What Should I Consider?
Pot Size
You will find many types of pots to choose from for Sansevierias, particularly mother-in-law’s tongue. The traditional plastic pot is a popular choice amongst gardeners.
In any case, the most important decision on which pot to use is the size of the container. The pot size will depend upon the age and size of your snake plant. But of course, you can use any type of pot you like!
A snake plant is typically grown in large size pots that are about 2 to 3 gallons in size. It is rather tall and top heavy, so its depth should be taken into consideration.
Check the diameter of the pot you use and make sure that the larger pots need to be more than an inch wider.
Is the material important? We believe that no matter what the material, as long as pots are sized correctly, whether it is plastic, ceramic, or even terracotta.
The pots must also have drainage holes to drain excess moisture. Also, don’t forget to check if your pots have drainage holes.
Soil Types
Regardless of the type of snake plant you have, you’ll need well draining soil around your houseplant. These plants can get root rot if they’re watered frequently. Don’t let your sansevieria stay in soggy soil for a long time.
A good drainage mixture should be used with a soilless pot, gardening soil, or ready-made succulent and cactus potting mixes.
In addition to your regular potting mix or gardening soil , make sure you have some perlite , sand, and some compost that you can combine those with.
Step-by-Step Guide to Repotting
Transplanting your sansevieria plant is actually very easy, so even if you’re doing it at home for the first time, don’t worry–it’s easy.
Here are a few simple steps you can follow on how to transfer your houseplant.
Remove the Plant from the Old Pot
You should begin by removing the snake plant from its old pot. This is the very first thing you should do once you have all of your materials ready. It’s quick and easy.
It is better to wet your soil first before removing your houseplants from the old pots. Moist soil may be easier to remove, especially from the base of the pot.
Take out half of the potting soil first. If not, then continue to remove more potting soil. Work your way around the pot. Once you get down to the root ball, you will be able to see it clearly from the top.
Houseplants may have overgrown their old pot causing the root ball to be bigger than the pot. Don’t be afraid of damaging the roots.
There is a reasonable chance that the roots will be damaged – don’t worry. This is especially so, since the roots are relatively large compared to the pot.
Keeping your sansevieria’s root ball close to the snake plant itself is essential. Also, you need to be careful with handling the plant itself in order to avoid damaging its leaves.
Examine the Soil
Then, you can do this while extracting your sansevieria plant from the pot. Checking the garden soil or potting soil for snake plant will let you know if it is still in good shape or if it just needs to be refreshed.
An indication of healthy soil is its ability to drain well.
Good soil may still be used to transplant, but that doesn’t mean that bad soil is already useless. Bad soil is generally very dry and easy to crack.
You can still use that soil if it is showing some signs of discoloration. However, you should not use much of it in repotting. It can be used as a filler, but it would benefit if added organic matter to it so it would allow drainage.
Examine the Roots
Your sansevieria’s roots and rhizomes will also need to be examined after you’ve decided whether to reuse the soil they were in.
As a result of too much moisture in the ground sansevieria plants are susceptible to root rot. The best way to prevent this is to make sure the soil is not overwatered.
If you find some black mushy spots on the roots of your sansevieria plant then this can be easily remedied with a knife or scissors. You can just simply cut or slice the roots away. This is the only way to get rid of root rot.
It is also possible to remove the bulging roots around the root ball if you already have a tall sansevieria plant with this type of rhizome.
Nevertheless, if you are aiming to continuously grow your sansevieria plant, you should only cut small pieces of the root ball. Remember, with strong roots, dividing it will be more successful.
Prepare your New Pots
Make sure that the drainage hole in your new larger pot isn’t blocked and that it is completely open.
You will then need to use mesh tape or cloth to create a bigger pot. This will serve to protect the soil from escaping through the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot.
When you transfer a plant, it’s good to make sure that your larger pot is completely dry. This way, it’ll be much easier to adjust the soil all the way around the larger pot when you need to do so.
Transfer to a New Pot
The type of snake plant sansevieria trifasciata is a great container plant, so it’s important to have mesh at the bottom of the pot should be repotted successfully as snake plants like to bury their roots up into it.
Hold the sansevieria plant with only one hand as it is attached to the pot. It is completely up to you whether you want its roots to touch or not. Keep your work area clean by using a newspaper or plastic sheet.
Although you should leave about an inch of space between the top of the soil and the roots, as well as a little space from the base of the pot.
If you intend to grow sansevierias in pots, you can fill them with any potting or gardening soil you possess. Make sure you give the root ball at least one inch or two of solid soil above the surface.
Just be sure to sprinkle some sand or perlite on top of your first few inches of soil. This will help the soil to drain better and keep the plant from becoming overwatered.
A succulent or cactus mix can also be used, and it usually includes perlites, moss, and sand.
You won’t need to mix other ingredients into cactus potting mixes, since they are specifically made for a sansevieria plant that requires well draining soil.
Your garden can be enhanced with rocks or pebbles placed on top of the top layer of the soil as well.
Just make sure you place a thin layer of worm compost on top of your soil before adding anything else.
Taking care of your snake plant with the help of worm compost is cheap and easy.
So those are the five easy and simple steps you can follow to repot a snake plant…
If you intend to propagate by dividing your plant or leaf cuttings to grow new sansevieria plants, then make sure that your rhizomes and roots still remain intact. One tip is to use a new pot to propagate cuttings or leaf cuttings.
Then, whenever you are dividing cuttings, be sure to place them into separate new pots, so when they begin to divide, they have more room to grow.
How often should I water my snake plant?
It is important to take care of snake plants after repotting. If you are unsure how much to water, we suggest you let your new snake plant settle in its new pot first.
There is no need to water a snake plant after repotting. But if you feel the top of the soil is a little dry, it’s okay. Just wait one day or two before watering again. Too much moisture is not good for your plant.
It is critical not to overwater your plant. Sansevieria trifasciata cannot tolerate being overwatered; and so it should not receive any more than it needs.
Water your plant for the first time after it’s been transferred, then wait for the moisture to recede and the soil to dry out completely before you water again.
A maximum of three times a month should be enough watering during the winter.
Do You Need to Fertilize?
Do you need to add any fertilizer to your garden? Simple answer is no.
Don’t fertilize your plant right away; wait a month or so before you add fertilizer, or add some when your plant is actively growing. Overfertilizing can harm your plant, so be careful.
You may use an all-purpose fertilizer if you’re ready to fertilize your plant. Usually, the best time to apply fertilizer to a sansevieria plant is during the summer.
To prevent over fertilizing, only add or use any fertilizer twice a year during the summer.
Whether you place it indoors or outdoors, Sansevieria plants need bright indirect light for at least six hours every day for optimum growth. Sansevieria plants grow best in indirect sunlight. This is a low light succulent.
Notice on Overexposure too!
Sansevieria plants need indirect light or low light conditions for best growth. If they develop white spots on their leaves, then they might be too bright and stunt the growth.
Repotting sansevieria trifasciata (mother-in-law’s tongue) is definitely an interesting and fun gardening project for your garden. But just remember not to let it sit in oversaturated soil to prevent root rot.
As snake plants are generally really attractive, it is recommended to see them in a larger pot so that they can breathe. Sansevieria plants can thrive in any environment, making them excellent for adding to any home garden, whether indoors or outdoors.