By Turkey Shed Mercantile

Snake Plants (Sansevieria)

Basic Info:

Snake plants are known as one of the most common houseplants. A nickname for these plants you might be familiar with is Mother-In-Law Tongue.

They are known for their resilience and ability to thrive on neglect. People will say they can forget about this plant for months and it looks totally fine. Although it isn’t suggested to forget/underwater them, they will be able to withstand it most of the time. There have been multiple studies suggesting these plants help remove chemicals/clean the air. Snake plants are great gifts for beginner house plant enthusiasts (as long as you don’t give them too much love). They tend to be on the slow growing side so you might need to be patient before you see any new growth popping up.

Care

Tend to do best in bright indirect light settings. For example, in a corner of a room that has some sort of light throughout the day. They can live in low light situations as well easily but just might thrive as much as if in a better light setting. For watering, I tend to check my snake plants around every two-three weeks to avoid overwatering. When I do water them, I water thoroughly. Giving them a good drench then letting them dry out seems to be the way for mine to survive/thrive. One tip I have learned is to water them in the sink or shower to give them a complete rinse off. This helps get rid of dust or anything that might’ve collected on the plant since the last watering. This isn’t something you need to do every time, but I would suggest every few months. Overwatering this plant is, in my opinion, their number one killer. They would rather be underwatered than overwatered. A telltale sign that it can be staying too wet for too long is yellowing or rotting leaves. That isn’t always the culprit but a good percentage of the time. Snake plants will start to feel thin or limp looking if super thirsty.

Snake Plant Varieties

Snake plants come in all sizes and shapes (sometimes). The most common seems to be a taller version that is either a full green one or has yellow stripes. One of my personal favorites is the Moonshine snake plant. It has a lighter colored leaf, close to a lighter/pale green. One of the questions asked typically when purchasing a snake plant is if they are toxic to pets. Yes, sansevieria is considered to be toxic to pets and humans if ingested.