Hi, my snake plant has these funny lines going down from all the leaves and I am wondering what they are? Am I overwatering or underwatering them or putting them into too little / too much sunlight? Couldn't find any other snake plants online with these lines so please help! Thank you!

Please add photos

Hi Calif Sue, I have attached it

Calif_Sue said: Please add photos

Yes, it looks like it's dying of thirst.

purpleinopp said: Yes, it looks like it's dying of thirst.

Oh okay thanks for letting me know ! I put a tiny bit of fertiliser liquid a few days ago after misting the soil but today I just ran the pot and soil through water a few times and let the water flow because I fear I have over-fertilised it. Could this be fixed and when would the plant start to get back to normal? I am worried.

How long have you had this? Did you add concentrated liquid fertilizer that is meant to be put in a watering can, a few drops at a time, or a liquid fertilizer meant to add directly to soil?

Dead roots from any cause can cause initial symptoms similar to underwatering. First, remove the mulch and leave it off. Next, pull the plant out and see what the roots and soil look like. If the soil is soggy or smelly, or if the roots are black and mushy, you've overwatered (long-term, not just this once).

If all looks good, it was probably thirsty as Purple suggested.

In the future, ALWAYS water thoroughly before fertilizing. Snakes don't need much fertilizer but do benefit from minimal feeding. Never apply any fertilizer in stronger proportions than the manufacturer recommends; in fact, greater dilution is usually the best course. Misting the soil serves no purpose: stop doing that. Your plant should be in a gritty, well-draining media (can't see yours in the photo). Every time you water, saturate the soil completely and allow the water to drain completely before returning the pot to its saucer. Then allow the pot to dry nearly completely before watering again. Pay attention to how heavy the pot is before and after watering...that's a good way to tell when it needs watering. If the soil is adequately free draining, your risk of overwatering is virtually zero, but you'll need to water more frequently than if you use a peaty potting mix.

purpleinopp said: How long have you had this? Did you add concentrated liquid fertilizer that is meant to be put in a watering can, a few drops at a time, or a liquid fertilizer meant to add directly to soil?

Hi, I feel like only recently I've started to notice this issue, which is after I put the liquid fertiliser. I added the brand 'doff' which is a multi purpose pour feed - which seemed to be ready diluted - and I added less than recommended I believe to the plant but its looking worse now

If it was meant for direct application, I would suspect moisture as the issue vs. a problem with the fert. When I put this kind of plant in a shed for winter and don't water for 4 months, the leaves get wrinkled like in your pic.

As suggested, root rot would also manifest in the foliage as the same appearance, but your descriptions of care so far have sounded more like underwatering to me.

Which Doff product? They make several.

NMoasis said: Dead roots from any cause can cause initial symptoms similar to underwatering. First, remove the mulch and leave it off. Next, pull the plant out and see what the roots and soil look like. If the soil is soggy or smelly, or if the roots are black and mushy, you've overwatered (long-term, not just this once).

If all looks good, it was probably thirsty as Purple suggested.

In the future, ALWAYS water thoroughly before fertilizing. Snakes don't need much fertilizer but do benefit from minimal feeding. Never apply any fertilizer in stronger proportions than the manufacturer recommends; in fact, greater dilution is usually the best course. Misting the soil serves no purpose: stop doing that. Your plant should be in a gritty, well-draining media (can't see yours in the photo). Every time you water, saturate the soil completely and allow the water to drain completely before returning the pot to its saucer. Then allow the pot to dry nearly completely before watering again. Pay attention to how heavy the pot is before and after watering...that's a good way to tell when it needs watering. If the soil is adequately free draining, your risk of overwatering is virtually zero, but you'll need to water more frequently than if you use a peaty potting mix.

Hi Zoe! Thanks so much for your kind response. I dug up the roots and attached pictures of it below - it looks healthy I think(?) and it didn't smell awful or deadly. Oh I see, that was probably my mistake to not water thoroughly. I sprayed copious amounts of mist as I was deathly afraid of overwatering the plant but it must have backfired. I will stop misting the soil and put water on it normally. Thank you for the advice - I do not saturate the soil completely at all.. My plant is currently in a pot which has holes at the bottom and water does come when there is too much, so I hope that spares me from overwatering. I hope this can be fixed and my plant will not die because I have killed my rosemary sadly.

purpleinopp said: If it was meant for direct application, I would suspect moisture as the issue vs. a problem with the fert. When I put this kind of plant in a shed for winter and don't water for 4 months, the leaves get wrinkled like in your pic.

As suggested, root rot would also manifest in the foliage as the same appearance, but your descriptions of care so far have sounded more like underwatering to me.

Oh okay thanks Purple! I will water it normally (once in 2 weeks and as Zoe advised) and post an update to this thread with hopefully a healthier plant!

NMoasis said: Which Doff product? They make several.

It is this one

Happy to assist. Those roots look fine, and your nose says they smell okay, so great! What little soil I see looks a little peaty. This could be an opportunity to switch to something better suited to your snake (I keep wanting to call it a Sansevieria, but it has been reclassified to Dracaena trifasciata). In your climate, strive for anything you can do to reduce moisture buildup.

Here's a link to a very long discussion about cactus and succulent soils. Lots of opinions and recipes.
https://garden.org/thread/go/1...

and here is our thread about snake plants. Fun informative reading there too.
https://garden.org/thread/go/6...

Were you trying to grow rosemary indoors? If so, it didn't stand a chance....

As far as the fertilizer product: I've never used a liquid product like that...I prefer a product whose strength you can control by diluting. However, the instructions do say to water the plant first.

NMoasis said: Happy to assist. Those roots look fine, and your nose says they smell okay, so great! What little soil I see looks a little peaty. This could be an opportunity to switch to something better suited to your snake (I keep wanting to call it a Sansevieria, but it has been reclassified to Dracaena trifasciata). In your climate, strive for anything you can do to reduce moisture buildup.

Here's a link to a very long discussion about cactus and succulent soils. Lots of opinions and recipes.
https://garden.org/thread/go/1...

and here is our thread about snake plants. Fun informative reading there too.
https://garden.org/thread/go/6...

Were you trying to grow rosemary indoors? If so, it didn't stand a chance....

As far as the fertilizer product: I've never used a liquid product like that...I prefer a product whose strength you can control by diluting. However, the instructions do say to water the plant first.

Oh okay, I will try to look for a drier alternative although the soil is usually very dry as I water it droplets 😅 Thanks for the link to the snake plant, I will check it out and read everything! Yes I was trying to grow it in my room, and it was also winter so it got barely any sunlight..and the liquid fertilizer must be a UK thing haha

All excellent advice already.
I had a dehydrated Snake.. it took its sweet time but probably 18 months to really rebound.
Patience is essential.
(I would have said that doesn't look like much roots for the size plant, but NMoasis says they look OK, I trust that!)( I think tho, don't stress it with too much sun or dry air)

Sally, thanks for your input about the time it could take to rebound; good to know. I agree, the roots seem small for the size of the plant, and I attribute that to the poor watering practices (which will be corrected, I hope). I didn't see signs of rot—that was the "okay" part.

Which reminds me, @theamateurgardener — when you repot in grittier mix, be careful not to bury the stalk. You'll likely need to support the plant upright with a couple of rocks for some time until the roots reestablish.

sallyg said: All excellent advice already.
I had a dehydrated Snake.. it took its sweet time but probably 18 months to really rebound.
Patience is essential.
(I would have said that doesn't look like much roots for the size plant, but NMoasis says they look OK, I trust that!)( I think tho, don't stress it with too much sun or dry air)

Hi Sally, 1.5 years is a lot of patience! I've only bought my plant about ~9 months ago. It does seem like very little roots, I agree. First time pulling them out and was pleasantly surprised. But thank you for the time frame so I'd know what to expect!!

NMoasis said: Sally, thanks for your input about the time it could take to rebound; good to know. I agree, the roots seem small for the size of the plant, and I attribute that to the poor watering practices (which will be corrected, I hope). I didn't see signs of rot—that was the "okay" part.

Which reminds me, @theamateurgardener — when you repot in grittier mix, be careful not to bury the stalk. You'll likely need to support the plant upright with a couple of rocks for some time until the roots reestablish.

I will definitely correct my watering practice Also, I have some more concerns - the top part of the leaves seem to be splitting into half and going quite down?! It is tearing and I can see another leaf also beginning to tear. Is this bad or could be reversed? Also, I've noticed that the outer rim of the plant which is typically yellow(?) I believe, starting to look less yellow and more dull/green. Is this bad as well?


Sorry, which part is the stalk of the plant? Is it the bottom part near the root? Thanks once again!

Yikes, I don't know about the splits. Maybe you could post a separate query that might get shuttled to the pros in the C&S forum.

The stalk can be the part that emerges from the soil. Snakes only produce stalks when they are pushing up flowers. Otherwise, their leaves emerge directly from the soil.