First, double-check that your snake plant does, in fact, require repotting. Repotting a plant that doesn’t require it might be stressful. Only repot when absolutely required, as these few indicators show.
The roots are growing from the drainage holes
This is a telltale indicator for all houseplants. If you notice roots growing out of the drainage holes, it’s time to repot your plant.
This indicates that the roots have nowhere else to go but the bottom of the pot to grow. At this time, the majority of the pot is likely taken up by roots that have run out of room to expand.
Overcrowding will make it difficult for your pot to absorb water and nutrients from the soil if you leave it in this state. The plant’s growth will be stunted, and it will eventually die. Gather your materials and begin repotting as soon as you notice roots crawling out the drainage holes.
The soil drains too quickly
A healthy plant will not grow in a pot that drains too quickly, where water appears to rush out the bottom of the pot nearly instantly rather than saturating the soil. Snake plants don’t require much water and survive on neglect, but they will suffer if left without it for long periods of time.
Water draining too quickly indicates poor soil quality. The soil begins to dissolve and lose its structure over time as a result of regular watering and root growth. It can no longer contain water or nutrients and hence cannot supply them to the plant’s roots.
This can also happen if the roots have outgrown their container. Roots begin to take up all of the available space, leaving less and less room for soil. There is less soil to contain water when it becomes compacted or flees the pot, causing it to spill out the edges.
Even if your snake plant hasn’t outgrown its pot, this is a clue that it needs to be repotted because the soil needs to be refreshed.
The pot is cracking
In extreme cases, the snake plant’s growth can be so aggressive and take up so much space that the pot it’s in cracks open. If the rhizomes are pushing on the edges and changing the shape of the pot, it is on the point of cracking.
Snake plants can tolerate minor overcrowding, but they will not thrive in a broken pot. The roots will begin to grow outwards, breaching the limitations of the soil, as the liquid leaves the pot far too quickly. Repot your plant before it has a chance to crack the pot it’s in.
The plant has several pups
Snake plants reproduce by creating young branches, sometimes known as pups, from the plant’s base. These appear to be miniature snake plants that emerge from the soil near the plant and are connected by a rhizome. While a single pup does not always indicate that the plant has to be repotted, a plant with multiple pups will soon outgrow the pot it is in.
You have the option to propagate during repotting if this is the case. With a sharp knife, pluck pups with enough roots from the parent plant and repotted into individual pots to grow into even more fully-fledged plants.
Here’s a great tutorial on how to propagate snake plants from pups, as well as three other methods.
The plant keeps falling over
Snake plants have tall, thick leaves and powerful rhizomes, making them top-heavy. This, along with dissolving soil, can cause the pot to turn over repeatedly. This disturbance is not good for the plant, but it does indicate that you should give your snake plant more room to expand.
As a rule of thumb, your plant should never be larger than the pot it’s in. Choose a pot that is one or two sizes larger for repotting. Root rot can occur when a pot has too much additional space and holds too much water. In a pot a few sizes larger, these slow growers won’t need repotting for another few years.
When should I repot my snake plant?
Late winter or early spring is the best time to repot your houseplant. Because your plant is dormant for the winter and it’s right before the active growing season, this is the optimum time to do it (Spring).
Although now is the best time of year to repot indoor plants, you can do so at any time. When the tops of the roots are swirling or coming out of the bottom of the container, it’s time to repot. When watering your plant, if water drains straight through the drainage holes, it’s a solid sign that it needs to be repotted. This indicates that your snake plant’s roots have been entangled.
If you’re not sure if your plant is root bound, wiggle the root ball out of the container and notice how difficult it is to remove, as well as the tightness with which the roots are twisted. When removing the roots from their plastic pot, be careful not to damage them. If one of these applies to your snake plant, it’s time to repot it.
Do snake plants like to be crowded?
A root-bound plant is responsible for several of them. Snake plants don’t mind being crowded in a pot, but they do need to be repotted at some point.
Even if they haven’t outgrown their container, the soil quality deteriorates over time, necessitating a top-up.
Fortunately, repotting your snake plant is a simple procedure. A new pot, some homemade potting mix, and 15 minutes of free time are all you’ll need.
Do you water snake plant after repotting?
The snake plant should be placed in the new pot at the same depth as before, with the top of the root ball 1 to 2 inches below the container rim. Remove or add dirt beneath the root ball until it is at the right depth after placing the plant in the prepared pot. Once the plant is properly positioned in the pot, put more soil around the roots. After repotting, water thoroughly to settle the soil around the roots and keep the potting media equally moist.
Do snake plants outgrow their pots?
Snake Plant (formerly known as Sansevieria but now classified in the genus Dracaena) is a popular houseplant that thrives outside in its native Africa. Snake plants are drought-tolerant by nature and can survive long periods of dry potting soil in containers (unlike most fussy houseplants).
Snake Plants need to be re-potted every year or two as they outgrow their containers. These tall succulents have a tendency to extend laterally, necessitating a larger space as they spread outwards. While Snake Plants thrive in congested environments, they will eventually overflow a small container. Repotting the entire snake plant into a larger container or dividing the snake plant to keep it tiny can accommodate new growth (and to propagate new Snake Plants in their own planters from the divisions).
Use a high-porosity potting mix and a well-draining planter pot when repotting snake plants. Snake plants prefer light, dry soil that does not retain water for long periods of time. Succulents and cactus potting mixes commonly incorporate lightweight components like coco coir and perlite to add bulk without adding too much weight.
How often should you water a snake plant?
Your Snake Plant only needs to be watered every two weeks, and you should let the soil dry completely between waterings to avoid overwatering and root rot. If the soil is still moist after two weeks, water your snake plant once a month throughout the winter months.
Do snake plants like tight pots?
Snake Plants are unconcerned about being cramped in their containers. They tend to do better if they’re a little pot confined. I’ve seen a few that have damaged their grow pots, but they appear to be fine.
I’ve had a few of Snake Plants for almost 5 years that I haven’t repotted. If yours isn’t appearing strained or the grow pot has cracked, don’t rush to repot it.
How do I know if my snake plant is healthy?
Southern blight is a snake plant disease that causes mushy leaves. Sclerotium rolfsii is a fungus that causes this disease.
The fungus can enter the snake plant’s stems, where it consumes the stuff inside.
Before the plant dies, the leaves of your snake plant will become brown and possibly white, and they will feel mushy and soft. This happens when the fungus infects the tissue of your snake plant.
If you don’t take precautionary actions before determining that southern blight is the cause of your snake plant’s squishy leaves, your plant will die within a week.
Measure the Plant’s Height
When you have a baby, you keep an eye on their size to make sure they’re developing normally. Similarly, keeping note of your snake plant’s height over time will help you determine how healthy it is.
A fully mature snake plant leaf can be up to three inches broad and six to eight feet tall when cultivated in a container. You may observe two to four new leaves and three to six inches of fresh height development per season.
If your snake plant isn’t growing at all or isn’t growing as fast as you’d want, you should investigate why.
Many reasons, many of which I’ve already mentioned, can prevent your snake plant from developing as it should.
A snake plant that has been submerged in water or that has been overwatered is unable to flourish. Plant diseases will obstruct growth as well.
A lack of sunlight is also a concern. The snake plant is shade-tolerant, and it can even survive in complete darkness if that’s all you have.
It’s vital to remember that plants growing in low light will not develop as quickly or as robustly as those growing in more perfect lighting circumstances.
Review the Leaf Uprightness
The snake plant is known for its long, sword-like leaves, which have earned it the moniker “mother-in-tongue.” law’s What if the leaves don’t stand straight up as they’re intended to?
Don’t get me wrong: your snake plant’s leaves don’t have to be exactly straight. A few people can lean or even tilt their heads.
When the bulk of the leaves are drooping, stretching, or bending, there is a concern.
What could be causing the snake plant’s leaves to sag? Returning to sunshine, a lack of it can cause your snake plant to become drooping and melancholy.
Your snake plant’s leaves will droop if you overwater it. Because the plant’s roots are so wet, everything immediately becomes floppy and droopy.
Even if you have proper watering habits, if your snake plant doesn’t have enough drainage, its leaves will be anything but upright.
Your snake plant houseplant’s container should ideally have numerous drainage holes, each of which should be large enough to prevent water from becoming trapped in the pot’s bottom.
Water will be trapped in compacted soil. Replace the plant’s soil every few years to avoid this.
The last reason your snake plant’s leaves may be drooping is because of a lack of humidity.
The snake plant does not require high levels of humidity. It prefers a relative humidity of roughly 40%, which is right in the middle of the range for a home or workplace.
Your snake plant’s leaves can bend to the point where they touch the floor if the humidity is very low.
Do the Fingertip Test
When it comes to determining whether or not your snake plant is healthy, the fingertip test will be one of your finest indicators. All you have to do is stick your finger into the soil around your plant and feel around.
What do you have a strong desire for? The majority of the time, it’s moisture. A healthy snake plant has semi-moist soil that is slightly drier than normal but not fully dry.
You should water your snake plant once the earth has totally dried out, but not before that.
Feeling about in the dirt will also allow you to determine how compacted the snake plant’s soil has become, at least to some extent. How is water meant to get to the roots if you can hardly get your fingers into the soil?
It can’t, which implies it’s becoming stuck in the pockets of the dirt. Wet water is bad for the snake plant, so make sure to replace any standing or moist soil as soon as possible.
Root rot can be considerably reduced by replacing any mushy soil in your snake plant’s pot.
If you have a habit of overwatering your snake plant, I recommend learning how to grow it in LECA. Snake plants are an example of an indoor plant that thrives in LECA.
Inspect the Root Ball
When the time comes to remove your snake plant from its present pot, inspect the root ball thoroughly.
The root ball is your plant’s heart and soul, yet it’s something most indoor gardeners don’t get to see very often. What should your snake plant’s root system look like when you examine it?
The roots of a healthy snake plant should be white and solid. If your plant’s roots are brown or black and mushy, it’s suffering from root rot. The decaying roots will have an unpleasant odor as well.
As promised, I’ll speak briefly on root rot. Root rot is a plant-killing disease caused by the presence of more water than oxygen in the roots. Overwatering is the most common cause of root rot, although compacted soil can exacerbate the problem.
The roots will die first, followed by signs such as mushiness and leaf discoloration on your plant. The sickness had already advanced quite far by that stage.
Trim away the dead roots, repot your plant in drier settings, and restrict your watering habits going forward to prevent your plant from root rot.
What kind of pots do snake plants like?
- Select a container with a drainage hole in the bottom. Snake plants thrive in terra cotta pots, which allow the soil to dry out more quickly than plastic pots.
- Use a potting mix that drains effectively. It’s best to use a potting mix made for “cacti and succulents,” as it’ll be less likely to become waterlogged.
- Don’t bury snake plants too deeply while repotting them. The plant should be placed at the same depth as it was in its previous container.
Choosing a Location in the Home
- Snake plants love bright, indirect light, but they may handle some direct sunshine as well. They do, however, grow nicely in shady corners and other low-light regions of the house (albeit more slowly).
- Avoid transferring your plant from a low-light area to direct sunshine too rapidly, since this may cause it to shock. When moving plants from a darker to a lighter place, do so gradually over a week or so, gradually exposing them to brighter and brighter light. Also, alter your watering practices accordingly; plants in warmer, brighter places will require more water.
- Maintain a warm environment for the plant, with temperatures over 50°F (10°C). In the winter, make sure the windows aren’t drafty.
When should I repot my baby snake plant?
It’s actually that simple to repot a snake plant! What’s more, it only needs to be done every two to three years. You’ll be happy, your snake plant will be happy, and you might even receive additional plants!
Should you put rocks at the bottom of a planter?
One thing I did know was that putting rocks in the bottom of your plant pots is a good idea when potting up a plant.
People who are knowledgeable about plants those who use the internet, those who watch television, and grandparents.
A gorgeous layer of rocks, pebbles, styrofoam, or broken up terracotta pots is the first thing you put in your plant pot.
At general, placing rocks in the bottom of plant pots is unnecessary. One rock to cover the drainage hole is sufficient just enough to keep the soil from leaching out of the bottom while allowing water to freely flow through the pot. Rocks in plant pots do not help with drainage or air circulation.