Snake plant Sansevieria boncel is a unique-looking and easy-to-care-for cultivar of Sansevieria cylindrica.
This tough plant has thick, tube-like appendages that can add a unique appearance to your home or office.
The perennial Sansevieria boncel is native to West Africa and is a member of the former Sansevieria genus now known as Dracaena.
The common names for it are:
- Mother-in-law’s tongue
- Snake plant
- Starfish Sansevieria plants
- Starfish snake plants
- Cylindrical snake plants
- Dwarf African spear plant
Boncel belongs to the Asparagaceae family, a group of plants whose best-known member is garden asparagus.
This group of succulent plants was first cultivated by the ancient Chinese.
Eight of the Gods were believed to have left these virtues as a legacy:
- The health
- The strength
- The prosperity
- The longevity
- The beauty
- The intelligence
- Poetry
- … and art upon those who grew it.
These drought-tolerant plants are usually found near the entrances of homes, doctors’ offices, herbalists’ and acupuncturists’ offices, restaurants, and monasteries. shrines, banks, and even rice paddies, so the traditional, positive virtues of the plant can uplift and inspire.
In a study conducted by NASA, this group of plants was analyzed to determine if they purified air and helped people avoid “sick building syndrome.”
Sansevieria is capable of removing pollutants like benzene and formaldehyde.
Care for Sansevieria Boncel
By following its light, water, and soil requirements, you can learn how to care for boncel snake plants.
Growth & Size
A fan-shaped rosette of leaves spreads out from the short, fat leaves of the succulent sansevieria boncel. The Fan snake plant earned the name. Eventually, they create enough offsets to fill the pot.
Plants like these make excellent container plants. Also, they thrive on a tabletop or on the floor and are good for grouping. In dark corners of your house, office, or in bright areas, grow sansevieria boncel.
Typically, the plant grows as tall as 20 inches (50 cm). Its tubular leaves are usually 8 to 12 inches long.
Flowers and Fragrance
Sansevieria boncel produces spiky racemes in spring, but rarely. It smells like flowers at night because the buds are greenish-white.
Temperature & Light Conditions
A sunny window with indirect light is preferable to Sansevieria boncel, but it can also tolerate direct sunlight. In dim conditions, it also thrives.
The temperature should be warm for Boncel. It does not do well when the temperature dips below 50° Fahrenheit (10° Celsius). Average room temperatures should range between 70° – 90° degrees Fahrenheit (21-32 degrees C). Make sure the plant is protected from cold drafts.
Feeding and watering
Please do not overwater. Let the soil dry between waterings.
You should water once a month in winter, or more frequently if the soil is dry. Water is not a friend of this plant: too much of it can kill it.
In the prime growing season, nourish sansevieria boncel with a cactus fertilizer.
Fertilize houseplants with a balanced liquid fertilizer, 10-10-10, diluted half strength.
In winter, do not fertilize at all.
Transplanting and Soil
Although it grows well in sandy soil, it does best in a loose, well-drained soil. Cactus soil mixes with little peat work best (peat packs down and does not drain or rehydrate). A succulent soil mix and a clay pot with drainage holes are suitable choices.
The preferred soil pH ranges from somewhat acidic to somewhat alkaline.
Use a strong growing container like a terracotta pot. Sansevieria boncel is susceptible to cracking or even breaking less-sturdy containers because of its root system.
The plant grows slowly and rarely needs to be replanted. The plant can grow large if it is given good lighting. Repot boncel in the spring using fresh potting soil if it needs to be repotted or divided.