Back to Anything about plants

I’m coming to the group for some help. I’ve had a snake plant for a… | Anything about plants | Planta community

Logan

I’m coming to the group for some help. I’ve had a snake plant for a few years now and it has been great. About a month ago I had pretty much put it in a drought by accident. I then watered it of course and now it looks like it has been going through it. It’s lost a limb that was pretty squishy and starting to discolor, the rest of the plants limbs are starting to fall outwards. So what do I do now?! I don’t want to kill the easiest plant to keep alive :/

3 likes 6 comments

6 comments

  1. Phil

    When you watered it, did the water just seem to go straight thru it very quickly? Or was the water absorbed into the soil? If you are sure it accepted the moisture, next I would check the root system. Because leaving a snake plant without water for a month is nothing. I think mine go about that long between regular waterings.

    1 like
    • Logan

      Thanks for checking in. The water was absorbing normally, but when I inspected the plant more closely the bulb and roots had already rotted, which caused the leaves to collapse. I ended up removing it from the pot, trimming away the damaged tissue, and setting aside a few healthy leaves to propagate. They are drying and callousing now, and I plan to replant them in fresh soil and be much more conservative with watering. I appreciate the advice.

      0 likes
  2. Melody

    What kind of pot is it in. Sometimes pots with less drainage can get root rot and get mushy leaves. Mushy leaves are also caused by overwatering which might be by the changing water intake. I do think it can bounce back I would use a string or something to hold the leaves in place and start only watering around once a month when the soil is dry. I hope this helps

    1 like
    • Logan

      Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it. It was originally in a pot with drainage, but unfortunately the bulb or crown had already rotted, which is why the leaves became mushy. I ended up removing it from the soil, cutting away the rot, and separating out a few firm leaves to try to propagate. I am letting them dry and callous now and then will replant them in fresh, well draining soil and water very sparingly going forward. Thanks again for taking the time to help.

      0 likes
  3. Krissy

    I did the same. Snake plants thrive on negligence and I was overwatering. So I took him out of his pot threw away the soil since it was rotting. I had to clean off the roots with peroxide and most if not all the roots were brown mushy and dead. Once I cleaned them, removed the dead roots. Let him air dry for 20 minutes and put the leaves that had little to no roots back into a smaller (way smaller) pot with great soil. Left him alone for 2 weeks, then gave him a small drink. It took about 3 months, but now he is healing. The leaves are strong and firm. Sometimes we just have to reconstruct them.

    2 likes
    • Logan

      Thank you so much for sharing this. It honestly made me feel a lot better. I ended up having a similar issue, but unfortunately the bulb or crown of mine was already rotted beyond saving. I did separate out a few firm, healthy leaves though, trimmed above the rot, and I am letting them dry and callous before replanting them in fresh, well draining soil. I know it will be a slow process, but I am hopeful at least a couple will take. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain what worked for you.

      1 like