How do I keep my snake plants thriving and growing new sprouts?
July 2, 2022 12:25 PM Subscribe
I'm a new plant dad; got two snake plants a few months ago. I've been trying to water them sparingly, but noticed the soil dries up fast. Want some tips on best maintenance to-dos.
I've searched on the Internet for tips, but I figured I'd turn to the Green. I tend to water both plants maybe once a week, but noticed when putting my finger in the soil that it's dry, and dries up fast. When I got the plants from Home Depot, I re-potted both and used succulent/snake plant-specific soil. It could be possible that my AC is drying up the soil faster than anticipated, especially considering it's summer and humid outside (which I can't stand). I've seen consistently that snake plants should be watered whenever the soil is dry, but also that they should be watered rarely; maybe once every week or two weeks.
Plant tax: Bethany and Grady
Grady recently had a new sprout, which I'm excited about (you can see it in the picture, at the very left end of the pot), and I don't want to do anything to mess it up. I've been watering Grady whenever his soil feels dry, but I'm worried I'm over-watering him and would inadvertently hurt him. Bethany, overall, seems much more independent and doesn't need as much watching, but I want her to grow some new sprouts too.
Should I feed them specific plant food, such as this, or water them more because of the AC? Am I doing everything right with them? Any tips and suggestions would be much welcomed.
Bonus question: I'm going out of town for about two weeks later this month. Should I arrange to have the building concierge come in and water them, or is watering them right before I leave and right when I come back sufficient? My apartment will not have the AC running as much during that time (to save money) and blinds, etc will be closed, so the apartment should be relatively dark and warm, but not too warm, I'd think.
I've searched on the Internet for tips, but I figured I'd turn to the Green. I tend to water both plants maybe once a week, but noticed when putting my finger in the soil that it's dry, and dries up fast. When I got the plants from Home Depot, I re-potted both and used succulent/snake plant-specific soil. It could be possible that my AC is drying up the soil faster than anticipated, especially considering it's summer and humid outside (which I can't stand). I've seen consistently that snake plants should be watered whenever the soil is dry, but also that they should be watered rarely; maybe once every week or two weeks.
Plant tax: Bethany and Grady
Grady recently had a new sprout, which I'm excited about (you can see it in the picture, at the very left end of the pot), and I don't want to do anything to mess it up. I've been watering Grady whenever his soil feels dry, but I'm worried I'm over-watering him and would inadvertently hurt him. Bethany, overall, seems much more independent and doesn't need as much watching, but I want her to grow some new sprouts too.
Should I feed them specific plant food, such as this, or water them more because of the AC? Am I doing everything right with them? Any tips and suggestions would be much welcomed.
Bonus question: I'm going out of town for about two weeks later this month. Should I arrange to have the building concierge come in and water them, or is watering them right before I leave and right when I come back sufficient? My apartment will not have the AC running as much during that time (to save money) and blinds, etc will be closed, so the apartment should be relatively dark and warm, but not too warm, I'd think.
Once a week is way too much! The food they need is sun. What’s your lighting situation? The more sun they get, the more water they need, but I water my snake plants something like once a month unless they’re outside in the summer and it’s hot and they’re getting direct light.
I’m not sure why you are using soil dryness as a metric. First, the soil can look and feel dry on top and still hold plenty of moisture. And the plant stores water in its leaves.
Put it in a sunny windowsill and dramatically decrease the watering. Wait at least a month. Right now they have energy saved from the nursery and can survive a while on that. But they need sun and less water to survive.
You can let them be on vacation. Any chance you can leave one shade partly raised so they can get some sun while you are away?
posted by bluedaisy at 1:02 PM on July 2, 2022
I’m not sure why you are using soil dryness as a metric. First, the soil can look and feel dry on top and still hold plenty of moisture. And the plant stores water in its leaves.
Put it in a sunny windowsill and dramatically decrease the watering. Wait at least a month. Right now they have energy saved from the nursery and can survive a while on that. But they need sun and less water to survive.
You can let them be on vacation. Any chance you can leave one shade partly raised so they can get some sun while you are away?
posted by bluedaisy at 1:02 PM on July 2, 2022
I water my snake.plant every few months. I have it maybe a vouplemof litres of water. It's completely root bound. It blooms twice a year. Snake plants thrive on neglect and being root bound.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:08 PM on July 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:08 PM on July 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I grew Sansevierias as a teenager. They were very hard to kill. They will likely be fine during your absence. You may be overwatering them a bit, but again, they are very hardy.
posted by Windopaene at 1:38 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 1:38 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
When you do water it, are you soaking the soil completely? You should do that, and as people mention, probably less frequently than once a week (although snake plants can tolerate a pretty wide variety of watering schedules, I've had anywhere from a bit less than once a week to once every month or two be totally fine, just depends on the circumstances and plant). I mention this just because using too little water too frequently seems to be a common mistake among people new to plants, although with snake plants it's nearly impossible to really under-water them, so that's probably not a big concern.
It's fine (and actually good and important) for the soil to be dry sometimes. Plants adapted to grow outside where it sometimes goes for a long time without raining. Snake plants are adapted to be in dry soil most of the time. Enjoy your trip :)
posted by wesleyac at 1:55 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's fine (and actually good and important) for the soil to be dry sometimes. Plants adapted to grow outside where it sometimes goes for a long time without raining. Snake plants are adapted to be in dry soil most of the time. Enjoy your trip :)
posted by wesleyac at 1:55 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm not really a fan of succulent soil per se. Mine are growing very well in regular potting soil, and I just don't water it so much that it stays wet.
posted by amtho at 2:23 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by amtho at 2:23 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
One of my plants is similar to these ones and it seems to do best when I water it from the bottom, meaning I put water in the tray it sits in and it absorbs the water that way.
posted by cakelite at 2:26 PM on July 2, 2022
posted by cakelite at 2:26 PM on July 2, 2022
I have totally kept that kind of plant alive in a windowless office... watering it when I remembered to do so (maybe 1x a month). I'm not claiming it was thriving, but it was* very much alive.
*Then covid happened, and I don't know what happened to it since I never returned to that office.
posted by oceano at 3:02 PM on July 2, 2022
*Then covid happened, and I don't know what happened to it since I never returned to that office.
posted by oceano at 3:02 PM on July 2, 2022
I've had one for 8 years. It's the least fussy plant I've ever encountered. All the others have required repotting, fresh soil, more/less sunlight etc. Snake plant just is. Give it a cup of water maybe once a month. There was one summer I was traveling a lot and I realized I hadn't watered it since March or so. It was fine, not sickly in the slightest.
I would genuinely be curious how oceano's office plant fared.
posted by mannequito at 3:33 PM on July 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I would genuinely be curious how oceano's office plant fared.
posted by mannequito at 3:33 PM on July 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I would put them in the sink and water them till thoroughly soaked, water running out the bottom, once a week. If you go to water 1 week later and there is significant dampness in the top 1.5" of soil, wait a few more days. You want the top 1-2" of soil to dry out each week.
posted by amaire at 3:42 PM on July 2, 2022
posted by amaire at 3:42 PM on July 2, 2022
If you want to use plant food, think like once per year. You shouldn’t need to feed with new potting soil - it’s more about rejuvenating old soil that’s been depleted of nutrients.
posted by gnutron at 4:59 PM on July 2, 2022
posted by gnutron at 4:59 PM on July 2, 2022
Just one more vote saying you can neglect the fuck out of this plant. We water ours MAYBE once a month or two, and it's flourishing. If it starts to flower, that's the tell that it has received too much neglect. If that happens, give it some water and it will bounce right back! This is the ubiquitous hotel plant, because it will survive in windowless hallways with pretty much no effort. You've definitely got this!
posted by DTMFA at 7:09 PM on July 2, 2022
posted by DTMFA at 7:09 PM on July 2, 2022
The irony here is that you're watering too often, but with too little water. Potted plants, especially desert specialists like snake plants, need to be really thoroughly and deeply watered, but only once a month or so. Plant guides only say "water infrequently" most of the time without clarifying what that means. It means soak the babies, really deeply, then let them dry out.
The top of the soil may be drying out, probably due to your AC, but the bottom of the pot? That's where the roots are. You may not be getting enough water down to the roots if it's all drying out between watering. Conversely it's also possible that it's all sitting at the bottom of your pot going stale and causing problems for your roots.
Indoor plant care is truly a land of contrasts.
I'd suggest before you change what you're doing, you do a soil check to see how dry things are at the bottom of the pot. To check, get yourself a disposable chopstick and jam it into the soil, right down to the bottom of the pot. Pull it out and take a look. If there's enough water in the soil the chopstick will be damp towards the bottom. You only need to water when the chopstick is dry. These are desert plants, they don't want to have wet feet. There should never be standing water in their drip trays either, and it does them well to dry out totally from time to time.
Frequently is half of the equation when it comes to watering - the other is the quantity of water. You need to really drench the plant when you water, then allow to dry out again. It can take a month or longer in the summer and you might find one watering is enough over winter when growth slows down. It sounds like you have a good soil blend for the snake plants, well designed for this sort of watering. I can see on the surface lots of organic matter as well as perlite so it'll drain fine I imagine, but still hold enough moisture to keep your babies going.
cakelite mentions bottom watering - it's a practice where a houseplant is sat in a tub of water so it seeps into the pot through the drainage holes. I do this with snake plants at the start of summer to give them one good solid drink, just flooding the fuck out the pot. It's also good if you find the soil starts to feel tough or compacted - it loosens hard soil up really well.
To bottom water, remove your snakie from its drip tray and pop your plant in a tub or basin that's at least half as deep as the pot. Fill it with to halfway up the side of the pot with water then just....sit around and let the potting medium soak it up. You might have to top up the basin to keep it at level, but that's about it. I find anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour in the water is best depending on the size of the pot. Then take it out and let it drain thoroughly, so there's nothing dripping from the medium at all and pop it back on its drip tray. I generally check for tardy drips over the next hour or so, too. As I said, the drip tray under the snake needs to be kept empty.
I bottom water once or twice a year with my snake plants, then its top watering the rest of the time - that's just pouring water in the top. Really drench them - think desert rainstorms that roll in and just don't stop - then let them drain thoroughly. I like to water them until there's free flow through the medium, that will take any stagnant water out with it or buildup of salts from tap water. Again, only once a month or so, or even less. I have a snake plant (A Sansevieria zeylanica, the toughest of the tough) in a darker part of my kitchen that gets watered like once a season, if that. I also do at least one watering a season under a shower head or hose, to get dust off the leaves. My plant collection is such a sprawling monstrosity these days I can't take the time to dust each leaf by hand, but you only have two to fuss over so don't forget to dust them every now and then.
In time you learn how heavy the pot is when it's got enough water, and how light it becomes when its dry. Until then you can use the chopstick test to be sure. Some people buy electric moisture meters like this one but I've always found the chopstick to be very effective.
You can leave your plants in a warm, low light room for your two week holiday without any attention and they will be perfectly fine. You don't need anyone to come water them for you. Desert plant, remember? If you're really worried give them a deep bottom water but be prepared to then let everything dry out again afterwards before you water again.
You also don't need to fertilize a snake plant very often at all, and they don't need a rich fertilizer. I dilute just a standard balanced liquid fertilizer to half strength and add it to the first watering of the summer. Like, once a year. Given these are new plants that have just been repotted I honestly wouldn't bother at all until next May.
Speaking of which, snake plants do well to be a tad root bound, so barring disasters you can probably leave these two delights in their pot for two years or so. They really don't need much attention at all!
Finally, snake plants have a magic power - you can propagate them from the smallest scrap of leaf. I noticed both your babies have a leaf with a bit of damage on it. If you feel like it, and you absolutely don't have to, you can cut the damaged leaves with sharp scissors close to the base and use them to generate whole new snake plants. All you need to do is put the leaf in a jar of clean water. It'll grow roots from the base and in time those roots will generate tiny little babies. They're called pups, and they are just as cute as you'd imagine. You have a lovely pair of S. laurentii by the look of it, they're pretty quick to pup. You can replant pups back in with the parent plant or put them in a whole new small pot of their own.
TL:DR: Water once a month or less, but with more water. Two weeks unattended is perfectly safe. Bethany and Grady are lovely!
posted by Jilder at 7:21 PM on July 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
The top of the soil may be drying out, probably due to your AC, but the bottom of the pot? That's where the roots are. You may not be getting enough water down to the roots if it's all drying out between watering. Conversely it's also possible that it's all sitting at the bottom of your pot going stale and causing problems for your roots.
Indoor plant care is truly a land of contrasts.
I'd suggest before you change what you're doing, you do a soil check to see how dry things are at the bottom of the pot. To check, get yourself a disposable chopstick and jam it into the soil, right down to the bottom of the pot. Pull it out and take a look. If there's enough water in the soil the chopstick will be damp towards the bottom. You only need to water when the chopstick is dry. These are desert plants, they don't want to have wet feet. There should never be standing water in their drip trays either, and it does them well to dry out totally from time to time.
Frequently is half of the equation when it comes to watering - the other is the quantity of water. You need to really drench the plant when you water, then allow to dry out again. It can take a month or longer in the summer and you might find one watering is enough over winter when growth slows down. It sounds like you have a good soil blend for the snake plants, well designed for this sort of watering. I can see on the surface lots of organic matter as well as perlite so it'll drain fine I imagine, but still hold enough moisture to keep your babies going.
cakelite mentions bottom watering - it's a practice where a houseplant is sat in a tub of water so it seeps into the pot through the drainage holes. I do this with snake plants at the start of summer to give them one good solid drink, just flooding the fuck out the pot. It's also good if you find the soil starts to feel tough or compacted - it loosens hard soil up really well.
To bottom water, remove your snakie from its drip tray and pop your plant in a tub or basin that's at least half as deep as the pot. Fill it with to halfway up the side of the pot with water then just....sit around and let the potting medium soak it up. You might have to top up the basin to keep it at level, but that's about it. I find anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour in the water is best depending on the size of the pot. Then take it out and let it drain thoroughly, so there's nothing dripping from the medium at all and pop it back on its drip tray. I generally check for tardy drips over the next hour or so, too. As I said, the drip tray under the snake needs to be kept empty.
I bottom water once or twice a year with my snake plants, then its top watering the rest of the time - that's just pouring water in the top. Really drench them - think desert rainstorms that roll in and just don't stop - then let them drain thoroughly. I like to water them until there's free flow through the medium, that will take any stagnant water out with it or buildup of salts from tap water. Again, only once a month or so, or even less. I have a snake plant (A Sansevieria zeylanica, the toughest of the tough) in a darker part of my kitchen that gets watered like once a season, if that. I also do at least one watering a season under a shower head or hose, to get dust off the leaves. My plant collection is such a sprawling monstrosity these days I can't take the time to dust each leaf by hand, but you only have two to fuss over so don't forget to dust them every now and then.
In time you learn how heavy the pot is when it's got enough water, and how light it becomes when its dry. Until then you can use the chopstick test to be sure. Some people buy electric moisture meters like this one but I've always found the chopstick to be very effective.
You can leave your plants in a warm, low light room for your two week holiday without any attention and they will be perfectly fine. You don't need anyone to come water them for you. Desert plant, remember? If you're really worried give them a deep bottom water but be prepared to then let everything dry out again afterwards before you water again.
You also don't need to fertilize a snake plant very often at all, and they don't need a rich fertilizer. I dilute just a standard balanced liquid fertilizer to half strength and add it to the first watering of the summer. Like, once a year. Given these are new plants that have just been repotted I honestly wouldn't bother at all until next May.
Speaking of which, snake plants do well to be a tad root bound, so barring disasters you can probably leave these two delights in their pot for two years or so. They really don't need much attention at all!
Finally, snake plants have a magic power - you can propagate them from the smallest scrap of leaf. I noticed both your babies have a leaf with a bit of damage on it. If you feel like it, and you absolutely don't have to, you can cut the damaged leaves with sharp scissors close to the base and use them to generate whole new snake plants. All you need to do is put the leaf in a jar of clean water. It'll grow roots from the base and in time those roots will generate tiny little babies. They're called pups, and they are just as cute as you'd imagine. You have a lovely pair of S. laurentii by the look of it, they're pretty quick to pup. You can replant pups back in with the parent plant or put them in a whole new small pot of their own.
TL:DR: Water once a month or less, but with more water. Two weeks unattended is perfectly safe. Bethany and Grady are lovely!
posted by Jilder at 7:21 PM on July 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
Plants need light, so don’t close all the blinds! Light is their food!
Snake plants can handle artificial light but sunlight is always better than artificial, and two weeks in the dark is a bit like not feeding a pet for two weeks - some plants would die (prob not a snake plant, but it would be unhappier for sure).
The trick to being good at plants is to water an amount that matches the amount of light they get. It’s not about “dry soil” so much as light+water=photosynthesis. The plant uses more water when there’s more light, so the plant will drink up its water faster on a run of bright days, and you need to offer more water accordingly.
In winter, or with indirect or artificial light, water less. In summer, or with natural bright light, water more.
I like this insta - houseplantjournal - for tips.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:46 PM on July 2, 2022
Snake plants can handle artificial light but sunlight is always better than artificial, and two weeks in the dark is a bit like not feeding a pet for two weeks - some plants would die (prob not a snake plant, but it would be unhappier for sure).
The trick to being good at plants is to water an amount that matches the amount of light they get. It’s not about “dry soil” so much as light+water=photosynthesis. The plant uses more water when there’s more light, so the plant will drink up its water faster on a run of bright days, and you need to offer more water accordingly.
In winter, or with indirect or artificial light, water less. In summer, or with natural bright light, water more.
I like this insta - houseplantjournal - for tips.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:46 PM on July 2, 2022
Here’s a great post about plant positioning over a vacation.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:57 PM on July 2, 2022
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:57 PM on July 2, 2022
I water my snake plants a tiny bit, once a week. They're in containers that drain freely. I worked at the Conservatory of Flowers and snake plants there frequently got watered far more often, in high humidity conditions, in freely draining containers. Dracaena trifasciata (Sansevieria) are from tropical West Africa, and though they are quite tolerant of drought conditions and typically experience dry summer in the savannahs they can also experience fairly wet winters. They're morphologically developed to collect dew and moisture and are extremely tolerant of light, superficial watering since their rhizomes are so close to the surface. Deep and infrequent, light and maybe slightly more frequent both seem to work as long as they are never in standing water. At any rate letting them dry out in between waterings is always a good idea. Make sure they are perched above their saucer and not anywhere they can "soak" in runoff water. You shouldn't really ever need to fertilize- most of the time any leaf yellowing is from overwatering.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:43 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by oneirodynia at 10:43 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh, and fast drying soil is good for these plants. I don't think you need to ask your concierge to water them unless you prefer to keep them on a schedule.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:44 PM on July 3, 2022
posted by oneirodynia at 10:44 PM on July 3, 2022
Everyone here has great advice. If you can get a small dowel or something similar, you can use it to test the soil for moisture between waterings. Just stick it into the soil for a moment and pull it out, then check to see if it's wet at all. It's a better method than just touching the surface of the dirt because you really care about how wet the soil around the roots is.
Snake plants are "easy" and yours look healthy and happy, but don't feel bad if your first plants don't do well. My first plant was a jade, and my mom, who has an incredibly green thumb, kept telling me how EASY they were. When that first jade died, I felt really bad and guilty. Turns out even easy houseplants have specific requirements and preferences. I'm a much better plant mom now, with a house (and windowsill at work) brimming with green friends.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 9:21 AM on July 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
Snake plants are "easy" and yours look healthy and happy, but don't feel bad if your first plants don't do well. My first plant was a jade, and my mom, who has an incredibly green thumb, kept telling me how EASY they were. When that first jade died, I felt really bad and guilty. Turns out even easy houseplants have specific requirements and preferences. I'm a much better plant mom now, with a house (and windowsill at work) brimming with green friends.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 9:21 AM on July 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all of the wonderful advice. Here's to hoping Bethany and Grady stay around for years! 🍃
posted by dubious_dude at 2:17 PM on July 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by dubious_dude at 2:17 PM on July 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I’ve had a snake plant for several years that seems to thrive on neglect. I water it maybe once a month. To much water is harmful for these plants—err on the side of too dry rather than too wet. I never use plant food or fertilizer. My(nameless) snake plant seems happy, healthy, and thriving.
You will not need to have anyone water these plants when you’re gone for two weeks.
Good luck and have fun being a plant parent!
posted by bookmammal at 12:55 PM on July 2, 2022 [4 favorites]