How to propagate snake plants by cuttings and division? All the care tips explained in one go

  Everyone knows that the snake plant is a foliage plant. There are golden-edged snake plants, as well as short-spiked snake plants and onion-leaf snake plants. The leaves are all quite attractive. But they also bloom, with slender petals, beautiful and fresh, and a fragrance that refreshes the heart. Actually, if you want to grow a snake plant, with this method, you can grow one without spending money.

  Method one: Leaf cutting propagation

  Ask relatives and friends for a few snake plant leaves, cut them into segments of about ten cm, place them in a cool place, let them dry for two days, then insert them into river sand, or perlite and vermiculite, at a depth of three cm. As long as the temperature is 15 degrees, you can take cuttings at any time, autumn is fine too, and roots will grow in about a month.

  Then new shoots grow from the base. Then you can pot them up and transplant. With normal care and sunlight, they will all survive.

  A gardening friend had a snake plant in the office that was on the verge of death, thought it was going to die, then broke off a leaf and stuck it in the soil, watered it whenever they remembered, and unexpectedly found after a few weeks that it had taken root and grown offshoots. One leaf can grow into a forest. It felt like a huge surprise. Whether the leaf is cut into segments or inserted whole into the soil, it can grow roots and sprout.

  Method two: Division

  In a pot of snake plants there are usually some small shoots emerging. Tip the whole pot of snake plants out with the soil, separate these little pups, and it's better if they come with a bit of root. You can also divide several plants and plant them separately into other pots. In this way, one pot of snake plants can produce three pots.

  How should you normally care for snake plants? To make them grow lush and full of branches, bloom and fill the pot, you need to pay attention to the following points: 

  Water snake plants sparingly, because they are very drought-tolerant plants, so normally never water too frequently, and don't overwater. Otherwise the leaf color will become pale and whitish.

  How to judge whether watering is needed:

  Insert a small stick into the pot. If the soil surface and the second layer of potting soil are both very dry, then it's time to water. In late autumn and winter, you especially need to control water, which makes it easier to survive the winter safely. A little dryness is fine, because it's in its dormant period. When spring comes and the temperature rises, water again. It will regain its vitality and grow vigorously.

  A little trick for fertilizing snake plants:

  Normally you don't really need to fertilize much. During the spring and autumn growing season, use a handful of boiled soybeans, dig a small hole in the soil at the edge of the pot, and fill them in. Cover with soil. Then place it on a ventilated balcony, keep it in sunlight, and the snake plant will grow better and better, and may even bloom and produce small fruits.

  Actually, snake plants should be cared for lazily, not too diligently. A relative's pot of snake plants was placed on the rooftop for several months, with no one watering it normally, only getting rained on when it rained. After a few months, the leaves had grown wide, thick and green, and it had filled the pot.

  What should you do if a snake plant gets root rot?

  Root rot is very likely caused by long-term water accumulation in the potting soil. You can tip out the potting soil, rinse the roots with water, then disinfect with potassium permanganate and carbendazim solution for thirty minutes. Take it out and soak it in water for two days, then replant it in new potting soil. It will grow new roots again.

How to propagate snake plants by division, and precautions for dividing snake plants

Snake plant, also called mother-in-law's tongue, is a foliage plant with very strong vitality. It is a root-sprouting plant. Generally, you only need to plant a few, and after a year, you can harvest a full pot. So how do you propagate snake plants by division? What precautions should be taken when dividing snake plants?

How to propagate snake plants by division

Cuttings and division are the most commonly used propagation methods for snake plants. Compared with leaf cuttings, the biggest advantage of division propagation is that it can preserve the golden edge of golden-edged snake plants. It is generally done together with spring repotting.

Division operation method:

Cut the overly dense leaf clusters into several clusters. Each cluster should have, besides leaves, a section of rhizome and a sucker, and then plant them separately in pots. When planting, first put part of the soil at the bottom of the pot, then start planting from one side of the pot, planting evenly within the pot.

Precautions for dividing snake plants

Take the plant out of the pot and use a sharp knife to separate the offsets from the mother plant. Try to avoid damaging the root system, and let the separated offsets carry as many roots as possible. After separating the offsets, place them in a dark indoor spot, protect them from rain, and control watering to avoid rot at the cut. Only after new leaves grow can you switch to normal care.

Snake plants are not strict about environmental requirements and are very easy to grow. Their biggest feature is that they can purify the air, with an extremely strong ability to absorb formaldehyde. Placing a few pots of snake plants in a newly renovated home can absorb indoor harmful gases.

Snake plant cutting propagation methods, and how to care for snake plants in winter

Although snake plants do not bloom often, and their appearance is not as gorgeous as other flower varieties, this does not affect people's love for them. They are often used to decorate living rooms and offices. They not only have high ornamental value themselves, but their ability to absorb formaldehyde and purify the air is also unmatched by ordinary flowers. For gardening enthusiasts who want to grow them, of course what they care about most is the propagation method.

Snake plant cutting propagation methods

1. Cutting propagation time

Snake plants can be propagated by cuttings throughout the year.

2. Selection of cutting material

Medium and large varieties of snake plants are suitable for split-leaf cuttings, while small varieties are suitable for whole-leaf cuttings. Choose healthy, thick leaves as cuttings.

3. Cutting propagation method

Cut the leaves horizontally into several pieces at equal distances of 5-8 cm, and insert the leaf pieces obliquely into a clean medium. The medium should first be soaked thoroughly with water, then placed in a semi-shaded spot to wait for the cuttings to sprout. When the seedlings grow, they can be transplanted into larger round pots for nursing.

How to care for snake plants in winter

1. Care temperature

Snake plants like a relatively warm growing environment. Their suitable growing temperature is between 20°C——30°C, and the winter overwintering temperature should preferably not be lower than 10°C. So when growing snake plants in winter, try not to place them outdoors.

2. Restrict watering

Winter temperatures are generally relatively low. Snake plants are desert plants and are quite afraid of frozen leaves and waterlogging, so in winter it is best to restrict watering. Wait until spring to resume watering. If the indoor space is not warm enough, it is best to stop watering, and wait until the temperature rises before watering again.

3. Do not fertilize

In winter, the growth of snake plants slows down, and at this time they do not need a large amount of fertilizer, because snake plants do not have a very high demand for fertilizer in winter.

4. Winter freeze protection

In winter, be sure to protect snake plants from freezing, because snake plants are plants with a relatively high leaf water content. If frozen in winter, the cells will rupture and cause death. So pay attention to freeze protection, and do not let your snake plant die.

Diseases of snake plants and their prevention and treatment

1. Leaf spot disease

Symptoms of damage: It mainly occurs on the leaves. In the early stage of the disease, nearly round or oblong spots appear on the leaves. The edges of the lesions are light yellow and slightly sunken. When there are many lesions on the leaves, they easily merge, the leaves wither and die, and later the lesions fall off and perforate. Lesions close to the ground easily rot, causing stem base rot or the whole plant to topple.

Prevention and treatment methods: During care, reduce watering, keep the soil slightly moist, and lower the soil humidity, which can effectively prevent leaf spot disease. When the disease occurs, in the early stage you can use Bordeaux mixture or 53.8% Kocide 2000 dry suspension concentrate, spraying continuously 2-3 times with an interval of 5-7 days. When spraying, change the agent in a timely manner to prevent the plant from developing resistance.

2. Rot disease

Symptoms of damage: In the early stage of the disease, water-soaked lesions appear on the plant leaves. After gradually expanding, the lesions become round to irregular, dark gray, soft-rotted, and slightly sunken; afterward the lesions dry and sink, and in a humid environment black mold spots appear on the leaves.

Prevention and treatment methods: When diseased plants are found, promptly remove the diseased leaves and change the pot and soil. Disinfect the soil before replanting. When the disease is severe, spray 50% carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl 800 times solution, once every 5-7 days, and stop once it improves.

3. Bacterial soft rot

Symptoms of damage: After the plant is infected, the leaves change from green to light yellow to grayish yellow. The stem base near the ground develops water-soaked soft rot, and later gradually topples, with the roots rotting and dying.

Prevention and treatment methods: In winter and spring, the temperature should be controlled above 10°C, watering should be controlled, and appropriate shading should be provided. In the peak growing seasons of spring and autumn, appropriately increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to improve the plant's disease resistance. When diseased plants are found, promptly pull them out and clean them up thoroughly. If discovered in time, you can use streptomycin sulfate 2000 times solution, spraying once every 5-7 days, continuously 2-3 times.

How to propagate snake plants by division

1. Cutting

Sparse ones do not need to be dealt with. Here it is mainly about cutting overly dense snake plant leaf clusters into several clusters. Each divided leaf cluster should have not only leaves but also rhizomes and suckers. Only in this way can the snake plant survive.

2. Potting and planting

First, spread a layer of potting soil at the bottom of the flower pot, then starting from one side of the pot, evenly place the snake plant leaf clusters in the pot, and finally fill the empty spaces in the pot with potting soil.

3. Care

After potting and planting, do not just leave them unattended. Water thoroughly the first time, and afterward the amount of water should be controlled.

4. Precautions for division

When cutting, try to make the root system on each cluster as abundant as possible on the premise of being even, and try to avoid damaging the root system. Of course, do not hurt yourself either.

After planting, place the snake plant in a cool place for care. On rainy days, move it indoors. It cannot be exposed to rain for a long time, to prevent the root system from rotting.

Although snake plants have very strong adaptability to the environment, when growing them at home you still need to control key factors such as light, water and fertilizer. Later, you also need to guard more against pests and diseases. The detailed prevention and treatment methods are given above. If these can all be done well, then the snake plant's growth will not be poor, and it may even bloom beautiful little flowers!