Common Mistakes To Avoid That Kill Snake Plants

Cold Drafts

The first common mistake you may be making is keeping your snake plant next to a cold drafty window.

Snake plants come from hot, sunny climates and are used to being in warm environments, so they will not do well if they are placed in a spot where there is a cold draft, such as on a window or near a door. If they are exposed to a cold draft, you will notice that the leaves on the plant start to go limp, and you may mistake this for a lack of water and give it some water. Unfortunately, this would make the problem worse as you’ll probably be over-watering your plant.

Snake plants do not do well in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius or 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so if you’re keeping your plant outside during the summer, make sure that nighttime temperatures are consistently above that temperature. Otherwise, you’ll have an unhappy plant on your hands.

In-Short:

• Mistake: Keeping snake plants next to cold, drafty windows.
• Why It’s Bad: Snake plants come from warm climates and will suffer if exposed to cold drafts.
• Signs: Leaves go limp, mistaken for lack of water, leading to over-watering.
• Solution: Keep snake plants away from cold drafts; maintain temperatures above 10°C (50°F).

Overwatering

Over-watering snake plants is probably the most common reason why people struggle with the plant and end up killing it. Snake plants come from an arid climate and are used to long periods of drought, which is then followed by a large rain from which the plant gets a good drink.

As always, we need to mimic this with our plant care and not give the plant too much water. It does not like to have wet feet. Only water your plants when the soil is dry, so make sure you check the soil before watering it.

The worst thing you can do for a snake plant is to have it on a watering schedule where you water it on the same day every week. This plant really needs to be watered only when needed, which is not that often. I water my snake plant about once a month during the spring and summer in the growing season and probably once every two months during the winter when it’s not actively growing. Any more than this, and you’ll start to see leaves going limp and mushy together with a gradual yellowing and fading of the leaves.

The plant might also develop brown spots on the leaves which look really unsightly. Check the soil of the plant by sticking your finger in the soil a couple of inches deep. If it feels moist, then leave it another week and check again.

Alternatively, invest in a moisture meter, which will completely remove the feeling of doubt. When you do come to give your snake plant a drink, make sure you give it a good drink and not just lightly wet the top of the soil. You want to pour water over the top of the soil multiple times and let the water drain through the drainage holes of nursery pots.

This will ensure that the soil and therefore the roots of the plant get a good water with no dry patches. I always bottom water my snake plant along with my other houseplants, which results in a much healthier plant.

In-Short:

• Mistake: Over-watering, the most common reason for snake plant struggles.
• Why It’s Bad: Snake plants are adapted to arid climates and long periods of drought.
• Signs: Limp, mushy leaves, gradual yellowing, and brown spots.
• Solution: Only water when the soil is dry. Use a moisture meter for accuracy. Water thoroughly but infrequently.

Misting

Common mistake number three that will really damage the health of your snake plant is misting the leaves with a mister or spray bottle.

There are a few houseplants that require a higher level of humidity around them for them to grow properly. A calathea, for example, requires high humidity for it not to develop those crispy brown edges on its leaves. It’s said that misting the leaves of your plant increases the humidity around the plant, but this is not really the case.

Doing this actually creates more harm than good, especially with a snake plant. Snake plants don’t need extra humidity like other houseplants might. Like I’ve said, they hail from an arid environment, so they’re used to being in a dry environment.

Misting the leaves will only increase the risk of fungus and rot developing on the leaves because you are leaving water droplets on the leaves to dry, which is not what a snake plant wants.

In-Short:

• Mistake: Misting the leaves with a spray bottle.
• Why It’s Bad: Snake plants don’t need extra humidity and misting can lead to fungus and rot.
• Solution: Avoid misting. Keep the plant in a dry environment.

Thin Leaves

You may notice that the leaves of your snake plant are thin and looking a little stretched out. If this is the case, then this would indicate that the plant is not getting enough sunlight.

Now, keeping your snake plant in lower light conditions shouldn’t kill the plant. They are versatile enough to be placed in darker spots, but if you want a plant that looks full and vibrant with nice big thick leaves, then put it in a spot that gets more light. This stretched-out appearance on the leaves happens because the plant is stretching itself out in search of natural light.

Unfortunately, even when you do move your snake plant to a brighter spot, the leaves that are already thin will remain so. So you will need to wait for new growth to appear to get a fuller look, and this can take a while with a snake plant.

When new growth does come, you can cut away the old spindly growth at the base of the plant if you feel it’s spoiling the appearance of the plant.

In-Short:

• Mistake: Insufficient sunlight leading to thin, stretched-out leaves.
• Why It’s Bad: The plant stretches in search of light, which weakens its appearance.
• Solution: Place the snake plant in brighter light. Move it to a sunnier spot to encourage thicker growth.

Place in Direct Sun

You’ve probably been told lots of times that houseplants should be kept out of direct sun at all times, and this is sound advice for the majority of houseplants, but it might surprise you that snake plants actually benefit from having a few hours of direct sun each day to really help them push out fresh new vibrant growth. Snake plants hail from the dry and sunny environment of West Africa, so they are used to having the sun beating down on them, so we should replicate this as much as possible in our homes.

If you have a south-facing window, then consider putting your snake plant in front of it. They are versatile plants and will do fine in medium to low light conditions, but you just won’t see lots of fresh growth. During the summer, consider putting your snake plant outside if you have some outdoor space, as this will really benefit the plant and help it push out new growth.

In-Short:

• Advice: Snake plants benefit from a few hours of direct sunlight each day.
• Why It’s Good: Mimics their natural habitat and encourages vibrant growth.
• Solution: Place in a south-facing window or outdoors in the summer for optimal growth.

Pruning

Pruning your plant is one of the best things you can do for it, especially if there are damaged leaves. This applies to snake plants too. If you have a plant that has thin leaves that you think look ugly, then just simply cut it out at the base of the plant at the soil line. This will invigorate your plant and encourage it to send out fresh new growth.

People tend to mistakenly assume that cutting plants damages them, whereas in fact, the opposite is true. The best time to prune your snake plant is during the growing season of spring and summer. The plant will be actively growing and will have no trouble pushing out fresh new growth after you have made the cuts. I would avoid pruning my snake plant during the winter when the plant is not actively growing. If we take leaves away from the plant during this time, it is going to stress the plant out and we may have problems further down the line, such as browning or yellowing leaves.

In-Short:

• Advice: Pruning damaged or thin leaves invigorates the plant.
• Why It’s Good: Encourages fresh, new growth.
• Solution: Prune during the growing season (spring and summer). Avoid pruning in winter.

Propagation

Do you know how easy it is to get more snake plants from a single plant? All we need to do is divide the plant up into smaller plants, pot them into some soil, and they will grow on to be their own larger plants. This means you’ll have lots of snake plants in your home for free. This is a really easy process, and all it involves is taking your plant out of the pot it lives in and teasing apart the plant by the roots.

The plant will have natural clumps, so tease the clumps apart and cut them loose at the roots, pot them up, give them a light water, and wait for new shoots to grow. Simple! You can propagate your plant through leaf cuttings, but just be aware that any variegation in the plant will be lost with this method.

To get more snake plants that keep the variegation, you will need to divide the plant, but luckily this is a really easy process.

In-Short:

• Advice: Easily propagate snake plants by dividing them.
• Why It’s Good: You can create multiple plants from one.
• Solution: Divide the plant at the roots and pot up the sections. Alternatively, use leaf cuttings, though variegation may be lost.