Sansevieria (Mother-in-Law's Tongue or Snake Plant)

Sanseveria or Mother-in-law's tongue or Snake Plant is the most forgiving hard to kill thing that grows! After about 7 years of growth it puts out beautiful long stems of a sweet-smelling delicate flower. Don't know where to find them any more but should be available somewhere. Every parlor had one but that was years ago. They start short but will get to be about 3 feet tall. Look them up. I think they are great but then I am an old plant too!

A. As always I welcome posts from fellow gardeners with suggestions and yes even corrections!!! I love to learn too as I research these questions so feel free to write me. I was thinking that Mary was asking about outdoor plants but I could be wrong. These plants above [which have been house favorites for generations] are still available at some garden centers. Their blooming is a true sight and happens only ever so often so is a pleasant surprise.

Q. I have a snake plant that I inherited last year. I keep it indoors. I'm not sure how old it is but I think it needs to be repotted. It's current pot is a bit cracked and the potting mix it's in just looks very used up. It seems pretty healthy for the most part but some of the leaves seem to be not as firmly rooted in the mix as before. Anyway I've never repotted such a big plant before so I could use your advice. How should I go about repotting it? What kind of potting mix would you recommend? Additionally I would like to try growing a new snake plant from a cutting. Can you tell me how you would do that? How long should I expect it to take to grow?

A. Glad you have a plant growing so well that it needs repotting and I assure you that it does. Once a pot starts cracking you know that the roots are yelling at you quietly repot me...I want more room please...

Snake Plant [Sansevieria or Sanseveria]

Carefully lay the pot on its side on newspaper large enough to protect the floor. Use a hammer and lightly hit the sides where split. Remove pieces of the pot as they break off. Do not smash down hard enough to harm the roots. When the pot is all removed use you hands to loosen the root ball around the edges. I would bet that you will see circling roots. Take a sharp knife and cut right up and down on the roots to sever them in places around the ball maybe about 3-4 times. Pry loose some more soil and allow to drop off. Loosen the roots and set the plant into a pot larger than before. If it is in a 6" pot use a 7-8" pot new and clean. Place a shard of broken pottery over the bottom hole allowing water to escape but not soil. Fill in around the root ball with a good house plant soil from the store with some perlite added in [you can buy most all over the place!] Keep the soil line the same as it was. Take outdoors or to a sink and water in slowly and well. Allow to drain for several hours