Hi everyone,

I am having a problem with a small Zeylanica Snake Plant - its leaves are curling inward:


This snake plant lives outside in full shade and, to the best of my knowledge, was never overwatered. I usually wait until the soil at the bottom of the pot is completely dry before watering it.

I made the soil by combining the following: 1/5 parts cheap potting mix, 2/5 parts pumice, 1/5 parts peat moss, 1/5 parts horticultural charcoal and compost.

From what I have been reading, the wrinkles on the leaves suggest that the plant is underwatered; however, I water it regularly (but not too often since I know that snake plants would rather be underwatered than overwatered).

Does anybody have any suggestions?

I have a small Moonshine snake that I abused and let get very dehydrated. Its taken many months to improve but finally has.
My thought is, yours is too dry.

When you say you water it regularly what do you mean?

Plants in terracotta pots will dry out faster, your pot's compost looks very dry. The wrinkled leaves do suggest drought.

What are the roots like?

kniphofia said: When you say you water it regularly what do you mean?

Plants in terracotta pots will dry out faster, your pot's compost looks very dry. The wrinkled leaves do suggest drought.

What are the roots like?

Yep. And good call on the terracotta.

How long ago was it re-potted, and what'd it look like before that?

Looks super dry to me too.

For a young division without sufficient root support I'd guess the leaves are puckering up without enough moisture.

Not as much an issue for older plants with more root mass.

If it was mine I'd soak it for 15 minutes or so, drain it well, and water a bit more often.

With a substrate like that most water added when the soil's that dry will run right through before the roots can grab much, hence the occasional soak.

For a new plant with minimal roots (guessing) it's a double whammy.

Clay eliminates almost all worry about rotting roots (overwatering) unless the soil is really dense, which does not seem to apply to the sol in the pic, or you're drowning it constantly, letting it sit in a tray of water. Water before the soil gets literally all the way dry, however often that is. For some of my plants in clay pots, that can be every day when it is hot.

Thank you so much for all your suggestions. I just soaked the plant in water and will water it more thoroughly going forward.

> When you say you water it regularly what do you mean?
I water it once every 7-10 days.

> What are the roots like?
The roots are in good shape and are larger than one would expect.

> How long ago was it re-potted, and what'd it look like before that?
I received this plant bare-root about two months ago. It arrived in pretty good condition and was immediately planted in the terracotta pot.

Happy to reply. I couldn't reach the plant in the pic below, where it was stuck in a corner of my shed this past winter. A plant that has survived a bad experience is interesting, and helps us be less nervous if it does get too dry once in a while, but I think that is not what most people want their plant to look like, a survivor. You're probably aiming for a thriving appearance. Like Sally's plant did, mine recovered and is fine now, but that appearance would not have happened if I had watered it. I have other pots of it, so I wasn't worried about losing it, but not the look I'm going for either when I bother to save a plant from winter.

Poor plant I am glad that it recovered.

Thank you very much! I cut off the dead parts and put it in a giant yard pot for the season. By now, you would have to look closely to notice the cut leaves. At a glance, it looks fine. In the fall, I will only keep the new rosettes anyway. The older ones get faded and beat up.

An enormous selection of comments, pics, long-ranging experiments here:
The thread "Sansevieria, greatest house plants alive!!" in Houseplants forum

That looks like a great thread, thanks for sharing it.

1337n3ss said: Thank you so much for all your suggestions. I just soaked the plant in water and will water it more thoroughly going forward.

> When you say you water it regularly what do you mean?
I water it once every 7-10 days.

> What are the roots like?
The roots are in good shape and are larger than one would expect.

> How long ago was it re-potted, and what'd it look like before that?
I received this plant bare-root about two months ago. It arrived in pretty good condition and was immediately planted in the terracotta pot.

Watering-wise, hard to say:)

As kniphofia mentioned terracotta dries out quickly and can wick moisture away from the soil.

7-10 days sounds good but it's not how much or how often you water, it's how much the substrate holds for the roots.

Water slowly a few times.

I sometimes use a thin layer of sharp sand on top to hold the moisture that much longer, letting the dry soil below absorb more before it leaves the pot.

Once it matures and gets more roots to utilize you should have a beautiful plant that needs much less care. Going from bare-root will take a while.

When it does fill out in the roots, mine have always done well root-bound within reason so I'd give it a while.

They don't seem to mind and it helps anchor them against their height.

Thank you for the suggestions, Humboldt. I will make sure to water this snake plant slowly and thoroughly and will keep it somewhat root-bound.

1337n3ss said: Thank you for the suggestions, Humboldt. I will make sure to water this snake plant slowly and thoroughly and will keep it somewhat root-bound.

:) Keep us posted please.

The roots...you'll know it when you see it.

I've seen many plastic pots, good thick ones, burst from their root masses.

The plants don't care, they seem happy as clams.

lots of good advice on here.
some of my snakes(draecenas), curl inward and from what i have learned it is underwatering. then maybe water when the pot is half way down the size if it to re-water.
i would stop using peat moss as it holds water. maybe add a few stones to aid in drainage. great advice on the terra cotta. and perlite also. i have a snake that is about 8 years old and going strong. great plants.

jay

I live in florida an have a bunch of'um. Most are outside in the rain......water it....a lot.

Humboldt said: Keep us posted please.

The roots...you'll know it when you see it.

I've seen many plastic pots, good thick ones, burst from their root masses.

The plants don't care, they seem happy as clams.

fjm2323 said: lots of good advice on here.
some of my snakes(draecenas), curl inward and from what i have learned it is underwatering. then maybe water when the pot is half way down the size if it to re-water.
i would stop using peat moss as it holds water. maybe add a few stones to aid in drainage. great advice on the terra cotta. and perlite also. i have a snake that is about 8 years old and going strong. great plants.

jay

Zeta7 said: I live in florida an have a bunch of'um. Most are outside in the rain......water it....a lot.

Thank you so much for the suggestions. The snake plant is doing much better now. Here how it looked a couple of waterings after my initial post (as you can see, it even has a pup):



I started watering the plant more frequently and more thoroughly. When the soil is fully dry, I now completely soak the plant in water and it seems to love it.

1337n3ss said: Thank you so much for the suggestions. The snake plant is doing much better now. Here how it looked a couple of waterings after my initial post (as you can see, it even has a pup):



I started watering the plant more frequently and more thoroughly. When the soil is fully dry, I now completely soak the plant in water and it seems to love it.

That's great. It looks happy and healthy.

It's loving what you're doing and obviously growing root mass with that new pup.

I wouldn't rely on letting it "fully dry" and soaking it on a regular basis though.
I think it stresses them and maybe checks growth a bit. Could just be me.

I water well when needed and only soak occasionally.

Humboldt said: That's great. It looks happy and healthy.

It's loving what you're doing and obviously growing root mass with that new pup.

I wouldn't rely on letting it "fully dry" and soaking it on a regular basis though.
I think it stresses them and maybe checks growth a bit. Could just be me.

I water well when needed and only soak occasionally.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will adjust its watering schedule to not let the soil become completely dry.

:)

It's doing fine.

Once it establishes itself should be pretty carefree.

Mine always liked being moderately root-bound.

It seemed to help them stabilize themselves against the vertical growth.