The most common problem with a snake plant is watering the snake plants. There are two chances of watering a snake plant overwatering snake plant and underwatered snake plant.
Overwatered snake plant: By looking into the leaves you can identify if the plants are overwatered or not. Overwatering makes the leaves heavy and squishy. The leaves can fall over if they are overwatered. You can check the soil with your finger and if you can access water the plants are overwatered.
Underwatered snake plant: Another problem with a snake plant is underwatered. Underwatered means the plants are not getting enough water. This situation can interrupt the supply of necessary nutrients. You can identify the underwatered snake plants by following some common symptoms. Join me to identify the symptoms of underwatered snake plant.
Symptoms of Underwatered Snake Plant
Leaves Falling
If a snake plant doesn’t get enough water the leaves will fall over and will look lifeless. This will happen because the plant can’t prepare the necessary nutrients for lack of water. This makes the leaves bend down and you can identify that the plant is suffering underwater.
Leaves Edge Drying
Due to underwatering the edge of leaves can be brown or dry. The plants can’t supply enough food to the leaves due to water lacking and they become brown or dry.
Curly Leave
If you find any curly leaves on your snake plants you need to worry about this. Due to underwatering the leaves can fold or twist in. This is definitely a symptom of underwatered snake plant.
Slow Growth
If your snake plants are growing too slow this can be for lack of watering. The plants are unable to supply enough energy due to underwatering which can hamper the plant’s growth.
Soil is Dry
If you see the potting soil is dey this means the plants aren’t getting enough water that they need. The soil is dry and this is a sign of underwatering.
How to save underwatered snake plant
If you can identify this issue in the first stage you can save your plants. If the leave getting brown you can stop them but you can’t remove those spots from the leaves. As long as you can ensure that the roots are healthy new pups will grow. The first thing is to identify the problem and take the necessary action as soon as possible. You can follow the below instructions to keep the plants alive.
Regular Watering Practice
Water the Snake Plant regular basis. Though snake plans do not need a lot of care, but during this condition, you need to care to save the plants. Dry soil interrupts the supply of essential substances to the plants. It is because the means of transportation water is missing. Meanwhile, excessive amounts of water can lead to root rotting. A damaged root can’t deliver nutrients to the plants. These tips will help you determine if it is time to water your plant.
- Check the moisture of the soil by touching it with your finger. Around one to two inches from the surface should dry out before watering again.
- Check the sound of the soil. Gif you tap the pot it will sound dull if it is still damp.
- Check the weight of the pot. If the pot is lighter there is definitely less water.
- Inspect the color of the potting mix. The soil will transition into light color if they are starting to dry.
Right environment
The right environment will support the growth of the Snake Plant. Make sure that the plant is having sufficient light, correct temperature, and humidity. You can place the plants in a bright light area. Their leaves will just develop in a brighter area and will turn into solid dark green under low light conditions. The correct temperature will be 55°F to 85°F (13°C to 30°C) for the snake plants.
Cut affected areas
As I have already mentioned the damaged area of a snake plant will not recover. The proper care can stop this from getting worse. Leaves that have some firm and healthy parts can be trimmed. If you think that you need to cut half of the leaves which may look bad you can cut the whole. Please use a sterilized knife for this.
Proper potting mix
Make a proper potting mixing for affected plants. You can use heavy potting media as they don’t dry quickly. The mix needs to have vermiculite, composts, and builder sand or peat moss. This soil can easily drains and can keep the plant nutrients.
Apply Fertilizer
Provide your snake plant fertilizer after it recovers from the problem. Natural fertilizers are always the best as they improve the soil’s ability to store nutrients & water. Make sure don’t overfertilize and do not apply fertilizer to a dried-up snake plant.