Sansevieria, also known as the "snake plant", is a hardy plant with long, broad leaves. Thanks to its adaptability it is often used as a home plant. The broad leaves absorb toxins and carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, helping to purify the room air. Even though they are hardy plants, they still need care to stay healthy. If you choose a healthy specimen, make sure the environmental conditions are right and you keep it right, your sansevieria will have a long life.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Repot the Plant
Step 1. Notice if the leaves are dark green to make sure the sansevieria is healthy
Snake plants with dark leaves are healthy and well fed. If, on the other hand, the leaves have a yellowish color at the outer edge, or are pale and drooping, the plant is dying. Do not repot a plant that is not healthy, so that the specimen you choose can settle in the new home and survive the move.
A pale sansevieria is not condemned to certain death. The right care and a little water might be enough to bring it back to life
Step 2. Purchase a pot of porous material
Sansevieria rots very easily, especially if it stays too long in the water. Choose a pot with good drainage, such as one made of earthenware or some other porous material, so your plant doesn't risk rotting.
Porous materials include terracotta, clay, wood, cellulose pulp, and other natural substances that let moisture through
Advise:
if you plan to keep your snake plant outdoors, choose a darker pot that retains heat, especially if you live in an area where the temperature often drops below freezing.
Step 3. Choose a soil with good drainage
Snake plants don't require a lot of water, and their roots can even be damaged if they stay in moist soil for too long. To ensure good drainage and healthy root growth, choose a soil with excellent drainage or a mix that does not contain soil. Place the sansevieria in the potting soil and cover it enough to hold it firmly in the pot.
- At garden stores, you can find many types of soil designed to reduce moisture and improve drainage. Check the information on the packaging of the material.
- Use an earth-free material such as vermiculite, peat, or perlite.
Step 4. Take the sansevieria at the base of the leaves and pull it out of the pot it is in
When you're ready to repot the plant, grab it firmly at the base of the leaves, where they make contact with the ground. Gently slide the plant out of the pot.
- Do not detach the earth from the roots.
- Be careful not to pull or tear the plant, or you could separate the leaves from the roots and kill it.
Step 5. Place the plant in the new pot and cover the roots with soil
Add enough to support the plant and keep it straight. Add more if the sansevieria tilts to one side or is unstable.
- Keep the plant upright as you add soil to the pot.
- Compact the soil with your hands to give the plant more support.
Method 2 of 3: Creating the Right Environment
Step 1. Expose the sansevieria to indirect sunlight
These plants are hardy, strong and can survive in full light and very low light conditions, but they grow best in indirect light; that is why they are ideal plants for the home.
- You can expose the plant to indirect sunlight by placing it near an east-facing window or in a room where it does not receive direct sunlight from a window.
- Snake plants prefer natural light, so don't place them in a windowless room.
Step 2. Keep the temperature between 13 and 29 ° C
Sansevieria prefers heat but if the environment exceeds 29 ° C it becomes dangerous for the plant, which will begin to wither. In addition, snake plants suffer from the cold. If the temperature drops below 10 ° C, the roots of the plant can die.
Changes in temperature usually do not affect the plant as long as it stays within the range it prefers
Advise:
frosts are particularly harmful for sansevieria. If you want to keep it outside, be sure to bring it indoors before the hardest frosts!
Step 3. Do not put the sansevieria within the reach of babies and pets
Snake plants are only mildly toxic, but they can cause pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea if ingested. Pets and babies are those who are most at risk of eating a few leaves. Make sure you put the plant where they can't reach it.
You can keep the plant up high and out of the reach of small children and animals with a shelf or stool
Method 3 of 3: Caring for Sansevieria
Step 1. Water the sansevieria when the soil is dry to 2-3 cm deep
Snake plants need little water, which is one of the reasons why they are so easy to care for. In fact, it is more likely to water the plant too much and risk rotting the roots. In order to be safe, water the sansevieria only when the top layer of the soil is completely dry. Check the condition of the soil by putting a finger in it and assessing if it is wet.
Water enough to saturate the soil, but not enough to create standing pools of water. Excess water should drain away from the pot
Advise:
if you are using a soilless material, water the sansevieria once a week.
Step 2. Add fertilizer once every 15-20 days in summer and spring
Snake plants don't require a lot of fertilizer, but they grow faster if you fertilize them during warm seasons. Use a generic houseplant fertilizer and apply it once or twice a month, or once every two waterings.
Check the dosage and method of application information on the fertilizer package of your choice
Step 3. Turn the pot every week so that all the leaves receive the same exposure to the sun
To make sure the plant grows evenly and that all leaves are adequately exposed to the sun, rotate the pot about 90 degrees. This way the plant will grow straight vertically and won't hang to one side.
The easiest way to remember to do this is to turn the pot every time you water the sansevieria
Step 4. Don't prune the sansevieria
Unlike other houseplants, pruning the snake plant does not stimulate its growth. They grow so slowly that cutting or pruning them will slow their growth as they try to heal from the cut.
If you want to keep your plant at a specific height, cut it rarely to keep it healthy. Pruning it repeatedly will damage it and may cause it to die
Step 5. Watch out for sansevieria pests
Mealybugs and mites are the main enemies of this plant, which they love to eat and infest. When watering it, check for bugs on the leaves.
- You can get rid of mealybugs by bathing them with alcohol.
- Wash the leaves with a cloth dipped in warm water to get rid of the mites.
