If you are looking for some tips on how to take care of your snake plant then we have written an article that will be able to solve your query. The snake plant is a popular choice because it is easy to grow. It can flourish in small spaces and doesn’t need any special care.
The snake plant is one of the best air-purifying plants in the world. It cleans our indoor air from pollutants and helps us feel better. In this article, I will discuss how you can take care of your snake plants and get them to thrive under any indoor condition.
The snake plant is one of the most forgiving house plants you can have. However, like all others, it does require attention, care, and proper usage. Here are just some snake plant care tips and tricks on how to take care of your snake plant, whether it be indoors or outdoors.
1. Understand Watering Requirements of Snake Plant
Although the snake plant is a low-maintenance plant, it still requires some amount of care to keep it healthy. One of the important aspects of caring about snake plants is knowing about their wagering requirements.
Snake plants are succulents by nature, and they thrive in dry conditions. So, overwatering is the most common mistake while watering snake plants. Snake plants prefer not to be watered too much. It’s better to use less water than more. The best advice is to wait until the soil dries out completely before watering again.
2. Take care of Soil For Snake Plant
Snake plants prefer very well-drained soil with a high sand content, which allows excess water to drain away from their roots quickly. Outside, snake plants grow best in sandy soil that is not compacted. Indoor snake plants do well in commercial potting mixes formulated for cacti and succulents or African violets because these mixes drain well and hold moisture without becoming soggy.
If you make your own potting mix for snake plants, use 1 part sand and 2 parts peat moss or compost to ensure good drainage and aeration around their roots. The University of California suggests adding gravel or charcoal to cactus potting mixes to help them drain faster
3. Light and temperature for snake plants
Medium to bright indirect light is best for snake plants. They can also tolerate low light, but it can cause etiolation, which is when the stems stretch out. If your snake plant is growing tall and leggy, it’s probably not receiving enough light.
Snake plants like warm temperatures. They do well in rooms that maintain a temperature between 60-85°F (15-29°C), but they can tolerate temperatures as low as 40°F (4°C).
In tropical areas, it doesn’t need much water because it can survive drought conditions by storing water in its leaves.
4. Fertilizing snake plants
Snake plants grow during the warmer months of the year. This is when you should fertilize them. Don’t fertilize at all during the fall and winter; this will only result in leggy growth that is weak and floppy.
Fertilizing snake plants is really easy. Any general-purpose houseplant fertilizer will work fine and you can fertilize every few weeks throughout the growing season.
You don’t need to use any special formula or concoction if you don’t want to — those are only recommended for plants that have special needs or are difficult to grow. Snake plants are neither of these things, so simple is best.
Fertilize infrequently, during spring and summer only. A time-release fertilizer applied at the beginning of the season is best.
5. Humidity Requirement for Snake Plant
Humidity isn’t important to the snake plant. You can place it where humidity is low or high. If you don’t have a humidifier, though, make sure that the room you keep it in receives some humidity.
During the winter months, when the air is drier than normal, a humidifier might be necessary to keep your snake plant looking its best.
If you find your plant is looking a little worse for wear, or if the edges of its leaves are browning, try misting it with room-temperature water.
Allowing the soil to completely dry out between waterings is a good rule of thumb for snake plant care; overwatering is much more common than underwatering.
6. Repotting, Transferring a snake plant to a new pot
When repotting a snake plant, take special care not to damage the roots, which are fragile. When your snake plant has outgrown its pot, it’s time to transfer it to a new one.
When you do this, you will also want to check the health of your snake plant, as it may have become root-bound.
Take a look at the plant’s roots, and if they are growing in circles, cut them before you repot. This is an important step, as tightly wound roots can become root-bound and destroy the plant.
Repotting a Snake Plant
Choose a container that is only 2 inches larger in diameter than the original pot. The new container should also have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain away from the snake plant’s roots.
Fill the bottom of the new container with 1 inch of gravel or stones to help with proper drainage and add soil until it is about 3 inches from the top of the container.
Remove the snake plant carefully from its old container, making sure not to disturb its fragile roots. Then place it gently into the new container and fill any gaps around its roots with soil. Water until the soil is moist and keep your snake plant in a well-lit room where temperatures range from 70-75°F (21-23°C).
7. Pruning, Propagation, and Division
Pruning:
When the snake plant begins to look leggy, prune back the leaves. Use sharp scissors or shears to cut the stalk just above another leaf node. The leaf node is where the stalk meets the leaf. A new stalk will grow from this point.
The new stalk will not be as tall as the one you pruned, so it will take longer for it to reach its maximum height. If you want an even shorter snake plant, trim off more of the stalk at this point.
Propagation:
You can grow new snake plants from pieces of the old ones. To do this, cut off a leaf that has roots on it with a sharp knife. Put the leaf in a pot with good soil, and make sure to water it once a week.
Division:
You can also split your snake plant into two different plants by cutting it in half with a knife and putting each half in its own pot with good soil. Make sure to water both halves once a week after you’ve divided them up!
Snake plant getting yellow- How to Prevent it
The only issue I have ever had with my snake plant is that the leaf edges began to turn brown. This is often due to too much watering or insufficient humidity. For example, if you have your snake plant near a cold window during the winter months, or under an air conditioner vent during the summer months, dry air will cause the leaf edges to dry out and turn brown.
To prevent this from happening, make sure you provide your plant with enough humidity. During the winter months when heating is used indoors, I place my snake plant on a tray of pebbles. When I water my snake plant once every month or two, I fill the tray with water until it reaches just below the bottom of the pot (you never want your pot sitting in water). This allows for evaporation from the pebbles which will increase the humidity around the leaves.
Conclusion
Well, this has been an informational article about how to care for a snake plant. I hope all the information in this article will allow you to care for and keep your happy snake plant healthy for a long time. In case you want more information or want to know about other plants, stay tuned as we will post another one on that.
Just want to reiterate that important point of watering in this concluding section by saying that if you even wonder how to water a snake plant, I would just say whenever the soil feels dry. The soil shouldn’t be completely dried out before watering again, but at the same time, you don’t want to keep it constantly moist, or else your plant will rot! As long as you get that balance right and give your plant some love and attention, it should do well.