Is snake plant a succulent?

There are millions and millions different of plants on our beloved Earth. There are those who need more water and good soil, the others can live in a more harsh environment and can survive even just a little bit of water like Cactus in the desert. For those who love green but have little time to water the plant, this will be a good idea to put around your house.

The one I mentioned before is called the Succulent plant, the type of plant that normally has thicker stems or leaves to stock the water, as a way to survive in harsh conditions, most especially in places with rare water sources and rain.

Among all of the succulent plants that you can find, there is one that becomes the topic of this article – The Snake plant. It’s a unique plant and we’ll find out why.

About Snake Plants

The snake plant, or Sansevieria Trifasciata, is a succulent plant that can live in a harsh environment, thanks to the thick leaves that grow atop the surface. Snake Plant has many names like Mother-in-law’s Tongue Viper’s Bowstring Hemp or Saint George’s Sword due to its Sword-shaped leaves.

Like the other succulents, Snake Plants are considered easy to take care of. It doesn’t require water like Mint Plants, has a high survival rate even in bad soil, and doesn’t require direct sunlight or bright light to grow, Makes it a perfect choice for indoor plants.

Although it’s relatively easy to take care of a Snake Plant, you definitely need to make sure it can grow well and won’t invade another area because Snake Plant can spread easily.

How to Plant Snake Plants

Because of its fast growth, planting in a pot would be a better way to make sure it won’t spread and invade other plants’ soil. There are a few steps that you can take in planting Saint George’s Sword Plant:

• Choose your pot wisely. It’s better to use a clay pot with a hole on the bottom for the water to escape. Make sure the hole isn’t too small or too big, just enough 🙂
• Make sure the soil that is used is something suitable for plants like Cactus or snake plants succulents. You can mix the soil by yourself to make sure it has the nutrients that the plant will need to grow.
• Let’s say you are planning to move Snake Plants to another pot, make sure you don’t bury it too deep or too shallow. Or just remember the previous depth, and redo it again in a new pot.

Choosing a Location in the Home

Hey, we have done with it, and now our Snake Plants live happily in a pot. But there are things that you need to understand about Snake Plants. That is including how do we positioning the plant to make sure they are growing well. Here are the tips to choose the right location for your Snake Plant:

• The Snake Plants prefer something that doesn’t really bright or something that really dark. Although it will survive if you put it in direct sunlight or a dark place, it’s better to have an indirect light
• Since Snake Plant basically tropical plants, a warm place becomes their favorite spot. That being said, Snake plants require a place with a temperature between 65°F to 85°F (18°C – 27°C). This is to make sure our Snake Plants can grow splendidly without having any issues. Also, make sure the temperature drops below 50°F (10°C).
• While we know that the Snake Plant is quite strong against a harsh environment, it might be quite sensitive to a sudden temperature change. With that in mind, make sure to move the plant directly from a low-light place to direct light. This will result in the plant getting stressed out (yap, the plant can feel that also). You can do it gradually and slowly in brighter light. Also, make sure the Snake Plants get more water in a warmer place.

How to Care for Snake Plants

alright! Now we know how to plant the plan and take care of the light, now we move into knowing how to take care of them. It’s important to make sure the St. George’s Sword plant grows a healthy leaf and will company you longer and longer. Let’s begin with the first step:

Watering Snake Plants

A few rules when you are having Snake Plants in your beloved home and you definitely need to understand this because… well, water is one of the most important elements for the plant.

• One of the ways to make sure your Snake Plants stay alive is to water them frequently. However, since the succulent plant has a different method than the other, the way to water them is also different. You need to understand that Snake Plants don’t require too much water so we don’t need to do watering frequently.
• But we need to understand when to water the plant and there are rules that we need to understand to make sure the Snake Plant lives longer and prospers. To know when to water, we can check the soil condition by sticking our fingers and feeling whether it’s dry enough or still moist which is a sign that the plant doesn’t need to be watered yet. If the soil is dry, watering a bit is fine but not until it’s soggy.
• the temperature and weather are one of the factors that influence the soil condition, which also we need to understand. In the spring or summer or when the temperature reaches 65°F to 85°F (18°C – 27°C), the plant can be watered and when it’s getting warmer, the amount of water can be gradually increased. But, if winter comes, please don’t let the plan stays in the open window.

Caring for Snake Plants

To take care of the Snake Plants, there are a few things that you need to understand:

• Snake Plants consist of long and wide leaves that look like a sword which can often collect dust. In this case, you can always wipe the dust off frequently to make sure the plant stays clean.
• Spring is a good time for Snake Plants since it’s warmer weather. During this time, sometimes the Snake Plants can grow quickly. When you notice there are baby snake plants that grow, you can divide and place them in a well-drained pot and they can grow as quickly as the mother plant.
• Snake Plant isn’t just about green leaves that are easy to take care of, but you know it also can bloom flowers? and it is so gorgeous as well. If you take care of the plant really well, the flower will bloom gloriously and will make the interior beautiful.

Fertilizing

Snake plants or Saint George’s Sword plants are one of the strongest flora and can live even in the harshest soil, despite their ability to purify the surrounding air. Therefore, fertilizing isn’t frequently needed in order for it to grow. To make sure the Snake Plant is healthy, we can do it at least twice a month when the temperature is ideal.

Cleaning

Snake Plant is famous for its long and wide leaves, at the same time, it’s also the favorite place where dust and other particles accumulate. There are reasons why you need to clean the leaves frequently. One of the reasons is to make sure the plant stays beautiful, and the other is to make sure there’s nothing that blocks the pores or stomata that is critical for photosynthesis. To clean it, simply use water and a clean cloth to wipe the snake plant’s leaves. Dish soap can also be used but water would be the best option.

Repotting

There are a few reasons why you need to report your snake plants; first, the mother plant has baby snake plants and it needs to move into a new home to avoid overgrowing, and second is when your potted snake plants can’t grow bigger and you need to move it to a bigger pot. There are some other reasons also like the pot is broken and you need to find a new place or… the pot just don’t look good with the decoration.

Pests and problems

even though we know how strong Snake Plants are, there are always problems and of course… pests. Some of the most common problems that can infect our Snake Plants are root rot, mealybugs, spider mites, southern blight, and red leaf spots. To take care of these pests, we need to understand the problem first. If your Snake Plants got rotten roots, the best way would be to cut the infected roots, change the soil and repot the plants. If the problem involves pests like Spider Mites or Mealybugs, we can simply rub and clean it with warm water or use pesticide.

Another problem that is important to mention is when the plant becomes unhealthy. This normally shows when the leaves began to dry one by one. Although it can be caused by root rot, sometimes it happens when we don’t water the plant at the right time.

Removing dead or damaged foliage

There are cases in which the leaves can rot due to aging or being infected by viruses. If it’s happened, there are techniques to remove the dead or damaged foliage. before we begin the action, let’s prepare a thin blade. While we do leaf cuttings the dead foliage, make sure to not cut the adjacent plants. For the infected leaves, cut the areas that you think are infected and be careful so the infection won’t spread.

Frequently asked questions on snake plants.

Is a Snake Plant a Succulent or a Cactus?

In general, Cactuses are succulent plants that can live in a harsher environment with fewer water sources. On the other hand, Snake Plants are also succulent plants but it’s not considered cactus plants.

The Differences Between Succulents and Cactus Plants

That being said, there is quite a difference between succulents and cacti. The most important is the appearance of both of them. Cactus, normally have only a few leaves and some of them have thorns to protect themselves from predators. On the other hand, succulent mostly has thick leaves that grow on the main stem. Another difference can be seen in the place they store the water – Cactuses store their water supply in their stem while the succulent plants store it in the leaves. That’s why it has thicker leaves with stem visible.

How Do You Identify Snake Plants?

identifying snake plants is really easy. its appearance is green leaves that look like a sword. hence the other name – the St. George Sword’s Plant. has the color green with horizontal white stripes. Some of the plants like Black Gold Extreme have a yellow outline. the Snake Plants only have their leaves grown from the ground.

Types of Snake Plant

in a world of succulents, the Snake Plants themselves have at least 35 different types of varieties in their species. the most cultivated plants are Sansevieria trifasciata or ‘Mother-in-law’s Tongue’ which has a color with a yellow outline that can grow as tall as 90cm (3 feet). The Other species include the Twist, Golden Hahnii, Black Gold, Futura Robusta, Cylindrica which grows in tubular green leaves and so many more.

What is a Succulent Plant?

Succulent plants are the type of plants that can grow in a harsh environment with a low water source. they tend to have some of their parts thicker than the other plants to store water. That being said, the characteristic of a succulent plant is having thicker leaves and its stem is hardly visible.

How Big Do Snake Plants Get?

It depends on which one you had at home basically, but Snake Plants can grow as tall as 7 to 8 feet (213cm – 243cm).

Are Snake Plants Tropical?

Snake plants are indeed tropical plants and love to grow in warm temperatures. its favorite weather would be summer and spring since the air can reach 65°F to 85°F (18°C – 27°C). However, the plant will need extra care when the weather goes to winter and the temperature can reach below tolerance.