Easy Trick of Snake Plant Care and Propagation

Snake plant or better known as Mother in law tounge is a timeless ornamental plant. Until now, this plant still dominates the market. How to care for Mother in law tounge is not complicated which mean its low maintenance. Mother in law tounge is one type of plant that is multifunctional. Apart from being a natural decorative element, this plant also provides a myriad of health benefits.

Not only that, according to feng shui that snake plant can bring good luck to your home! If you decide to plant them at home, this is how to care of them:

• Make sure the plants get enough sunlight

If you take care of it indoors, make sure to put them outside to get sunlight once in 2 days. however, don’t let them in direct sunlight too long or else the leaves will burn . Another option, you can place the Mother in law tounge about 10 inches from the window of the room. So that he can get sunlight without being exposed directly.

• Water the snake plant sufficiently

Snake plant or sanseiviera is a plant that is still included to seculen plant class.Therefore it does not need a lot of water and is able to withstand in hot areas well. Just do watering twice a week.

Watering too much will actually make these plants rot quickly, especially for plants that are cared for indoors. Remember, make sure the soil is completely dry before you water it again. Also don’t let waterlog in the center of the leaves as this can cause the leaves to become mushy, wilted, and even rot. For further details of how to water snake plant, you can read here.

• Avoid Temperature That Is Too Low

The snake plant actually has a high adaptability in any temperatures. But these plants can not tolerate extremely low temperatures. If your home is in a highland, make sure the plants are in a warm room at night before the temperature drops too low.

• Use a Growing Media that Absorbs Water Quickly

The main problem that often occurs and can kill this plant is only one, it is rotten roots. Root rot is usually caused by soil conditions that are too wet, so that the roots are submerged in water for too long. Therefore, you should use porous growing media such as roasted husks, or ferns. If you still want to use the soil, make sure the planting medium is equipped with a good drainage system. To prevent the plant roots from rotting.

• Use Worm Compost or Slow Release Fertilizer

 You don’t need to frequently fertilize the snake plant at home. Instead, use worm compost to make it grow more fertile. You can also use a slow release fertilizer instead of organic food. So that the plant will not wither due to the excess nutrients.

• Use an Anti Pest Spray

The next way to care for snake plant is having an anti-pest spray to treat diseases that may arise.

This ornamental plant is actually very resistant to pests and weeds.However, under some conditions, pests and weeds have the potential to cause plants to get mealybugs or mites and spiders. When this happens, you have to deal with it immediately by using anti pest spray.

• Good Air Circulation

Good air circulation will help your plants grow well and looks healthy. Although Mother in law tounge can be placed in a room with dry air circulation or in a room where the humidity tends to be much higher . It would be better if you make sure the room has good ventilation paths. Take a note that room is too humid is not good for an ornamental plant.

Here’s how to propagate snake plants with leaves cutting:

• Select mature leaves

Selection of mature and healthy leaves is very important. So the growth will maximal, because mature leaves will reduce the risk of rotting quickly so that roots will grow quickly. The larger the leaf size, the more tillers will be produced.

• Cutting leaves

Choose the leaves of snake plant to cutted by using a sharp and clean knife or cutter. This is to avoid contamination. So that the leaves do not rot. Cut them around 5cm x 5cm.

• Plant the leaf slices on the planting medium

After that, prepare the husk charcoal media on the tray. The thickness of the media is 5 cm, then moisten the soil with water, so that the leaf slices do not rot easily. It needs to be sprayed with a fungicide with the dosage according to the product rules for the type of fungicide used.

Then after being sprayed, the leaf slices are dried to grow roots quickly, Put the slices of Mother in law tounge leaves on the prepared mixsoil, keep moisture the soil. When the soil get dries, spray them regulerly with water. In addition, to keep humidity stable, you can cover it with plastic or put it in a plastic house.

• Leaf cuttings are planted individually

Usually after 3 weeks later, senseviera roots have started to grow. The leaves of the Sansevieria plant were transplanted into individual pots. With mixsoil of husk charcoal, compost and poor sand with a composition of 1: 1: 2.

It is recommended to use a pot size of 7-10cm of diameters. Keep the soilmixture not dry and also not too wet. Keep humidity stable by being covered by plastic or placed in a green house.

Put them in the shade area. Or give the green house a paranet, so that the incoming sunlightt is reduced. Leaf cuttings are ready for sale after 5-6 months of age. The success rate of the leaf cutting system in Sansevieria plants depends on the selection of leaves for the cutting and the required moisture stability.

Failure is usually due to rotting of the leaf slices. This can be caused by the leaf slices that are too small (<3 cm), the humidity is too high, when the counting get contamination by bacterial and the soil is too wet.