How to care for sansevieria at home: watering, lighting, top dressing

Sansevieria is a perennial evergreen plant belonging to the Agave family. Under natural growing conditions, it can be found in savannahs, semi-deserts and desert regions of Africa, Madagascar, India, South Florida. Popularly, sansevieria is called pike tail, mother-in-law’s tongue, leopard lily, African hemp, devil’s tongue, and cuckoo’s tail.

Botanical description

Among the sansevieria, which number about 60 species, there are epiphytic plants. The succulent culture has earned popularity thanks to the beautiful painted dense foliage extending directly from the rhizome. Some species have a stem.

Dark green leaves are decorated with yellow or white transverse or longitudinal stripes, with or without a wax coating.

Depending on the type of foliage, it can be wide and narrow, flat and thickened, long and short, oval and round, xiphoid. Some indoor species have foliage growing strictly up, or in different directions. Some plates are decorated with a point.

Among the species there are fast- and slow-growing ones, which give an increase of only 3-4 leaves per year.

A group of sansevieria planted in one round low pot looks beautiful. An interesting option for decorating the premises is to plant a pike tail in one row in an oblong pot, and the arrangement of such containers one above one. Can be combined with other indoor flowers.

Types of sansevieria

Among the variety of species and varieties, each grower can choose for one that suits the conditions that the owner can provide him.

Sansevieria large

Native to tropical Africa. The squat rosette includes from 2 to 4 fleshy leaf plates 40-60 cm long, 15 cm wide. The leaves are painted light green. On the entire surface there are transverse stripes of a dark tone, the edge is decorated with a border of a reddish hue. The plant produces a racemose inflorescence, 80 cm high, at the top of which are snow-white flowers or with a greenish tinge. Each flower is 5 cm in diameter.

Sansevieria Guinea or three-lane

A representative originally from South Africa has firmly entered the life of flower growers. The three-striped variety is a perennial plant with light leaves and dark stripes over the entire surface, which are located horizontally. Upright leaves extend from the creeping rhizome to the sides.

It blooms 2 times a year with light green small flowers collected in a panicle. Cut leaves do not lose their decorative effect, they can stand in water for a long time, they even take root.

Laurentia

A variety of three-lane sansevieria with xiphoid leaves reaching a length of 1 m. A yellowish-white border runs along the edge. Spike inflorescences are formed right at the base. The flowers are white.

Craig

A variety of Guinean sansevieria. On light leaves are saturated green stripes. Taxonomic catalogs do not include this variety, so it is possible that Craig may be a species in its own right.

Silver and Golden Hahnii

These varieties have a squat rosette, consisting of fleshy wide leaves, up to 25 cm high.

Sansevieria duneri

It grows naturally in West Africa. In one rosette, there are up to 15 leaf plates, painted in light green, on the surface of which there are blurry longitudinal stripes of dark green tone. On a drooping peduncle is a racemose inflorescence, including white tubular flowers. During flowering, the room is filled with a pleasant aroma, reminiscent of blooming lilacs.

Sansevieria Liberia

There are up to 6 leaf plates in the rosette, from 35 cm to 1 m long. It is noteworthy that the flat leaves are parallel to the ground. On a dark green surface there are blurry stripes of light green. The edge is decorated with a reddish border. The rhizome is underground. It blooms with white tubular flowers with a pungent odor.

Sansevieria Graceful or Graceful

The stem of a perennial plant reaches 5 cm in height. Oval leaves are located at the base. On a gray-green surface, gray-beige transverse stripes are clearly visible.

Sansevieria Hyacinthus

Flowering occurs in winter. At this time, small flowers bloom on a long peduncle, thinning out a strong aroma. Plant 30 cm tall. On a dark background of lanceolate leaves, strokes resembling a «W» are noticeable.

Sansevieria cylindrical

The plant got its name due to the shape of the leaves, resembling a cylinder. Cultivated in the 19th century. Creamy white flowers tinged with red are carried in a racemose inflorescence crowning a long peduncle.

How to care for sansevieria at home

Each type of pike tail has its own care requirements, so before you buy a potted plant, you should find out if it is possible to create good conditions for it in a particular apartment.

The spectacular appearance and unpretentiousness in the content made the mother-in-law’s tongue a popular plant for growing in the house.

Basic care requirements:

1. Sansevieria does not need frequent feeding. In spring and summer, once a month, complex fertilizers are applied under the root, intended for feeding decorative and deciduous plants.

2. In order to prevent burns on the leaves, it is recommended to place a pot with a pike tail on any window sill, except for the southern one.

3. The optimal location is the windowsill, the only way to provide the plant with sufficient lighting.

In order not to destroy the sansevieria, it is important to monitor the moisture level of the earthy coma.

Temperature

There are no strict rules. In summer it is desirable to maintain the temperature at + 22-23 ° C, in winter — not lower than + 16 ° C. If the thermometer table drops to a critical level — below + 16 ° C, the appearance of the outlet will noticeably suffer.

Air humidity

Leopard lily needs normal air humidity, as excessively dry or humid air adversely affects the plant. From time to time, dust should be removed from the leaves with a damp cloth.

Watering

The humidity indicator is the perfect tool for growing indoor flowers. With it, you can determine whether the flower needs watering or not. For irrigation, it is advisable to use settled tap water at room temperature — no rain or distilled water! In summer, watering is plentiful, in winter — scarce.

Transplant rules

The mother-in-law’s tongue requires a transplant only if the entire pot is filled with the root system. Young specimens are transplanted into a new container 1 time in 2 years, adult specimens — 1 time in 3-4 years.

For planting, you can buy ready-made soil or cook it yourself, taking:

1. 1 part of leaf land;

2. 2 parts of soddy soil;

3. 1 part sand;

4. 0.3 parts perlite.

If, when examining the pot, the roots protruding from the drainage hole become noticeable, it’s time to transplant. Sansevieria loves to grow in clay pots. If you plant a flower in a plastic pot, growing, the root system deforms the walls of the container, it can even break them and come out. In addition, the fleshy leaves have weight, so the plastic pot may not withstand the load and roll over.

Attention! Due to the fact that sansevieria has a superficial root system, preference should be given to a wide and not deep pot.

Fertilization

For good growth and development, the plant needs to be fed for 2 seasons — in spring and summer. Once a month, an earthen ball is watered with liquid mineral fertilizer for decorative leafy crops or for succulents.

Attention! Excessive nitrogen content will harm the pike tail.

When growing species with bright foliage and original pattern, high dosage of fertilizers should be refrained from, as the pattern may merge with the main color. So that the leaves do not become monotonous, it is recommended to apply fertilizers, 3 times lower concentration than written in the instructions for the drug.

Winter care for sansevieria

The rest period of the leopard lily is weakly expressed, so you should not change the conditions of detention: reduce watering and reduce the temperature regime.

It is necessary to artificially create a rest period only if there is a desire to see the flowering of sansevieria. However, the plant, even without an appropriate period, produces a peduncle that usually appears in summer.

Due to the fact that decorative foliage is valued more than nondescript flowers, experienced flower growers do not create a dormant period for a flower. Although, if you give the flower a rest, it will respond with gratitude and begin to grow faster.

Blooming sansevieria

Pike tail blooms in summer, in the second year after planting. Flowering lasts only 2 weeks. On a thin and long peduncle, small milky flowers bloom, shading green. If you look closely at the flowers, they look like a lily. And the smell — just beyond words, how pleasant it is! It is possible to contemplate flowering in full dissolution of flowers only in the evening. An amazing sight — a scattering of dairy flowers against the background of juicy, painted foliage.

Trimming Rules

Since the plant does not have a trunk, only leaf plates, the need for pruning disappears by itself. Damaged, dried and diseased leaves are subject to removal.

Propagation of sansevieria

Pike tail can be propagated by leaf cuttings, lateral processes and division of the rhizome.

leaf reproduction

For rooting, a healthy leaf is selected without any damage, cut it into pieces in the transverse direction so that the length of each segment is at least 5 cm.

After the prepared cuttings have dried a little at room temperature, they must be planted in the prepared soil. Cuttings take root better in the sand. Above them, it is desirable to build a mini-greenhouse, covering the container with plantings with a cap from a plastic bottle or creating a frame and throwing a plastic bag over it. It is necessary to water carefully, without overflowing, it is better from above than through the pan. By watering over the surface of the soil, you can control the amount of water.

The stalk will take root for 1.5 months. Small leaves will serve as evidence of rooting. Now you need to transplant into a new pot with a nutrient mixture.

Note! Rooting with a leaf cutting is suitable for monochromatic species. If you root a variegated leaf, there is a high probability of losing stripes — a young plant may have plain foliage.

Reproduction by side shoots

The breeding procedure is best done in the spring, when the plants have a period of active growth. On each bush you can see branches — side shoots. They should be cut with a sharp knife, sprinkle the cut with activated charcoal, let it lie down for a while at room temperature and plant it in the prepared substrate. Watering is moderate, without fanaticism. You can create a greenhouse, although the plants take root well without creating greenhouse conditions.

Reproduction by division of the rhizome

During the transplantation of the mother bush, you need to carefully remove the sansevieria from the ground, lightly shake off the ground, cut the rhizomes into equivalent divisions, each of which has a growth point. After that, plant each of them in a separate pot, slightly moisten the soil.

The method is suitable for plain and variegated varieties. As a result of reproduction by divisions, young specimens retain all the characteristics of the mother plant.

Attention! When rooting, it is important to observe watering — cuttings, leaf plates and lateral processes do not like «swamps»!

Growing sansevieria: possible difficulties

If you do not create certain conditions for growing a plant from the Agave family, you may encounter some difficulties.

The foliage becomes soft, turns yellow, dies off at the base. The main reason is excessive watering or water ingress into the center of the outlet. To save sansevieria, you will have to remove the plant from the ground, shake off the soil, remove all damaged parts and transplant into new soil. When the root system rots, you need to cut the rhizome into pieces, select healthy divisions and re-root.

The appearance of reddish-brown spots on the leaf plates, bordered by a yellow stripe, is a sign of plant infection with fungal diseases.

If dark brown spots appear on the leaves, it means that the flower pot is kept in a room with high humidity or the soil is constantly wet.

When the ground is dry, the leaves are susceptible to rot. The problem may arise as a result of keeping sansevieria in a cold room. You can save the flower if you remove all the damaged foliage and rearrange the pot with the leopard lily in a warm room.

By observing the agrotechnical methods of cultivation and care, you can achieve the flowering of sansevieria, admire the white-cream flowers and enjoy a pleasant aroma reminiscent of the smell of vanilla.