In this article we will look at some most common issues you may face while growing a beautiful succulent called Snake Plant. If you have any more questions related to this plant, do not hesitate to write me. Thank you.
Can snake plant survive a winter outside?
Snake plant is one of the most versatile succulents. You can spot it on all continents except of Antarctica, and people grow it both inside and outside. Since it has minimal requirements on soil quality and can actually thrive in an arid land, people often plant it in front of their houses, on soil that isn’t suitable for gardening, but good enough for the snake plant. The question is though whether this is just a short-term endeavor, or the snake plant can actually survive winter outside. We will try to find the answer on the following lines.
Before we dive into some details, let me give you a quick answer: Whether a snake plant can survive winter outside depends on the severity of the winter. In some countries temperatures never drop below zero in winter, or even below ten degrees. In others you can have minus ten, minus twenty, or even minus 50 degrees Celsius in winter. I believe it is safe saying that generalization makes no sense here, and one cannot say whether a snake plant will survive winter outside, without knowing the climate of the area. I hope I haven’t confused you by now :), so let’s move to the actual numbers, and my personal experiment.
Snake plant can officially tolerate temperature as low as 5 degrees Celsius
Different books and online sources claim that snake plant can tolerate outside temperature as low as five degrees Celsius. I’d say this is a good benchmark, and you can use it to tell whether or not you can keep the snake plant outside in your country. Think about a typical winter in your city. Do the temperatures drop below five degrees? Or even below zero? If they do, you rather take the plant inside or take other precautions to save it.
Having said that, we should realize that temperature on the balcony or even on the ground close to the wall of the house isn’t always the same as the outside temperature they announce in news. It is typically a bit warmer (since laws of physics cannot be broken, and heat of the house emanates into the surrounding areas). The difference can be as little as one or two degrees. In some cases, however, it is enough to pass the threshold, and the plant will survive.
My experiments with mature snake plants in winter
What I learned in long years of succulent growing is that no two plants are alike. A mature snake plant with solid root system and robust leaves will sustain much more than a young plant, a newbie to the outside world. We can compare it to the world of animals (and humans, or human animals, depending on what you believe into). A child can easily die if a parent forgets it in a heated car for half an hour (and such things sadly do happen). On the contrary, adults can go to a sauna heated to 100 degrees Celsius, and they will actually enjoy the experience.
To some extend the same is true with plants, but I wanted to to test the theory myself. Where I currently live the temperature rarely drops below zero degrees in winter. On rare days it can drop to minus one or minus two for a short period in the morning, like hour or two. In my experiment I decided to plant two snake plants outside in spring, one a mature plant of ten years plus in excellent health, and another one a half a year old plant I was just growing up from cuttings. I left them outside all year and observed what happened.
Funny enough we had the winter that was just right for the test--temperatures often dropping below five degrees Celsius, but almost never below zero, and certainly never below minus two. Both snake plants from my test seemed dormant during the winter. When spring came, however, the mature plant came back in full beauty. It didn’t seem affected by the winter at all, even though the temperatures dropped below five degrees Celsius on numerous occasions. The young plant died.
Two plants, same type, same weather, same location. A mature one survived temperatures close to 0 degrees, the young one did not. Even though this was a small-scale experiment, I believe it demonstrate my point that no two plants are alike, and you shouldn’t take any temperature limit for a plant (be it 10, 5, or 0 degrees) as a gospel. Some plants may survive even lower temperatures, and some may die even if the temperature doesn’t drop below the suggested threshold.
Frost is not good for a snake plant, and if it occurs, you should take it inside for winter
With everything I said, I want to make one thing clear: Frost is not good for your snake plant. If you keep it outside in country where temperature in winter drops below zero degrees and stays that way for an entire day for example, the chances are super slim your snake plant will survive it… It just isn’t accustomed to such conditions.
Of course, you can take some remedies. For example, you can cover it with protective foil for plants (the same you may use for your fig trees in winter). In my experience though these remedies are sort of hit-and-miss, and at the end of the day if you live in an area where winters tend to be rough, you never know how low will the temperature eventually drop. If you want to be 100% sure your snake plant will survive such a cold winter, you have to take it inside…
Best pot for a snake plant
Choosing a pot for your favorite snake plant isn’t a simple endeavor. You actually have to consider several things. First and foremost, material of the pot. Should you opt for clay, terracotta, wood, glass, or the cheap plastic? And is there any different after all? Second thing is drainage. Is it better to have your snake plant in a pot with a drainage hole, or does it not matter at all?
Third thing is size of the pot. How wide, and deep it shall be, and are these characteristics important for a snake plant? Last but not least, you should also consider design of your pot. Snake plant is beautiful and will no doubt attract the eyes of your visitors. But what about the pot? Which designs go well with snake plant, and with the interior of your house?
As you can see now, for someone who pays attention to details, and can afford spending a lot of time while choosing a perfect pot for a snake plant, it can take hours to actually purchase something, especially online, since you have so thousands of pots for succulents on websites like Amazon. In this post I will try to make your task at least a bit easier :), looking at different aspects of fitting pot for your snake plant. Let’s start!
Clay and terracotta are best materials for pots for a snake plant, but in some instances plastic or metal may also work
Snake plant isn’t a demanding plant. It actually thrives in neglect. The most common problems people experience with snake plant is leaves turning yellow and the plant eventually dying, which is in 95% or cases result of over-watering. What role does a good pot play in this? Well, if you water your snake plant twice a week no pot will save you. But pots from certain materials are better for reducing the moisture in the soil, and for allowing the plant to breathe, and reduce the chances of root rot.
Clay and terracotta are definitely the best materials in this regard. Having said that, each pot has some pluses and minuses. Terracotta pots are quite fragile and also heavy. If you are worried that you may struggle carrying the pot around, or have animals at home or little children that may break the pot while playing, maybe you should consider plastic or even metal pot. Plastic pots are the least expensive, so if budget is a deciding factor for you, you should opt for plastic. What I try to say here is that why you have to be more careful when it comes to watering the plant in a plastic pot, snake plant can do just fine in it, and won’t necessarily suffer or anything else.
Right size (height and width) of a pot for a snake plant
In my experience, succulents (including snake plant) prefer pots that have “just the right size” for their root ball. They do not thrive in pots too big or too deep. In an ideal case, try to get a pot that’s just 1/3 larger than the root ball of the snake plant. That’s about the diameter, and the same is true about depth.
Now, I know that some snake plants may look marvelous (design-wise) in tall slim pots. But the excessive soil in the pot (more than the plant really needs) can often stay wet and cause root rot to the plant, especially if you have a pot-without drainage hole (which you already know is not recommended). To sum it up, regardless of the material you choose, opt for a shallow pot, just slightly larger in diameter than the root ball of the snake plant (maximally half the size of it bigger).
Best design for your snake plant pot
Gone are the days when you went to a brick and mortar store, and had to choose from three available designs. Now you have hundreds of choices on Amazon, and can get your pot in any color, shape, material, and overall design. But what designs go well with a snake plant? If we follow philosophies like Feng Shui (you can check also our article on Snake plant in Feng Shui), white color is a perfect match for the shades of green of a snake plant. At the end of the day there’s beauty in simple designs. And as long as white does not interfere with other colors of your living room (or other place where you plant to have your plant), a white clay pot seems like a perfect choice to me. In a white pot with no design, the attention will remain on the plant.
Having said that, snake plants look wonderful in black pots as well, and black is also a great match to typical furniture designs and colors. I would say that you won’t spoil nothing with black or white pot for your snake plant–or perhaps combination of both colors :).
If you are a design freak though, and perhaps prefer to buy a pot that itself attracts attention and entices questions from your visitors, you can aim for some piece of art. In such a case you should be ready to pay extra though. Last but not least, you should also consider the overall design of the room, the color of pots you already have there, and buy a pot that will fit well to the existing surroundings. You do not want your living space to resemble a carnival scene, do you?
Final thoughts
Choosing the best pot for a snake plant is no rocket science. As you can see now though, with all the options available nowadays in big online stores, you can consider a variety of things: material, size and depth, drainage hole, design, and of course also price of the pot. If you have time to do so, I see no reason why you should not spend half an hour or even an hour choosing the best pot for your snake plant.
White spots on a snake plant – Three main causes and remedies
Snake plant is one of the easiest succulents to grow, which is one of the reason why it is so popular both in US and Eurasia. When hundreds of thousands of people grow certain plant, however–which is the case with Snake Plant no doubt, at least some will experience issues. One of those issues–a rather mysterious one, are white spots on the leaves. Let me clarify something right at the binging: Many people confuse white spots with white leaves. If the entire leaves of your snake plant turn whitish, it is mostly due to over-exposure to extreme sunlight. White spots are a completely different matter though, and have nothing to do with sun.
Before we dive into details, let me briefly summarize the three main common reasons for white spots on a Snake Plant: Insect or fungi attack, impact of a wrongly chosen fertilizer or solution you applied on the leaves, mechanical damage. In my experience and also observing what other experienced growers have to say, one of the three is to blame for 90% of all cases when you spot strange white spots on the leaves of your snake plant. In some instances though something else is to blame, or the combination of different factors, since each plant is unique, and certain snake plant may react in this way to a form of stress other snake plants won’t react to. Anyway, let’s analyze the three main causes.
Insect or fungi attack as a no. 1 cause of white spots on snake plant
White spots that aren’t evenly spread, and appear more on some leaves and less on others, are typically a result of insect attack, or some fungal disease. We know many fungal diseases and insects that attack succulents (think powdery mildew, southern blight, spider mites to name just a few most common that can cause white spots on leaves). And while you can apply some solutions (home made or from the shop) trying to treat the problem, you should consider the following:
Unless you have a special attachment to the plant, such as that you got it for your first lover, or as a gift to fifteenth birthday, or whatever, you should throw it away. Let me explain this: Even if you remove the apparently attacked leaves (those with white spots), you never know if there aren’t worms or eggs of the parasite in the soil, or hidden inside the plant. They can crawl out of their holes at anytime, and attack not only the remaining leaves of your snake plant, but also other succulents and plants located nearby.
You can be 100% sure that you got rid of the parasites or fungi only when you throw the entire plant away, including the soil, and disinfect the pot. If you have some attachment to the plant, however, remove all leaves on which you see some damage, and isolate the plant. You can also try to apply some home-made solution to the surface of the leaves, such as 50% vinegar and 50% water. As I said though this may not solve the problem, and since Snake Plant isn’t a rare or expensive succulent, your best bet is to just throw it away and prevent damage to other of your plants.
Wrongly chosen fertilizer or solution you apply on the leaves as no. 2 reason for white spots on the leaves of your snake plant
It may sound strange but most snake plants thrive in neglect. Regardless of big chemical producers say (obviously they have pockets deep enough to pay any advertisement), snake plants do not need any fertilizers. As long as you plant them is right soil (arid, with good aeration, ideally for succulents, or you can make your own soil mix at home), and in a pot with a drainage hole, they will be just fine.
Some people care too much though, or following the old school big-pharma advice, they fertilize the plant twice a year and even apply some chemical solutions on the leaves of snake plant. In my experience, this can cause burns on leaves, or a specific stress reaction in the plant–since it doesn’t like the chemicals you apply to it, and such a stress reaction can materialize in whitish spots on the leaves. Hence if you fertilized your plant recently or sprayed it with some chemical substance (following some “expert” advice), you have found your culprit for the white spots.
Luckily enough, the remedy is simple in this case. Just stop the practice that caused the issue, and repot the plant if you feel the fertilization was excessive and the acidity of the soil isn’t right anymore. You can also place it outside when it rains for half an hour, so the rain cleans the leaves from the residues of any chemicals you applied on them earlier.
Mechanical damage as no. 3 reason for strange white spots you see on the leaves of your snake plant
When you rule out the insects and chemical use, think about any possible mechanical damage to the plant. What can cause such spots on the leaves? For example a hailstorm. Sometimes you may even not notice hail falling from the skies, as these storms are often local and brief in duration. However, crystals of ice falling from the sky on the leaves of your plants can easily damage the tissues in the area of impact, which can later manifest in white spots, or even some tear on the leaves. In some cases, when strong wind carries some particles in it, such as sharp particles of dust, the impact can also result in white spots on the leaves.
Last but not least you should not forget on your beloved pet 🙂. I once saw a cat split-opening a leaf of a snake plant with a single move of the paw, so I know what these little creatures are capable of. Cats or other pets aren’t naturally attracted to snake plants. However, when they are inside and do not find other objects of interest (such as toys, balls of wool, etc), they may take interest in the snake plant, and damage it in some way. In certain cases this can result in white spots. If you have a cat (or another pet) at home, and it has access to the snake plant, you should not doubt consider this.
Also in this case the remedy is simple. If a hail storm is to blame, just remove the heavily damaged leaves. The plant will recuperate on its own. And if you suspect your cat, make sure that it always has some other object of interest nearby, and doesn’t need to play with the plants… Hope it helps, and good luck with addressing the issue!
Snake plant leaves splitting – causes and remedies
People say you can drop a calloused leaf of a snake plant on a heap of garbage, and it will still survive, forming roots and eventually growing into beauty. And while the parable is a bit over-exaggerated, snake plants indeed thrive in neglect. They can grow in an extremely arid soil that seemingly misses any nutrients. Saying this all, we still experience problems with snake plants, and one of the most common is the splitting of leaves. In this article we will look at this issue, why it occurs, and what you can do to prevent it.
Before diving into details when it comes to particular causes and remedies for each one, let me briefly summarize the three main reasons why leaves of your snake plant may split: Over-watering, mechanical damage, abrupt temperature changes. Based on my experience with the plants, as well as talks with other succulent growers, one of the three is to blame for 95% of cases when the leaves of your snake plant start to split. Having said that, you should never forget that nature is not Mathematics, and in rare cases something else is to blame for the condition of your Snake plant. Anyway, let’s proceed to three main causes and remedies.
Over-watering as a no. 1 reason why the leaves of your snake plant may split
For a beginner to succulent growing this may sound like a non-sense. After all, why would excess water cause drying and splitting of leaves? Shouldn’t it be the complete opposite? Shouldn’t lack of water cause this? Let me tell you how it really is. The thing is that beginner growers miss one crucial part in the chain of cause and effect. Over-watering does not directly cause drying and splitting of leaves. What it does causes, however, is root rot, which is especially common if you keep your snake plant in a pot without drainage hole. And once the roots rot, they cannot anymore transfer any water, or nutrients, to the leaves of the snake plant. Logically they will start drying and splitting.
What can you do when you identify over-watering as the reason for this? Well, it depends on the severity of the issue, and how long it’s been going on. If just a few of the leaves split, and you’ve been over-watering the plant for a few weeks only, it can typically still be saved. Remove it from the original pot, cut away rotten part of roots, and plant it in a new pot, with some good succulent soil, and with a drainage hole. Snake plant is versatile, and if there’s still some life left in the plant, it will eventually recover. Having said that, if the issue is too serious, and the entire rooting system is rotten, all you can do is throwing the plant away, and starting with a new one. Lesson learned, and no doubt you won’t repeat the same mistake again.
Mechanical damage as no. 2 reason for snake plant leaves splitting
If mechanical damage is to blame for the problem, you will typically notice just a few of the leaves splitting, like one or two or three. If you notice any issue on majority of leaves, you can rule out mechanical damage. Now, what kind of damage I am talking about? It can be different things. First of all, hail storms and dust storms. A snake plant is versatile, but the leaves are relatively fragile, especially in a young plant, or one that does not exactly thrive in the environment. Hail or even sharp particles of dust (in a dust storm) can cause mechanical damage to leaves, such as holes and cracks that eventually grow into splits and the entire leaf splits into two. If you have your snake plants outside and had some storms recently, this can be a reason.
Second common issue is mechanical damage by pets, especially cats. Cats are playful animals that love to explore their environment. And while most succulents are safe for cats, cats aren’t necessary safe for all succulents. If your little kittens do not find any toys around the house, they may come to play with your snake plant, tasting it, and trying the sharpness of their claws on the leaves of the plant. I’ve seen once a cat splitting the leaf of a snake plant open with a single, well directed move of its paw, so no doubt this can happen. Hence if you have cats at home, you should take notice.
Luckily enough, remedies for mechanical damage are relatively simple. If pets are to blame, make sure they have enough toys to play with, and also enough food, and hence they aren’t attracted to your succulents. And if a storm or other weather event created the damage, you can prevent it from reoccurring by hiding your snake plant under some roof when the weather forecast is bad. Best of all, unless the storm (or the cat :)) damaged the roots, the splitting of few leaves of your snake plant won’t be fatal for the plant. Just remove the damaged leaves and move on.
Abrupt temperature changes can also cause leaves splitting in snake plants
Snake plants can tolerate temperatures between 5 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius, though they prefer the range between 18 and 28, which is fine for us growers, since most of us keep such temperature in our homes. What they do not like, however, are abrupt extreme temperature changes, which do happen sometimes both outside and inside. Imagine having 20 degrees, two hours later five degrees, and another eight hours later 30 degrees. Such things do happen (sadly such extreme events will only intensify with the phenomenon of global warming).
Extreme temperature changes can trigger strong stress response in your snake plant, which can result in discoloring of leaves, and even in leaves splitting. If the changes are severe and the stress reaction too, your snake plant may actually not survive the incident. Having said that, in this case prevention is the best cure. If you know something similar is going to happen, and temperatures will change in this manner, it is better taking your snake plant inside or to some place that maintains a more steady temperature. Once things return back to normal, you can return the plant to its original spot.
Final thoughts
It isn’t hard growing snake plants, but no plant is immortal, and no human infallible. We make mistakes (in this case over-watering is the no. 1 mistake) which may cause damage to the plant and splitting of leaves. On other occasions our lovely cat is to blame, or the weather. The key is always to analyze the situation and understand what happened. In some cases it is easy to address the problem and you can save your snake plant, in other cases you will have to start from scratch. You lost the plant, but you gained experience, and no doubt won’t make the same mistake again…
Do snake plants need a drainage hole?
Snake Plant is easily the most popular succulent of all. Super easy to take care of–some people say it actually thrives in neglect, anyone living in a suitable climate can keep some snake plants either in their garden or in their home. However, a true plant lover wants the best for their succulents. And if you want to enjoy your Snake Plant in full beauty, with thick healthy green leaves, you should know what’s best for it. One of the questions many growers have is whether a snake plant needs a drainage hole. We will try to answer it on the following lines, following both scientific evidence and my personal experience with growing snake plants.
Before we dive into details, let me give you quick answer to the question (not a comprehensive one though): In principle snake plants do not need drainage holes to survive. As it al almost always the case with plants (and perhaps with most things in our life), things aren’t as simple as they seem. The fact that Snake Plant doesn’t necessarily need some drainage doesn’t mean you should opt for a pot without drainage hole. Let me explain it.
Over-watering is the no. 1 problem of snake plants
Snake plants is one of those plants you can leave at home while embarking on a one month long pilgrimage in Spain, or on a prolonged seaside stay to recharge your batteries. Returning home, you may barely notice any negative impact of your neglect on the plant. Maybe the leaves will discolor a little, or won’t look so fresh anymore. But that’s basically it. What many people do not realize though is that plant’s strength can sometimes become its main weakness. Let me explain.
It just comes natural to us to water our plants. At the end of the day, each living thing needs water (though some men believe beer is enough to sustain one), and snake plant is no exception to the rule. When watering other plants, we will often water snake plant as well. Perhaps out of habit, perhaps out of precaution, or perhaps because we do not know enough about Snake Plant, and the optimal watering schedule. Because of this people often see the leaves of their snake plants turning yellow, which is a result of over-watering. Even if the leaves do not turn yellow, the plant may lose its charm if watered too often.
Drainage holes help prevent over-watering in Snake Plant
Having a pot with drainage holes will help you prevent this issue. Look, maybe you know how often to water your snake plant. But maybe you forget in a heat of a day, or one of your relatives waters it, or whatever. At the end of the day, big chunk of snake plants in the world gets much more water than they need (and water is sparse, so we should try to avoid wasting it, for whatever reason). If your pot has no drainage hole, the water will accumulate in the soil, keeping it wet permanently, which can easily cause root rot.
And when the roots of your plant rot to certain extent, they won’t be able to transfer the nutrients from the soil to the leaves of your snake plant. The leaves will turn yellow and the plant will eventually die. Nothing of that would have happened if you had a pot with a drainage hole (and of course used the right soil mix etc). Because the excess water would simply drain away, the soil won’t remain too wet, and your snake plant would continue to thrive. Sure, it isn’t necessary to have a pot with a drainage hole. But having it there makes things much easier when it comes to preventing over-watering, the most common problem people have with snake plants.
If you have your snake plant in a pot without a drainage hole, you can always drill one
I can imagine your first reaction. Your beautiful snake plant is already planted in a wonderful pot you got in the store, be it from terracotta, wood, glass, or even plastic (though plastic pots are rarely beautiful and I would not recommend them for true succulent lovers). There is just one problem–the pot has no drainage holes. What to do now? Should you buy a new pot, spending money again?
Actually it isn’t necessary. You can always drill a hole to your pot, even if the plant is already there. For plastic pots this is super easy, you can typically do it with a sharp knife in a second. For terracotta or glass pots things get more tricky, but if you use a manual driller, or even the electric one but control the rotation speed, you can always drill the hole to the pot from outside, without breaking it. And if you are not sure, you can always get a new pot, and use the original one from your Snake Plant for some other plants that does not need drainage.
Conclusion
Snake plants do not need pots with drainage holes, but it is much easier to prevent over-watering and root rot if you plant them in pots with drainage holes. Think about it in this way: pots with drainage holes do not cost more than pots without them. For every succulent, including the snake plant, it is better to have a pot with drainage. Hence I cannot see a single reason why you would want to plant it in a pot that doesn’t have it… Hope this helps, and good luck with your plants!
May also interest you: Succulent plants in Feng Shui.