The Best Tricks of Snake Plant Maintenance

If this is your first time to have a houseplant namely Snake Plant, you may not be sure how to maintain this plant. You may wonder whether this snake plant needs to be maintained with a lot of effort or not. Here, we have some tricks to maintain your snake plants.

How to Maintain Snake Plant

Snake plants are low-maintenance houseplants. It means that there are not a lot of things that you have to do to take care of this plant. Even you are able to put them indoors or outdoors. You can put this plant indoors because snake plants are tolerant to low light. But, if you want to have a great snake plant with nice green leaves and grow faster, it is better for you to put them in a brighter light area.

Snake plants are also tolerant to water. So, you do not need to water your snake plants often. Let’s say that you forget to water for several days. Well, it is okay because they can save water in the parts of their body.

Below, we have the information that you need about the light, temperature, water, soil, repotting and fertilizer for snake plants.

Light Needed by Snake Plants

Snake plants have the ability to grow in any levels of light levels. However, you surely want to have healthy snake plants with nice green color and hardy leaves. So, if you put your snake plants indoors, it is recommended for you to put them around 10 feet away from a west or south window. By putting them in this location, even though they are indoors, they can still get enough light.

If you put your snake plants outdoors, you have to make sure that you do not put them under direct hot sunlight. If you do that, it will make your snake plants burnt where you will find that their leaf tips are brown.

Also, if you used to put them indoors, and then you want to put them outdoors, make sure that you do it gradually because your snake plants need to adapt to the light. If you used to put your snake plants in a low light and then you put them under the direct hot sunlight, it will make your snake plant get stressed where the leaf tips will be brown.

Watering Needed by Snake Plants

Snake plants are also tolerant to drought. So, if you forget to water them for several days, no problem. Snake plants do not have to be watered frequently. In summer, they can be watered when the soil feels dry about 3 inches deep. So, you can check the soil first, if you find that it feels dry around 3 inches, then it’s time for you to water it. However, if you find that it is wet, don’t water it. Even if you see that there is water on the surface of the soil, it may mean that your snake plants are overwatering. If it happens, you have to throw away the water and put them in an area with brighter light to make it dry faster.

Different from summer, in winter, you need to water your snake plants as needed. You have to water them to keep the leaves firm. Make sure that you do not water often in winter because it can make it overwatering and even root rot.

Soil Needed by Snake Plants

How about soil for planting snake plants? Is there a specific soil to plant snake plants? A commercial potting soil mixed 50:50 with a cactus and succulent mix is recommended to use. It is because this soil is loose and it can drain faster with a lot of air pocket. As a result, it can help prevent overwatering.

Temperature Needed by Snake Plants

Snake plants are plants which are able to be tolerant to a wide range of temperatures at your homes. But, it is important for you to note that you have to keep your snake plants away from cold drafts, heating and air conditioning vents. So, if you decide to put your snake plants indoors, make sure that you do not put them under your air conditioner or area. If you put them outdoors, make sure that you do not put them under direct hot sunlight. And, when winter comes and your snake plants are put outdoors, make sure that you move it indoors to avoid frost. The temperature above 50°F or 10°C is better to put your snake plants in because this temperature is warm.

Fertilizer Needed by Snake Plants

Snake plants are low maintenance plants. So, you do not have to water them often and even they can be tolerant to any level of light. Now, how about fertilizer? Since snake plants are low maintenance plants, you do not need to give them fertilizer often. If you want to feed your snake plants, it is enough for you to give them a dose of any houseplant food twice a year. You can do it once in spring and then once in summer.

Repotting Needed by Snake Plants

The need of every plant to be repotted is different. There are some plants which need to be repotted once a year. There are also plants which need to be repotted once in a year. Then how about snake plants? For snake plants, since the plants are slow growers, you only need to repot them once in 3 to 10 years. If your snake plants are put in a brighter area, then you are able to repot them every 3 to 5 years, but if your snake plants are put in a low light area, repotting them every 5 to 10 years is enough.

So, now, you have known the things that you need to do to take care of your snake plants. We are able to conclude that there are not a lot of things to do to take care of them because snake plants are categorized into a low maintenance houseplant. So, you can enjoy having snake plants without great efforts.