What Affect the Snake Plant Growth Rate

You may be a little surprised to find your snake plant, not showing a new growth during dormancy. Don’t worry! That’s no problem as the growth rate of this plant will vary. In fact, the snake plant will rapidly grow during the growing season which is from spring to summer.

For a general clue, this plant tends to grow slowly in moderate or indoor light. Otherwise, if you place it in a good amount of sunlight, your way will cause your snake plant to grow rapidly. Well, the final width and height cannot be separated from what the variety is.

Thankfully, this post will inform you of the growth rate of snake plants that you want to know in order to take care of your snake plant better. So, let’s see our little research below!

Growth Rate

Generally, snake plant is considered as a slow-growing plant. This plant will grow around 2-3 new leaves on average in a growing season. Through the fall and winter, this plant will remain inactive.

Keep in mind that the snake plant’s growth rate will vary depending on the varieties, humidity, the intensity of light, temperature and other factors. Your snake plants are said to grow well if they show rapid growth and get good foliage. However, to get them growing well, you should give them a bit of nurturing and care.

Even though the snake plant requires a low-maintenance plant, but if you really want to see them growing well and having enough leaves, of course, you also have to look out for your plant well.

You may already know that the snake plant’s size varies in various factors, however, the plant varieties is the most important factor which will determine the size of your snake plant. Some snake plant varieties such as S. trifaciata laurentii can really grow up to 5 feet in length. Meanwhile, the average length will be 2-3 feet. On the other side, this snake plant variety never grows over a foot in length.

Here’s a list of snake plant size depending on the varieties:

Plant Species	Average Length
S. trifaciata laurentii	2-3 feet
S. trifaciata	2-3 feet
S. cylindrica	5-7 feet
S.trifaciata hanhii	6-8 inches

How Large Do the Snake Plants Grow?

Well, how large the snake plant grows is also depending on the varieties. When referring to the snake plant, the S. trifaciata laurentii is the most popular variety where it has variegated foliage with a center of ‘snakeskin’ green and also yellow stripes up both sides.

Its leaves tend to grow straight up into the air. Though it will not flower frequently, this plant probably produces a fast-growing white, stalk of small and a bunch of sweet-smelling flowers. This variety tends to grow to around 1-2 feet, with some growing in excess of 3 feet which depend on the conditions. There are also reports of it growing up around 5 feet.

Some Factors Which Affect the Snake Plant’s Growth Rate

Sure, there are a bunch of factors which affect the growth rate of your snake plant. Here are they:

Soil

It’s undeniable that soil is the most important factor which really helps a plant to successfully grow as it will absorb all the minerals and the nutrients from the soil. In this case, the type of potting soil for your snake plant’s growth actually plays a crucial role.

Make sure your potting soil is well-draining to avoid your soil overwatering. Aside from well-draining potting soil, another recommended potting soil for your snake plant is to take cactus soil in the same ratio. You can also add some compost to the mixture.

The cactus soil and potting soil must be in the ratio of 1:1. Then, the compost must be around 25% of the soil. You may already know that compost will help your plant in all the micronutrient and macronutrient factors.

Adaptability

Just like most plants, your snake plant also needs some time to adjust to the environment. In this case, if you purchased this plant, you should give them some time to adjust to the new environment.

That’s because the plant may encounter some shocks as the packaging, shipping and also repotting. What you should do is to let your plant settle by not fertilizing it for at least a week.

Overfertilization

There are two main issues that your snake plant encounters, they are over fertilization and overwatering. So, make sure to not feed them too much fertilizer. In fact, a few snake plant fans will fertilize this plant just once per year and keep on doing it in the next year.

During dormant periods, please don’t fertilize them. You can give them a weak dose of a reasonable 10:10: 10 or 20:20:20 fertilization. Avoid fertilizing them for a month after the excess fertilizer is flushed out.

Pruning

Just like some plants, your snake plant also needs pruning to grow bushier. However, pruning will help them lose the unrequired leaves and can allow them to grow as fast as possible. Aside from that, a  good pruning will make your snake plant get the right shape and size.

Well, if you’ve never pruned your snake plant, however, it may be a main cause why your plant gets stunted growth. However, a bit pruning can help your plant to get bushier and grow healthy.

Temperature and Humidity

The snake plant is resistant to the drought condition and can grow well in low light areas and low bright lighting conditions. However, you should notice the consequences for both situations where if your plant is grown under bright light, you should water it more as the soil will go dry sooner.

Otherwise, your snake plants will grow well in the low light area, but their foliage probably will not be bushy and may not be that green. Well, your snake plant is very suitable for room temperature with indirect bright light.

Read also: Snake plant for sale online

Pot’s Size

The pot’s size is also a vital thing in the growth of a snake plant. If a pot is small, of course your plant will become root-bound and halt the plant’s growth at a certain point. For a general clue, if you want your plant 1 foot in height, at least you will need a 2-gallon pot. Then, if your plant is 2 feet in height, you should use a three-gallon pot and so on.

Okay, those are some factors which will affect the growth rate of your snake plant. Make sure to always look out those factors above.