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Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2021 5:46 am
by Brontosaurus
The tips of the leaves on the snakeplants we have in our office are all turning brown. I'm not super familiar with them but I haven't had this problem before. We live in a humid environment and it's really difficult to keep mold from growing in the pots (if you have advice about how to stop that, please let me know). What could be causing this? Is it bad? If so, how can I fix it?

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:30 am
by anttisepp
Cut dead tissue away. Move plant to the window.

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:38 pm
by Steve-0
And maybe less watering. I have a big specimen in our master bath right next to a window. It bloomed last year. Took a few pics ,then read up on it some .

Apparently, having one bloom is better than a Powerball Lottery winning ticket...and rarer! They bloom once every several decades. I won!

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 10:18 pm
by One Windowsill
Steve-0 wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:38 pm Apparently, having one bloom is better than a Powerball Lottery winning ticket...and rarer! They bloom once every several decades. I won!
The only time I have seen these flower was in an office. I found three Sansevieria in an office I temped at that had been neglected for years. They were sitting on a shelf above a radiator in an south-facing window. They had not been watered for a long time. They were small, pale yellow and dusty. I brought in a thermometer and the temperature at the roots was up to 40°C (104°F) when the radiators were on, all day. So I watered them a lot and fed them a bit. They put on loads of beautiful new dark green and gorgeously-patterned leaves very fast. After two months they all flowered.

Most people don't keep them above 35°C constantly, so the flowers are rare. They come from Central Africa, they like heat and light.

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2021 1:24 am
by Steve-0
Here they are. May 3,2020 blooming week.

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:02 am
by One Windowsill
Did they smell good? The ones in the office started smelling just about an hour before the time I left for home.

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:18 am
by Tyrfing
Blooming Sansevierias are not pure joy. Those flowers are a sticky mess. Also, I think the spike is terminal. Meaning that the rosette will stop growing, but will/might send out new offsprings.

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 6:24 pm
by Mrs.Green
Tyrfing wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:18 am Blooming Sansevierias are not pure joy. Those flowers are a sticky mess. Also, I think the spike is terminal. Meaning that the rosette will stop growing, but will/might send out new offsprings.
I have a S.cylindrica that bloomed a few years ago. Lovely flowers and smell but as you say, the rosette with the flowerspike stopped growing. It’s still alive though. Several new offsprings are growing around it.

Re: Unhappy snakeplants? I didn't even know that was possible!

Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 10:31 pm
by nachtkrabb
Hi Brontosaurus,
about your original question: What kind of soil does your office plant have? Is it pure potting soil, possibly with peat? -- Then I would understand the plant being unhappy & moss or mold growing with it.
I would simply ignore the mold. It might just have come with the soil; at our's it often does. After a year or so it should be gone.

We always used potting soil for snakepants, without peat, added a bit of sand or foamed clay or such. Ours flowered each year on a regular basis.
Then: Warm, more light, not too dry, no wet feet, bit of care.
N.