How To Propagate Snake Plant (Sansevieria): 5 Easy Ways

Snake plants are low-maintenance house plants that don’t need to be watered often and only need a little light. Learn more about How To Propagate Snake Plant. 

There are many ways to carry out the propagation of snake plants. You could use cuttings or the division method or even start propagating snake plants in water.

Snake plants are among the most forgiving indoor plants. You may easily grow them, spread them, and propagate them whenever you want. For quick results, divide the plant or rooting leaves individually in water or soil.

Propagation is much easier as compared to growing from the seed. This article will guide you through each method you can utilize to propagate your snake plant. 

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What Are Snake Plants?

The snake plant is an easy-to-care-for houseplant, known for its easy propagation method.

  • As members of the succulent family, including agaves, snake plants are related to those plants.   
  • Like their agave relatives, they are cheap to maintain since they grow with little sunshine, tolerate neglect, and clean the air in a congested workplace well. 
  • A snake plant’s erect, spikey growth pattern makes it a great addition to a container nursery of houseplants.

Snake plants may be easily and quickly multiplied via a variety of methods.

These plants consistently generate new plants from cuttings, which may be transplanted into the ground to start a new generation of plants.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to propagate a snake plant in the most convenient way possible.

Fun fact: They are also called as Mother In laws tongue plant because of their long leaves pattern

How to Grow a Snake Plant faster

The following are some easy steps to grow a snake plant faster:

  • Select a plastic pot no more than a third wider in diameter than the root ball to avoid water logging.  
  • Put a third of the container’s capacity worth of fast-draining palm, Cactus, and citrus in a potting mix, which drains quickly and retains essential nutrients.
  • Plant it so that the top of the root ball is about an inch below the rim of the pot.
  •  Press lightly as you fill in the earth around the root ball.
  • Move your snake plant to its new location after watering it thoroughly and allowing it to drain.

Preparing For Propagation Of Snake Plant

Propagation of Snake Plant isn’t as hard as it seems at first glance.

If you want to avoid procrastinating when you’re busy, it’s best to get everything together (except your plant) and prepare your soil.

  • Whichever technique of dissemination you choose will determine to a significant extent the instruments you’ll require. 
  • a tiny pot and a special soil mixture
  • Taking cuttings from leaves requires sharp shears or a knife. 
  • Each section’s root development may be traced to its origin thanks to a marking.
  •  To proliferate in water, you’ll also need a container and some pebbles to keep the cutting vertically. 

Snake plant is easily propagated from cuttings, but the plant’s distinctive leaf patterns are sometimes lost in the process. New shoots or pups that sprout from a variegated leaf cutting are often solid green.

1. Before the Propagation of Snake Plants

Your efforts of propagation will go more smoothly if you’re well-organized.

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Avoid wasting time while working and have everything together. Make the soil mixture ahead of time for a worry-free process.

2. Tools Required for the Propagation of Snake Plants

  • Every propagation method requires a specially prepared soil mix and a small container for propagation.
  • Moreover, you’ll need a pair of sharp shears or a knife if you want to start new plants from leaf cuttings.
  • Use a marker to track each section’s root growth. Since the cutting needs to be held upright in the water, you’ll also need glass and some gravel.
  • You might also require a sharp hobby knife for division-based propagation and separating pups.

Make sure it’s spotless and rust-free before you begin, as rust can harbor harmful bacteria that could infect the new plant and ultimately kill the parent plant.

Also read- How To Repot A Snake Plant That Thrives All Year

How To Propagate Snake Plant In 6 Easy Ways

How To Propagate Snake Plant

I may easily propagate snake plants in a number of different ways. You may propagate new plants by rooting leaf buds or even little pieces of foliage or by dividing established plants.

1. From Pieces Of The Leaves

  • The leaf cuttings may easily be rooted in any water or dirt. You can use the leaf in its full form or choose to split it into tinier portions.
  • This process is time-consuming and does not guarantee that the infants will have any kind of background.
  • Each fresh cutting may take root and develop into a new plant, but the original will not thrive.

2. The Division Form 

If your plant has outgrown its container, you can easily propagate it by dividing it.

Roots might sprout through the drainage holes, or you might notice mild bulging at the sidewalls.

If such situations arise, you must repot your plant immediately and start the propagation process simultaneously.

Start the division process by following the instructions given below:

  • Begin by unpotting the plant. Remove the entire plant from the container.
  • Press gently on the sides to loosen the soil and roots if you encounter any resistance.
  • When the plant is no longer restrained, you can examine the divisions more closely. Loosen the roots and excavate some soil from around the plant’s base.
  • Use water to clean the crown and improve visibility.
  • Natural breakage is the best spot to cut the roots. Once you can see where the roots are, you may start picking the splits.
  • A clean incision into the crown should leave ample roots on both sides for the plant to continue growing.

When a snake plant gets to be a certain size, it may be divided. A new plant may be grown from each stem. 

This is the most efficient technique to go through several bigger ones.

Additionally, this is the only propagation method of snake plants that ensures the offspring will take on their mother’s precise physical characteristics.

3. Directly From The Seed

  • Growing this plant from seed is doable but time-consuming and requires a lot of patience. 
  • Rather than planting seeds, most growers and perhaps even breeders propagate plants by cuttings or division.

4. propagate the snake vine in water

Propagating snake plants in water is possible. Snake plants may be grown from seeds in water.

  • However, it might be time-consuming, result in decay, and make the return to soil more challenging for the infants.
  • These plants are simple to produce and need nothing in the way of maintenance.
  • Because they come in such a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures, they are an excellent choice for a houseplant.

5. How to Propagate Snake Plants in Soil

Snake plants are easy to grow from cuttings, which can be planted in soil as well. If you want to grow your snake plants from cuttings, follow the instructions below:

  • Create a slice. Remove one leaf from the parent plant by severing it near its stem using a knife or gardening shears. Sharpen your knives beforehand.
  • Set the cut aside in a dry area for a couple of days so the exposed end can harden into a callus. A rooting hormone applied to the severed end will promote new growth.
  • Insert the cutting into the ground.
  • Immediately after the cutting has been calloused over, plant it in a shallow container containing a soil mixture of coarse sand or peat moss.
  • Water the plant. The roots will start growing in a few weeks.
  • Track the expansion. The appearance of new leaves on your cutting indicates that it has begun to establish a root system.
  • Check if roots have formed by giving the new plant a light tug.

6. Propagating Snake Plants from Established Rhizomes

You can propagate the snake plant by using rhizomes.

The distinguished rhizomes resemble white roots and connect the parent plant to its offspring. They are the stem structures responsible for propagation. If you want to propagate your plant, follow the given instructions:

  • Use a sharp, clean knife to remove the rhizome from the parent plant.
  • Plant it in a new location to start a new snake plant.
  • Though it would be preferable not to cut any roots, you might have to make a few tweaks here and there.
  • Keep a check. New plants grow from rhizomes that have propagated either above or below ground.
  • The cut part of the rhizome needs time to harden over before you plant it. Hence, you must give it a couple of days to dry out.
  • Ensure to keep the soil moist for the first several weeks after planting a rhizome cutting.
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When To Propagate Snake Plants

If you want to propagate snake plant cuttings, then the summer and spring months are the best time to do it. They hibernate over the winter, which might hinder root development.

Leaf-Based Propagation Of Snake Plant

Apply these guidelines when you’re ready to take successful cuttings of your snake plant. If you want your leaves to root quickly and easily, choose those that are well-hydrated.

Snake Plant Propagation: Taking Cuttings

  • Both entire and cut-up snake plant leaves will root well. It’s possible to create several offspring from a single leaf by chopping it into portions about 3 to 4 inches in length.
  • Trim the snake plant leaves as near the earth as possible using clean, sharp pruning shears, scissors, or a knife. Be cautious since they are rather thick.
  • Once the portion on the mother has died off, it may be removed.

sterilizing Tongue Leaves 

  • Cut the leaf into parts, but remember which side was downward. If you put them upside down, they won’t take.
  • If you want to identify the correct end easily, cutting a V-shaped notch or slanting the bottom slightly will assist.
  • Then, spend a few days in a warm, dry place that’s out of the sun to let the wounds to callous. This will prevent decay and repair the cut edge.

Time Required For Propagation Of Snake Plant

  • Although they are not difficult to reproduce, snake plants need at least 90 days to get established and much more time before they produce new pups. 
  • The leaf itself will not expand, and cuttings that have been soil propagated will give the appearance of being inactive until a new pup starts to emerge from the soil.
  • After some time passes, you can always give it a little tug to make it lose. When you encounter resistance, you may be sure that the roots have started to develop.

Why Snake Plant Might Not Propagate

  • There are a few potential explanations for why the snake plant cannot reproduce. 
  • The causes might be anything from low temperatures and a lack of light to an insufficient amount of time or improper positioning.
  • Make sure they are in a warm place and that there is enough indirect light available throughout the day. 
  • The use of a heating pad and a grow lamp will be of assistance in hastening the process.

Problems While Propagating the Snake Plant

In some cases, the snake plant fails to root during propagation. It tends to decay at the stem before it has roots – another challenge when trying to multiply it.

These conditions are possible outcomes of either an abundance or a dearth of water.

  • Use a potting mix with adequate drainage and water the cutting just enough so that it doesn’t dry out but also doesn’t have extra water resting in the bottom of the pot.
  • When growing, a snake plant should be given plenty of direct sunshine. Place it somewhere that gets at least six hours of sun every day.
  • Mealybugs are the most prevalent pest that attacks snake plants from seed. These pests are microscopic in size, white in color, and difficult to spot because of the waxy material they exude. They induce leaf yellowing or browning when they eat the plant’s leaves. To get rid of these pests, spray your plants with insecticidal soap or use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.

Caring For Your Snake Plant

A. Tips On Caring For Your Snake Plant After Propagating

1. Taking Care From Underwatering

  • To maintain a wet soil environment after planting, water liberally.
  • Doing so will prevent the cuttings or splits from drying up and promote fresh root development. 
  • To hasten recovery from the ordeal and to help the plants blossom again, you should transfer the container to a bright, warm area. Read signs of underwatering.

2. Watering

  • If you’ve started a new plant from leaf cuttings, water it often until roots form.
  • While you encounter resistance when attempting to remove the plant from its container, you will know that roots have begun to develop.
  • Once the first few weeks have passed, you may gradually reduce the frequency and amount of watering until the cuttings are ready to be transplanted.

3. Relocation from Time to time

  • Snake Plant pups and divisions need the same care as their parent plant. 
  • They rely on their roots to develop, making them particularly vulnerable to root rot. If moved to a suitable location, new growth should emerge in weeks.
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4. Invest in a good fertilizer

Do not apply fertilizer just after planting; doing so might cause root and leaf burn. 

The plants should be able to survive for a time in their new soil. A good fertilizer may be used if development is sluggish after two months.

B. Pruning

  • If your Snake Plant has become too large, or if any of its leaves are damaged and you’d want to remove them, you may do it with little effort.
  • To harvest, just cut the unwanted stalks off at the base, as near the earth as possible, using a pointed, sterile blade.
  • You may also try removing the leaf from the root if it is wilted, dry, or otherwise dying off. If it’s ready to leave, it will slide right out!

C. Cleaning

Place each leaf on two clean, soft towels and rub off the upper surface to expose a radiant sheen (this will also help the plant absorb more light).

D. Care for Your Snake Plant: Repotting Instructions

Slower than they might in nature, houseplants develop more slowly when kept inside.

This is a wonderful thing to do every couple of years to offer fresh nutrients and stimulate new development, depending on the depth and density of your plant’s roots.

How To Propagate Snake Plant FAQS

Q: Is it possible for a snake plant to regenerate from a shattered leaf?

If the leaf is still healthy, you can develop the plant from it when you know which end was facing down before it was damaged.

Q: Is it difficult to propagate snake plants?

Propagating snake plants is not difficult at all. The cuttings are so easy to root that even novices will get positive results.

Q: How Long Do Snake Plant Infants Take To Mature?

The development of a snake plant pup may take many months.

You should see the first sprouts about two to four months after you plant your cuttings.

Q: What is the best way to propagate a Snake Plant?

If you want to propagate snake plants quickly, take a clipping from the plant’s stem during the spring or summer.

Ensure the cutting is six inches long with around two leaves.

Q: How long does it take for a snake plant to grow from a cutting in water?

How long to propagate a snake plant depends entirely on the parent plant.

After planting the cutting, replace the water in the jar every few days and keep it out of direct sunlight or under a grow light.

It will take about three to four weeks for the new roots to start sprouting from the leaf’s base.

Q: · Should I remove wilted leaves from my snake plant?

Wilted leaves on a snake plant are not only ugly but may also increase the plant’s stress levels.

You can improve your plant’s appearance and stimulate the growth of new, healthier leaves by removing the damaged sections.

Q: How should I cut my snake plant?

Take a knife or a pair of pruners and snip the leaf off the plant where it meets the stem.

You can maximize the number of seedlings produced by slicing the leaf in half horizontally and then into 2-inch pieces.

Q: 4. Is it possible to propagate the snake vine in water?

Propagating snake plants in water is possible. Snake plants may be grown from seeds in water. However, it might be time-consuming, result in decay, and make the return to soil more challenging for the infants.
 
These plants are simple to produce and need nothing in the way of maintenance. Because they come in such a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures, they are an excellent choice for a houseplant.

Final Thoughts

Snake plants are succulents.

These plants thrive in low light, don’t require a lot of water, and are excellent at cleaning the air in a stuffy workplace.

You can introduce an intriguing textural contrast by including a snake plant in your indoor garden of houseplants, thanks to its upright, spiky behavior.

Propagation of snake plants may take some time, but it’s quite straightforward.

Once you learn how to propagate snake plants, you can easily get many from a small plant, which means you’ll have enough to give to your loved ones and friends.

Overall, if you just maintain the work you put into propagation during the spring and summer months, you may have an ample supply by the next season.