When shopping for a snake plant for your home, you may wonder how to choose one that will thrive in your environment. However, the very first thing you need to do is choose a snake plant that is well-growing. Do not expect your snake plant to grow well if you get the bad one.
Snake plants at the florist have a lot of special characteristics that predictably make them grow well. In order to avoid choosing the wrong snake plant, be careful when shopping.
You’ve come to the right place if you’re wondering how to choose a snake plant to bring into your home. The following post will show you how to choose the correct snake plant at a florist.
How to Choose a Perfect Snake Plant!
If you’re at a florist to shop for snake plants, you may be confused about which one to choose. Most florists, however, will likely argue that all snake plants will thrive. There are some florists who may not mention the negatives associated with snake plants they sell as they might want to sell the plants they sell even if they have downsides.
Therefore, you should be aware of a few characteristics that show snake plants are good for indoor cultivation. It is easy to detect the traits of a snake plant that will grow well.
Take a Close Look at the Leaves
You can see one of them by looking at the snake plant leaves. Dark green snake plants are the best choice if you see them. To put it differently, you should select plants with dark green leaves. As a result, the dark green indicates the plant is healthy and in good condition.
Alternatively, if you see the snake plant with pale leaves, you should not choose it as it may be already faltering.
Check the Pot
You should also pay attention to the leaves and see if your snake plant needs to be repotted. Choosing a terracotta pot or potting mix that allows good drainage is highly recommended.
You should choose a snake plant with dark green leaves that you will buy from the florist since it will grow well in your home.
The Best Soil for Snake Plants
Snake plants need well-draining soil just like most houseplants. As they’re easily prone to rot, this plant will do best in a free-draining soil mix. A snake plant that does not have roots is susceptible to root rot. For snake plants, the best soil is none at all, while soilless potting mixes are even better.
The best potting mix for ensuring adequate drainage is a soilless potting mix. It is advisable to use an absorbent terracotta pot and to promptly drain standing water from the saucer whenever it accumulates.
A soilless potting mix contains ingredients such as sand or bark, perlite, vermiculite, and peat moss. Coconut coir may be used in place of peat moss in some cases. Peat moss is the only ingredient in most potting mixes that expires, so it’s not always a bad thing.
You should not use soilless potting mix after two years as it will not be very good for your snake plant. It does not matter if you do not have any soilless potting mix; instead, you can try making African violet soil mixture. This requires only builder’s sand or perlite (two parts), garden soil (one part), and peat moss (one part).
Perlite and peat moss are commonly found in African violet soil mixtures. No, it’s not. Perlite, which is sourced from obsidian, is a type of volcanic glass used in potting mixes. Nevertheless, it will keep your snake plants’ soil from becoming compacted. Well, the compacted soil will trap the water.
Peat moss can hold a lot of water compared to its dry weight, so your snake plants will not get overwatered. While you could use African violet soil in your snake plant, the African violet soil combination would still be an excellent choice.
Watering, Lighting and Fertilizing Tips
Snake plants thrive when you almost forget about them. In winter, you should allow the soil to dry between waterings, and be careful not to overwater. By doing this, you will also avoid getting the leaves wet when you are watering them.
Though snake plants can tolerate a range of lighting conditions, indirect light is recommended for them. In fact, the snake plant can tolerate full sunlight, indirect light, and low light as well.
If you have shady corners and low-light areas in your home, they will do best in bright, indirect sunlight. You can also keep your snake plant in a warm place with a temperature above 50 °F (10 °C). You can protect your snake plant by placing it in drafty windows during winter.
For fertilizing tips, you can use a plant food that is all-purpose during growing season. Make sure you don’t overfertilize your plants. Many growers fertilize only once per year and continue to do so the next year.
Snake plants shouldn’t be fertilized during dormant periods. You can also give them a weak dose of 10:10:10 or 20:20:20 fertilization. After the excess fertilizer has been flushed out, don’t fertilize them for a month.
Now you know a few things about snake plants, including how to choose a good snake plant, selecting a good soil, and watering, fertilizing and also lighting tips.