How Do You Grow A Snake Plant

A snake plant, aka sansevieria, is a plant that adapts. A sansevieria will thrive in almost any environment. Like any plant though, you can stunt its growth when you don’t take care of it. Consistent commitment to a snake plant’s care and maintenance is required.

If you are looking for a basic plant for beginners, try a sansevieria. How to take care of a snake plant is easy. The result will be a thriving houseplant. Here is how you do it.

How Do You Grow A Snake Plant?

Snake plants form a category of over 70 species of plants native to tropical and sub-tropical regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Snake plants vary wildly in their look, with some being as small as eight inches and others 12 feet high. In gardening, it’s mother-in-law’s tongue that is the most familiar sansevieria species. Alternative choices may include the short-leaved Golden Hahnii sansevieria, the dark green Cylindrical plant, the twisted leaf Twist sansevieria, the red-tinted leaves of the Rhino Grass sansevieria, or the white striped leaves of the Bantel’s Sensation or White Snake Plant.

If you’re starting a snake plant from scratch, take a leaf cutting or divide up your existing sansevieria. In the early days, a snake plant’s biggest threat will be rot. It can easily rot. A free-draining soil is your answer. So long as you’ve planted your snake plant in free-draining soil and are caring for it properly, you shouldn’t have any issues having it take hold.

How Do You Keep A Snake Plant Alive?

How to keep a snake plant alive is simple. It involves three simple steps.

• Watering. Avoid overwatering your snake plant. A sansevieria is a tropical plant for dry climates so it needs less water than most imagine. In fact, let the soil dry out in between waterings.

• Sunlight. Climate and temperature in the average room should be enough to maintain your snake plant. However, the sun’s rays can be trouble. Put a snake plant in indirect sunlight. Avoid putting it under direct sunlight. That will simply be too much sun. A snake plant’s leaves can burn.

• Feed It. If your snake plant is in a pot or planter, some general-purpose fertilizer can stimulate growth. If you want to maximize your chances of a sansevieria plant surviving long-term, feed it.

That’s really it! This isn’t a fussy plant. There are no guarantees in the plant world though. A plant that appears healthy can have more going on underneath. That said, this is one plant you shouldn’t have to worry about.

A snake plant is always equipping itself for the worst, meaning it’s ready to be neglected. We don’t recommend it but if you do not pay any attention to your sansevieria plant for a week or two, it may still look fresh and lively when you come back to it. A snake plant can survive in droughts and low-light conditions. It is also quite resistant to insects, unlike other houseplants.