Please help! My snake plant’s leaves are drooping!
Sansevieria trifasciata, often known as the snake plant is renowned as one of the most resilient and low-maintenance indoor succulent plants. Its pointed leaves must stand for the plant to have a lovely form and receive the most sunlight.
But sometimes, you may find that your beloved snake plant’s leaves might slant, droop, or fall over. You must be aware of these many problems so that you can take action before it’s too late. Today, in this article, you will learn how to set up your snake plant’s environment such that its drooping leaves may be reversed and won’t happen again!
Reasons for Snake Plant Dropping Leaves!
Let’s know the reasons why your snake plant has drooping leaves!
1. Root rot and overwatering
First and foremost, and this is very important for beginners, snake plants are succulents, meaning that their rubbery, thick leaves retain moisture remarkably well. The snake plant is a typical succulent that requires less watering than your regular houseplant since it thrives in hot, arid regions of the tropical West African region.
As they are sensitive to root rot if given excessive moisture or overwater, they might even die!
What you should do
- Let the soil of your snake plant dry up before trying to restore it to its previous splendor.
- Make sure the dirt isn’t only dry on the surface by sticking your finger down to the ground.
- After that, water the plant only when it is fully dry, making sure that the top three inches of soil are entirely dry.
- Water solely with 3% hydrogen peroxide for roughly three months to eradicate any possible root fungus. You might need to repot the plant, if the root rot is severe, removing any mushy or dead roots.
- Snake plants typically only need to be watered once every two to four weeks, while plants that receive more sun or heat may require more frequent watering.
- They only need water when the leaves start to appear a little wilted throughout the winter, when they may be watered even less.
- One of the most challenging aspects of taking care of houseplants is watering.
2. Poor Soil Conditions and Drainage
If your watering schedule appears to be in order, the soil may just be storing too much water and not having enough drainage.
What you should do
- Repot your plant in cactus or succulent-specific potting soil to solve this problem.
- Simply add some compost for fertility and around half perlite to standard potting soil.
- Remove as much of the old dirt as you can before repotting, and use a pot that is big enough.
- When you water, water should quickly start to come out of the bottom drainage holes, which is one indication that the soil isn’t well drained.
- It’s typically a clue that you need to improve drainage if the soil continues to absorb a lot of water even after you’ve put a cup or two into it.
3. Need for Repotting or Root Pruning
Without periodic repotting or root cutting, root-bound houseplants are one of the most prevalent issues. Although snake plants don’t need repotting as frequently as other plants and may tolerate some root boundness, if the situation becomes too severe, they risk becoming sick and drooping.
Even snake plants need soil to provide their roots with the water and nutrients they require. Very tightly linked roots can also cause girdling, in which the roots choke themselves, rot, and other disease problems, as well as make it difficult for the plant to properly “breathe”, they need to breathe as well.
What you should do
- Every three to five years, snake plants need to be repotted. If for any reason you are unable to give the plant a larger container, you will need to clip the roots so that they occupy no more than half to three-quarters of the pot.
- By removing some dirt from the sides of the pot with your fingers and feeling the thickness of the roots, you may determine if a plant needs to be replanted or pruned.
- It’s time to switch to a larger pot if it appears like the roots are taking up more space than the soil.
- If the root ball is fully solid, you might need to separate the roots before repotting so that they create a lovely branching pattern rather than a clump.
- Remove the plant and carefully lay it on its side to cut the roots (whether for replanting in the same pot or to free up a tangled root ball before repotting).
- To cut the roots one at a time, you’ll need a sharp pair of scissors or perhaps a knife.
- Carefully separate the roots, removing large chunks of the root where necessary, until the root system has space to move and branches outward. This is preferable to simply cutting the bulk into a smaller root ball.
- The intention is to disperse the root mass so that it resembles a typical root mass more.
4. Snake Plant Dropping Leaves Due to Temperature
Although a snake plant can grow too hot, if the leaves are drooping, it’s doubtful that this is your problem. Most likely, it isn’t getting hot enough.
What you should do
- Maintain temperatures above 50°F for a healthy plant.
- Also keep in mind that even if it’s warm inside, the temperature at the window may be colder if it’s chilly outside.
- In this situation, try to find a location where you may position the plant a little farther away from the window or closer to a heat source.
5. Snake Plant Dropping Leaves Due to Inadequate Lighting
Snake plants indeed do best in the shadow. They do considerably better in partial sunlight, though. We are damn sure that the insufficient light your plant is receiving is making it ill and causing it to droop.
In addition to the health benefits of having appropriate lighting, snake plants tend to look better in partial sunlight since the brighter leaves allow their distinctive pattern to stand out more. However, all-day direct light in a south-facing window may be too much for snake plants, causing their leaves to droop as well.
What you should do
- Snake plants may endure up to 8 hours or more of light each day.
- The plant should ideally be placed in a bright west or east-facing window, about 10 feet away from a south-facing window.
- A west-facing plant will thrive better a few feet away from the window as well, as the western sun can be more consequential.
- When relocating a plant from a dimly lit place to a more sunny spot, it’s important to gradually expose the plant to light.
- Start by placing it in the sun for a few hours, then gradually increase that time each day until it receives the full amount of daylight in its new location.
- Alternatively, you may partially block the sun with curtains, sticks, or other obstructions, exposing the plant to increasing amounts of light without having to relocate it.
6. Snake Plant Dropping Leaves Due to Pest and Disease
When your snake plant suffers from any of the issues mentioned, it may become weaker and more vulnerable to pests as a result.
For instance, fungus, which resembles fruit flies and emerges from the soil as larvae, may attack your plant if it is overwatered and/or has poor drainage.
What you should do
- In this situation, you might need to repot the plant in fresh soil, remove any decayed roots, and adhere to the previous watering and drainage advice.
- Water containing 3% hydrogen peroxide followed by a pesticide. Using 1 tablespoon of mild dish soap, 1 tablespoon of oil (such as sunflower or olive), and 15 drops of neem oil in 1 cup of water is a decent DIY alternative.
- You might need to use pyrethrin-based pesticides to address severe, enduring infestations.
- Other uncommon snake plant pests include mealybugs and spider mites, although these are often noticeable before the leaves start to droop because the plants may first have little brown spots or faded dots on their foliage before drooping or losing all of their leaves.
- Use an insecticide to treat by misting as described above.
How to Fix a Drooping Snake Plant
You might be able to partially revive your snake plant’s leaves by using the advice above, depending on how badly they are wilting. However, if they are in horrible form, you probably can’t do much to repair the current leaves.
You may either leave them alone until new, upright growth appears, at which point you can clip them off, or you can just wait for them to expire as new growth replaces them naturally.
Cut off rotten or dead leaves just below the decayed or dead portion. Remember that these chopped leaves will never regenerate at their tips. Avoid removing too much of the leaf mass as this might kill the plant because there won’t be enough light available for the photosynthetic activity to support growth.
Before removing the old leaves, it is recommended to wait for new, healthy growth to appear because your plant will recover from illness much faster if you do this. If you use the following advice to revive your sick snake plant, you shouldn’t ever experience issues with it again.
FAQs
Q1. What diseases is my snake plant prone to?
Ans. Overall, snake plants are devoid of disease. However, if the growth environment is unfavorable, they may contract several bacterial and fungi infections.
The most typical fungi issues that might cause leaves to droop or topple down include-leaf spot redness and Southern rot. If you allow water to splash on the rosette, crown rot will develop. stem and root rot
Q2. How Can a Bent Snake Plant Leaf Be Repaired?
Ans. I know from prior experience that the outer leaves tend to bend or fall over. The center leaves often stay upright.
Therefore, you should remove the bending leaves if they are few and won’t impact the health of your snake plant. The good news is that by keeping them fixed to a stake, you can support the bending leaves.
Q3. How Could I Find Smooth Snake Plant Growth?
Ans. Keeping your snake plant from bending is the greatest method to ensure straight growth. Using a well-draining growth media for potting, providing a bright, indirect light source, and avoiding direct sunlight, chilly draughts, and frost are a few ways you might do this.
The optimal range is between 70 and 90 °F (21-32 °C). Every 2-3 years, repotting is necessary.
Conclusion
Find out why your snake plant’s leaves are drooping in the first place if they are. Once you’ve determined the cause of your plant’s unappealing leaves, take action to fix the issue.
Provide the best atmosphere and care for your plant if you’re still unsure of the cause of its drooping leaves. Your snake plant should recover over time.
I hope you like our article and if you have any doubts in your mind related to this topic, feel free to comment down below, and don’t forget to share this article with your family and friends!
