very little water to thrive.
Follow along and we’ll share with you how to take care of and multiply your snake plants.
Snake Plant Overview
| Common Name(s) | Snake plant, mother-in-law’s tongue, viper’s bowstring hemp, St. John’s Sword |
| Scientific Name | Sansevieria trifasciata |
| Family | Agavaceae |
| Origin | West Africa |
| Height | Up to 4 feet as a houseplant |
| Light | Varied Light |
| Water | Low water needs |
| Temperature | 40 degrees and above |
| Humidity | Average |
| Soil | well drained soil |
| Fertilizer | monthly with a 10-10-10 fertilizer |
| Propagation | Division or leaf cutting |
| Pests | mealybugs or spider mites |
The most common snake plant that you’ll see is going to have vertical leaves that are shaped like a sword. They’re dark green and generally have a yellow border.
We are guessing that the snake plant got its nickname of Mother In Law’s tongue because of it’s sword shape but if you’ve heard a different story then let us know.
Snake Plant Care
We’ve included the snake plant in our list of Best Houseplants for Beginners because it’s such an easy plant to keep around. It will be fine if you take a trip or forget to water it for a few days and it’s pretty tolerant of most light situations.
Just giving it a small amount of care will make this houseplant a thriving part of your decor.
Light
The snake plant is like most other houseplants and prefers bright and indirect light. It can, however, survive in low light situations.
The downfall is that in low light, the plant won’t have the brilliant color of a snake plant getting more light. The leaves may lose some of their luster as well.
These are another plant that does well on a covered patio when the weather is nice. They’re not big fans of direct sunlight and it can burn their leaves.
Temperature
This is a tropical plant so they’re not big fans of the cold. Don’t place them anywhere that the temperature will drop below about 40 degrees, but they’re fine with some heat.
They’re pretty happy as houseplants and are going to thrive in human conditions, especially temperatures between 70-90 degrees. Okay, 90 degrees might be a bit warm in a house, but not too bad on a shaded patio!
Water
The snake plant is a succulent and it doesn’t need to be watered as often as some houseplants, but it does need to be watered well every couple of weeks.
This is another plant that can suffer from root rot so the key to watering it well is having well draining soil and a pot with drain holes in it. Water it over the sink and let the water run out the bottom to be sure that you’ve given it enough.
Be sure to water directly into the soil, the water is just going to run right off those leaves.
Humidity
The snake plant is a tropical so you’d think that it would love humidity but it will also do fine in drier environments. We wouldn’t say that the humidity level would be any consideration for raising this plant.
Soil
Since a snake plant can be prone to root rot you’re going to want a soil that drains well. Instead of using potting soil for these we really prefer a soil that’s made for succulents or cactus.
Succulent soil is going to have more sand and peat in it so that it doesn’t hold too much water in the pot.
If you want to try your hand at making your own soil you can find plenty of recipes online. The recipe that we use is easy and we’ve had great luck with it:
- 3 parts potting soil
- 2 parts sand
- 1 part peat
We usually keep a big container of succulent soil on hand and that recipe is easy to multiply if you need more.
Fertilizer
You can fertilize the snake plant monthly when you fertilize any of your other plants. You only really need to fertilize during the growing season, which is spring and summer. In the winter there’s not need to fertilize at all.
Use a balanced fertilizer, which is the one that has the 3 matching numbers like 10-10-10. Don’t use too much fertilizer, it’s best to use half of the recommended amount so you won’t need to adjust your watering schedule. If you’ve got a 20-20-20 on hand just dillute it by half and you’re good to go.
Remember, more is not always better.
Snake Plant Propagation
The easiest way to propagate your snake plant is by dividing it, but some people like the challenge of growing plants from cuttings so we’ll share both ways.
To divide your plant, just remove it from it’s pot and slice right down the middle with a knife. Then take each half and put them in a pot with fresh soil. That’s all there it to that method and now you’ve got two plants instead of one!
Be sure to let the plants sit for a couple of days before you water them and don’t fertilize them for at least a month.
Taking cuttings to propagate is a much harder way to make new snake plants but it’s a great experiment.
Cut a leaf off your plant very close to the base. Then just cut that leaf into sections, let them dry a bit overnight and poke the “bottom” of the cutting into some potting soil.
The bottom will be the part of the leaf that was closest to the roots. You may be able to tell which side is the bottom by the width of the leaf or you might need to mark them before you lay them out to dry.
Keep your cuttings in bright, indirect light and keep their soil moist. You may need to spritz them daily to keep the soil at a constant level of moisture.
After 3-4 weeks try tugging on the leaf cuttings. If you find roots at the bottom then you’ve got a new plant. If you don’t find anything then that cutting may not have taken.
Like we said, this is a harder and more time consuming process. Patience isn’t one of our strong suits so we generally go for division. Or for buying more houseplants!
We’re always excited to buy new houseplants!
How to Repot Your Snake Plant
The snake plant doesn’t need a new pot very often because it’s a pretty slow grower. It also doesn’t mind having it’s roots a little crowded.
If you see their roots trying to sneak out of their drain holes then it’s time for a new pot. The other time to repot will be if your plant becomes too top heavy and wants to tip over. You’ll need to find it a larger pot so it will be more sturdy.
You don’t want to go up in size too much, only a few inches since the snake plants like their roots squished a little. And be sure that your new pot has a drainage hole.
Let your snake plant get used to its new pot for a few days before you water it and you don’t want to fertilize it for at least a month either. It will need some time to get settled.
Pruning a Snake Plant
If you have a leaf on your snake plant that dies back you can go ahead and cut it off at the base. Don’t bother leaving any part of the leaf because it won’t continue to grow from where you’ve cut it. Do be sure to use a clean and sharp knife.
Snake Plant Problems
Snake plants are pretty resilient and don’t have too many problems. They can sometimes be attacked by mealy bugs or spider mites. They can also be subject to root rot and that’s something to avoid instead of cure.
Root Rot
Root rot is a pretty easy problem to prevent. Once your plant has root rot it could be hard to recover it, this is one of those things that you really have to catch before it happens.
There are a couple of reasons that your snake plant might get root rot. One of them is that you’re watering too often. In this case you just want to space your waterings out more and let the soil dry out a bit in between.
Your snake plant doesn’t want to be watered as often as all your other houseplants. Remember that it’s a succulent so it only needs water every other time you water your ivy.
The second reason is that your soil, or your pot, isn’t draining well. Be sure that you’re using succulent soil and that the pot you’ve chosen has drainage holes in it and you should be fine.
Snake Plant Pests
Snake plants will generally only be attacked if they’re kept outside or if they’re receiving too much water, but if you find that you’ve got pests, these are the two you might see.
Spider Mites
Snake plants can be susceptible to spider mites, which will attack the leaves of your plant and suck the sap out of them.
The damage from spider mites will appear to be yellow or brown spot’s on their leaves. You may also see some fine webbing on your plant that looks like a spider web.
A snake plant is easy to wipe down with an insecticidal soap. Just keep an eye on it to be sure that you got them all.
Mealy Bugs
The damage from mealy bugs might make you think that your plant has mold on it. They are white and fuzzy and by the time you notice them you could have a pretty bad infestation.
Wipe down your plant with ispropyl alcohol and use a cotton swab to reach any little nooks and crannies. Keep at it until you get rid of them all.
Remember that if your plant is too far gone you should replace it. You don’t ever want pests to move from one plant to another so keep an eye out and get those problems taken care of early.
Now You Can Raise Your Snake Plant
Your snake plant will be a great addition to your house plant family and it pairs well with lots of other plants or makes quite a statement all by itself!
