Snake plant is one the top air-purifying succulent plant that grows easily at home indoors. These evergreen plants can usually require both warm, cool climatic conditions and a little care to maintain. Here in this article, we share the complete information about how to grow and care for your snake plants at home indoors.
Snake plant or Sansevieria trifasciata is a flowering plant in the family of Asparagaceae which is native to tropical regions of West Africa. these plants have long leaves that spread easily with its creeping rhizomes. These mature snake leaves are stiff (grows vertically) may appear in dark green to light gray-green colors ranging from 50-70cms.
It is used as for interior decorating, a birds nest, ornamental plant at home & offices and to improve the quality of sleep by filtering oxygen levels at night times.
For more information about snake plant, read the full-length article.
There are more than 70 species cultivated worldwide for its special property. All of these varieties are evergreen plants in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Most commonly used species names in gardening is Sansevieria trifasciata or mother-in-law’s tongue, Sansevieria desertii, moonshine snake plant, black robusta, sansevieria zeylanica, black gold extreme, dwarf laurentii for their commercial applications and its specifications are given below…..
S. No
Variety
Specification
1
Sansevieria trifasciata
Dark green to gray-green leaves, 6 feet tall
2
Sansevieria concinna
Mature leaves, 2 feet
3
Sansevieria zeylanica
Wide exotic leaves
4
Black gold extreme
Stiff dark green leaves edged with gold color
5
Black robusta
Medium, dark green leaves & silver edges
6
Moonshine snake plant
Dark silvery-green leaves
7
Whitney (Dwarf variety)
Dark green leaves with light green stripes
8
Gold hahnaii
Light green leaves with golden edges
9
Future superb (Dwarf)
Light green leaves, mottled in silver
10
Cylindrica snake plant
Cylindrical shaped leaves
11
Sansevieria angustiflora
Long-light green leaves
12
Sansevieria subspicata
Broad oval-shaped leaves with yellow edges
13
Sansevieria Deserti
Very long thick leaves in light green color
14
Sansevieria Longiflora
Light green leaves with white spots
How to Grow Snake Plant Indoors?
Snake plants are the best houseplants for beginners and for displaying that thrives in bright sunlight. Given below are some of the factors that are responsible for the growth of snake plant either in pots or landscape method.….
Choose a right pot and soil to grow snake plant.
Provide water and sunlight to the plants in require amounts.
Watch out for your plants in the garden that are suffering from nutrient deficiency, pests, and diseases problem.
If so, use organic fertilizers for the plants to deter pests & diseases and to improve the plant health.
Choose a Pot
Choose the desired pot of size 6 inches both width and depth to grow snake plant starting from seeds. If necessary use a clay or ceramic pot that has holes at the bottom for proper drainage. Before sowing the seeds in pots wash them with warm running water to speed up the germination process. After all allow it to dry for some time.
Soil Requirements
Though these plants are not worried about the type of soil, use a good houseplant potting mix, cactus mix or red soil. You can also prefer coco peat, construction soil or clay to grow snake plants at home indoors. Optimum soil pH conditions to thrive snake plant quickly is 5.5 -7.5.
Watering Snake Plants
Watering the plant thoroughly for every couple of days and increase the amount of water supply when the plant matures. Water along the sides of the plant to keep the soil moist and less in the winter season. When the plant matures it reaches a height of 2-3 feet tall for dwarf varieties and flowers bloom in the summer season.
Sunlight
Snake plant prefers full sunlight to thrive quickly in warm climatic conditions. Make sure the plant receives light for a minimum of 6-8 hours a day. To maintain an optimum temperature of 65-80F when planted indoors. The plant will not survive if the temperature is below 41 F.
Nutrient Deficiency
Element
Symptom
Nitrogen
Slow growth, pale yellow leaves
Phosphorus
Reduces leaf growth, leaves turn blue color
Potassium
Interveinal chlorosis
Magnesium
Reduces plant height, chlorotic leaves
Pests & Diseases
Pests
Spider mite, aphids, thrips, scales, whitefly, fruit fly
Snake plant requires better-balanced fertilizers to ensure fast growth and to bloom flowers. Fertilizers such as N-P-K (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) are applied on plants in the ratio of 7-4-10 in the spring season for root establishment. You can also add organic matter such compost, manure or mulch to the soil.
How to Propagate Snake plant?
Growing Snake Plant From Leaf Cuttings
To propagate snake plant from cuttings buy a baby plant variety from online stores or cut the leaf end at the bottom of the plant. It is easy to root snake plant in water as just need stem cuttings and a jar of water to develop plants. Here is a simple procedure that illustrates the propagation of snake plant from cuttings…..
Take snake plant cutting that has healthy leaves and places them in a jar of water.
Place the container in indirect sunlight for a minimum of 8 hours a day.
Change the water in the jar for every couple of days.
Within 2 weeks root develops and you can place it in a pot containing moist rich soil that helps to purify the air.
Growing Snake Plant From Rhizomes
The other method to propagate snake plant is from rhizomes. A rhizome is usually a plant stem usually found underground by sending shoots and roots vertically from its nodes. To grow snake plant from rhizomes, simply cut them very close to the plant and leave if for 2-3 days before you plant it in the garden. Use a sharp knife, scissors or shears to prune the rhizomes properly. Sometimes the rhizomes may have roots that have already formed and starting to bulge out sometimes.
Growing Snake Plant From Division method
Dividing snake plant is quite difficult and need a lot of care to prune the sansevieria leaves. for this, you make use of pruners, knife and a clean towel. The number of baby plants you get may depend on the size of 1 that you are dividing to establish a new snake plant.
How to Care for a Snake Plant?
Snake plant care is simple but requires a lot of patience to handle them. The plants may not grow properly if you have not planted in right growing conditions. Here are some useful tips to care for your air-purifying snake plant at home indoors and outdoors…
Pruning is not necessary in case of snake plant care.
Fertilize the sansevieria plants once in spring with organic matter.
You can transplant it to outdoors when the plant is too big for a pot.
If the plants get dusty wipe the leaves of using a wet cloth to remove stains.
Adding mulch to the soil improves soil fertility and maintains moistures levels.
Repotting snake plant in spring season only when it starts breaking the pot with its roots.
If necessary turn the pot about quarter weekly for even exposure to sunlight to the snake plants.
Is Sansevieria a snake plant?
Sansevieria is a species of flowering plant in the family of Asparagaceae that is native to tropical regions. It has creeping rhizomes above ground with stiff leaves in dark green to light gray-green colors. The plant can grow up to a height of (6 feet depending on variety) at outdoors in warm climates and indoors in a cool climate.
Why is it called Mother in law’s tongue?
Snake plant is commonly called “Mother in laws tongue” or “Saint Georges sword” because of the shape and sharp margins of its leaves. The plant is often called by the name “Vipers bowstring hemp” for one of its plant fiber source used for making bowstrings.
What happens to snake gourd plant at night times?
The plant usually emits oxygen at night times to promote a better sleep. During daytime, it performs photosynthesis process i.e. it may take in carbon dioxide & emit oxygen. It also purifies the toxins in the air that are dangerous at night times.
Do snake plants need full sun?
Snake plants cannot tolerate frost conditions when planted outdoors. If planted as annuals make sure the plant is not affected by frost conditions. These plants generally prefer full sunlight and can also grow in partial to full shade.
Do snake plants produce flowers?
Yes, they produce flowers rarely (take a time of years- decades). They grow on a very long stalk and is covered by flower buds. Snake plant flowers appear in white or cream color and look like a lily when fully open. Flowers have the strong pleasant scent that attracts pests.
What are the good snake plant companions?
When prefer to grow snake plant outdoors or landscape method, you can complement snake plant with red aglaonema, fern, calathea and some other houseplants. These plants help to improve the growth of snake plant by providing essential nutrients to the plants and also by deterring pests problem.
How often do you water snake plant?
Water sansevieria plant carefully and in sufficient amounts. Also, make sure the soil is completely dry before you water the plant again. Watersnake plants for every 2-4 weeks depending on your climatic conditions (light and humidity). Do not overwater the plant as it results in the plant to root rot and may die sometimes.
Is snake plant poisonous to your pets?
Keep your pets especially dogs and cats away from the snake plant as it contains a harmful compound called saponins that are toxic (poisonous) and lead to intestinal problems if consumed.
What are the medicinal uses of snake plant?
Snake plant benefits are in numerous. It is a low-maintenance plant that is mostly used to purify the air in the bedroom. It also contains antioxidants that help to protect people from causing eye irritation, respiratory problems, and headache.
Snake Plant Benefits
Snake plant is listed as one of the top 10 air-purifying plants that you can grow easily at home indoors. It helps to sleep better by improving the quality of air in your bedroom. These are hardy, low-maintenance plants, require minimal care (neglected for weeks) to handle Sansevierias and converts harmful substances to harmless.
According to the survey conducted by the NASA Clean Air Study; suggests 15 pollutant absorber plants, out of which snake plant removes 87% of harmful toxins such as Benzene, Xylene & Trichloroethylene present in the air for every 24 hours and neutralizes the effects of sick building syndrome.
Here we shared some possible benefits of snake plants.
Improves the quality of sleep
Generally, plant perform photosynthesis process i.e. Plants take in carbon dioxide and emits oxygen during day times and the process is Reverse at night times. Whereas snake plants take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen at night time, which is responsible for a better sleep.
Snake plant extracts
Nowadays with the increase in the demand for eco paper bags, a new alternative way of producing eco-friendly bags is found using the extraction of fiber from the snake plants. To obtain the snake plant fiber, soak snake plant leaves in water for 3 weeks, rinse and then dried. The fibers obtained from the snake plant are smooth, creamy white and used in the textile industry.
Apart from these fibers is also used for the interior decorating, surgical operations so as to degrade easily within the body. The snake plant would create more job locally when we make use of a fiber.
Snake plant juice
The leaves of snake plant are used to cure shingles and the juice extracted from the snake leaves is dropped into the ear as a treatment for an earache, pharyngitis (a sore throat)and hoarseness (abnormal voice change).
Snake plant leaves also have CAM-Crassulacean acid metabolism that releases oxygen at night times fights against the sick building syndrome.
Snake plant as air purifier
According to the United States EPA-Environmental Protection Agency, Air inside the home is 5 times more polluted than the outside air. To purify the air in your room, place 6-8 small snake plants per person or a big plant over 100 square feet. It freshens the air by removing 107 harmful air pollutants present in the air such as carbon monoxide, chloroform, benzene, formaldehyde and helps you to stay healthy.
Fight against allergies
Snake plant usually absorbs toxins and releases oxygen into the atmosphere. It means the plant releases moistures into the air by lessening the airborne allergens. If a person is suffering from allergies; he should find such a friendly, natural and healthy snake plant so as to stay free from allergies and stronger throughout his life.
For diabetics
Studies say that snake plant leaves are good for diabetic patients. When they consume leaf (decoction) there is a decrease in the blood glucose levels and an increase of granular density in the pancreatic beta-cells. The powerful antioxidants in snake plant also help to prevent the formation of tumor cells or cancers in humans.
Callosite of fingers & toes
Snake plant leaves is used in the formulation of ointments to treat callosities (rough skin) of finger and toes. Increasing the concentration levels does not cause irritations and may reduce the recovery time. It also protects people from causing eye irritation, headaches and respiratory symptoms.
Snake plant as mosquito repellent
Planting snake plant is a wonderful natural method that will keep you safe from mosquitoes and other insect bites.
Snake plant contains a chemical compound called Saponins (mildly toxic nature) repels mosquitoes thereby making as a mosquito repellent. It also deters your loving dogs, cats with its smell and spreads fresh air in your home or apartment.
Start growing these wonderful air-purifying snake plants in pots that monitors your health. If you have amazing ideas about growing snake plant, please share your experience with us in the comment section given below.
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