How to Propagate Snake Plant

Love snake plants? Do you want to multifold them yourself without going to a nursery? This article will help you on how to propagate snake plant with ease. Keep on reading! 

Snake plants are widely popular all over the world. The plant looks beautiful in your garden spaces and can be grown in indoor spaces too. Snake plants are known as mother-in-law’s tongue and sansevieria. This is specially grown as a houseplant as it is easy to grow. 

However, you don’t need to purchase snake plants to decorate your garden spaces. Snake propagation is the best way to grow new snake plants. You can propagate snake plants by using cuttings, division, or rhizome.

This is the easiest plant to grow through propagating. And that is why we thought to create an article that will help you learn how to propagate snake plant. 

Snake plants look visually striking and have sword-shaped leaves, which look stunning in your home spaces. This is the perfect gifting item for garden lovers. So, if you are looking for the best way to grow the plant in your spaces, here is the right way.

Not only that, snake plants are great indoor plants as well. There are a variety of indoor plants that you can grow indoors and we have written a guide as well.

For example, how to grow Money Plants, Prayer Plant, etc.

This blog will provide you with a stepwise guide on how to propagate snake plant. Keep on reading! 

How to Propagate Snake Plant

Before we come to explain a step-by-step guide, it is essential to know that 4 ways help you to propagate snake plants. These are as follows: 

1. Progapagating Snake Plant Cuttings in Water 

It is very easy to propagate snake plant cuttings in water. Just find a healthy snake plant, cut the full-grown leaves, and put them in water to grow. That’s it. 

2. Propagating Snake Plant Cuttings in Soil

Put the snake plant cuttings directly into the soil and it will turn into a new snake plant. Just like that! 

3. Propagate Snake Plant by Rhizome

Are there any underground stems? If you provide them with the right conditions, they can grow into a new snake plant. 

4. Propagate Snake Plant by Division 

Able to see too many snake plants roots in one pot? Divide these snake plants in half and grow them as an individual plants. 

So, these are some of the ways that you can apply to propagate snake plants. We have mentioned all the methods in great depth so you can choose according to your requirements. Please have a look.

You can also propagate succulents easily. You should check our post on how to propagate succulents the easy way.

But make sure to choose the right size of succulent pots.

Method 1: Propagate Snake Plant Cuttings in Water

Snake plant cuttings can be grown into the water. All you need is to use a sharp knife to cut the leaves. Always cut the leaves from the base of the soil. Then, make a sharp cut and dip the cuttings in the root hormones suspension. This is helpful to grow the snake plant ideally. 

Now, place the leaves cutting in the water. Do ensure to cover one-fourth part of the cutting into the water. Remember that the leaves of the snake plants are polar, and it grows the roots from the end that you cut close to the soil. 

Cut the V-shape cutting as it helps to improve the odds of growth. The top of the snake plant leaves are heavy, so make sure to grow them into the heavy mason jar. Now, keep the room warm enough to support the plant’s growth. Ensure to change the jar’s water after a week or when the water becomes dirty. 

It takes longer to grow, so be prepared to wait for long. It takes more than two months to grow the plant’s roots, so keep waiting. As soon as you see the sprouts, let them grow a bit longer, and then you can transfer them into the soil pot. 

And that is how you can propagate snake plant cuttings in water. Want to put them directly into soil? Check out the next section that will help you to propagate snake plant cuttings in soil. 

Method 2: Propagate Snake Plant Cuttings in Soil

Cuttings of the snake plants can also grow well in the soil. In this method, you need to take the cuttings of the snake plants. Then, cut the leaves with roots and cut them from the soil line. Use a sharp knife to make the cuts. Also, make sure that the leaf-cutting must be two inches long. 

You need to leave the leaf pieces for a few days to start growing. This is helpful to prevent the growth of microbes from the soil. It takes two to three days to dry completely. Now, put it into the soil and know which part of the leaves will go under the soil. 

Before planting, you can also add hormone powder at the root bottom. This will help to grow snake plants faster and easily. The snake plant will start growing within a month, and the new sprouts will appear after two months.

This method has the tendency of having yellow leaves on plants. Do check the problems and solutions to fix yellow leaves on plants.

Method 3: Propagate Snake Plants by Rhizome

Snake plants can grow well with rhizomes. This form of the stem can grow in horizontal and underground conditions. The rhizomes send the shoots known as the pups. However, if you do not have these pups, you can use the rhizome and grow them into a whole new plant. 

To propagate snake plants by rhizome, you need to have a newspaper, sharp knife or garden sheet, aeration pot for the rhizome, potting mixture, and cuttings. 

Lay down the snake plant and check for the rhizome in the root areas. Now, look for the whitish nodes and stems that look like the garlic cloves. Take a knife and cut these rhizomes from the base of the snake plant.

Do not cut the plant’s roots and let the rhizome grow into the callous. When it grows, transfers callous into the soil. This way you can propagate snake plant and grow a new plant from the rhizomes. 

Method 4: Propagate Snake Plant by Division

You can grow the snake plant by the division method. This is the best suited to grow snake plants, and the process includes separating the existing snake plant into two halves to grow into two or more snake plants. 

Carefully find the roots or those areas where you see the rhizomes; if your plant is younger, separate or cut it into two halves only. However, you can also make more pieces if you require only if the snake plant size is larger. Now, take the divided parts of the plant having rhizomes and grow them into a healthy plant. 

Also, ensure that each part has few roots and is ready to divide unless the plant will not grow properly. Sow these cuttings into separate pots and let them grow. Add some water but do not overload it with water. Add water only when the soil is completely dry. 

And that’s how you can propagate snake plant by division which we think is the easiest way. It is also the quickest way to grow snake plants. 

Also Read: How to Propagate Prayer Plant

What are the Ideal Conditions to Propagate a Snake Plant?

Remember that not all snake plant cuttings survive properly in the propagation process. To propagate snake plants properly, you need to maintain the ideal conditions, which are as follows: 

1. Avoid Bright Light 

Although snake plants can tolerate the sunlight but try to avoid bright light when the cuttings are in the growing stage. It would be great if you keep them in shades and bring plants under the sun for two to three hours a day. This helps to grow the snake plants in a better way. 

2. Aeration Pot 

Always choose the right pot to grow the cuttings of the snake plants. Terracotta pots are excellent for growing snake plants. Any pot that has pores is excellent for growing snake plants.

The snake plants are prone to rotting, so you need to avoid the over-watering condition of the plant. Grow the cuttings in the well-aerated pots as it helps to provide adequate draining of the soil. 

Also Read: How to Grow and Care for Philodendron

3. Ideal Temperature 

Snake plants grow excellently in indoor spaces and can grow well in tropical environments. They can tolerate up to 60-80 F temperature easily.

However, if the temperature drops below the 10-degree Celsius, the snake plant may start sinking or die. The edges become brown, and leaves start falling. 

4. Right Soil Medium

Snake plants grow amazing in that soil medium that offers perfect drainage and remains moist. Apart from this, the snake plant can grow excellent in nutrient-rich soil, so you can add compost to make the soil fertile.

Soilless potting mix can also be excellent for growing snake plants. This is made up of vermiculite, perlite, and coarse sand. 

5. Amount of Water is Important

The snake plant requires a minimum amount of water to grow properly. However, avoid the overwatering condition as it may rot and cause plant death.

The plants can also survive in drought-prone areas. Avoid soggy conditions as it may develop fungus, rot, and sentimentality on the roots and leaves. 

Problems of Propagating Snake Plant

Keep this in mind: sometimes the snake plant propagation doesn’t go as well as planned.

So, you need to monitor the propagation properly and cut the leaves when you need it. Also, when the plant grows, you face some problems. These are shown below so that you can overcome these problems and grow a healthy snake plant. Have a look! 

1. The edges and tips of the leaves become brown. This may happen due to the cool temperature of the room. The brown rust also appears on the plant when it doesn’t get enough water and leaves start curling and withering.
2. Root rot and rotting is the most common problem associated with the snake plant. As soon as the plant starts growing, you may notice the wet spots on the leaves, and if you don’t care and cut the rotten part, it may spread into the whole plant.
3. Sometimes the plant disease is due to rotting. This may happen due to overwatering. So, you need to prevent root rotting and prevent the waterlogged condition.
4. If you see any rotting on the plant, immediately cut the part of the plant and remove the mushy part of the plants and roots with the help of a sharp knife.
5. Snake plants are prone to certain diseases such as pests, plant diseases, and others. So, timely make sure to cut the diseased part of the plant and apply some pest control to control the disease.

These are some of the problems that you might face while propagating snake plants. However, keeping a check and rectifying it quickly can help you grow a healthy snake plant.

How Much Time it Take to Propagate a Snake Plant

Snake plant is amongst the slowest growing plants. This may take more than eight weeks to propagate and see the primary root growth. At the same time, the plant may take more than three months to see the main roots if it doesn’t receive sunlight adequately. 

On the other hand, it takes eight weeks to show the leaves and grow above the soil line. Therefore, you need to have extra patience to grow the snake plants. Do not feel overwhelmed with the slow growth because it takes time to turn into the beautiful snake leaves. 

Grow Beautiful Snake Plants!

We have shown all the ways that can help you to propagate snake plant with ease. You can choose one according to your requirements and ease. 

Snake propagation is the best way to grow the plant in your house. The plant requires less care, and you can easily grow into indoor spaces. However, make sure to cut the damaged leaves timely to ensure proper growth of the plants.

In addition to this, you can apply fertilizers and pest control timely to avoid nutritional deficiency and protect them from diseases. 

If the leaves get larger, trim them properly upward to grow optimally. It may take a longer time to show roots and start growing. So, you need to be patient and take care of the plant during the growing stage. 

So, what do you think? Will you propagate snake plants using this guide? Do you know any other method that helps in propagating snake plants from cuttings? If yes, do let us know in the comments section below. It will benefit our readers.