In terms of indoor plants, we are all familiar with Sansevieria trifasciata (snake plant).
In fact, it can thrive even in unsuitable growing environments and survive many unfavorable conditions.
You don’t need to pay so much attention to it and it is sure to survive for quite a long time. Snake plants have a tendency to split their leaves, while we face a different problem with their growing.
Overwatering and physical damage are leading causes of snake plant leaves splitting. Snake plants are also susceptible to an extreme temperature, a lack of boron, and pests causing their leaves to split.
Here we will discuss the reasons why your snake plant leaves are splitting or splitting and how easy it is to save them.
How to Fix Split Snake Plant Leaves
Snake plants are primarily grown for their leaves, so seeing damaged leaves is a big deterrent.
The plant’s variegated appearance would be broken if split, and it will look uglier. But, hey, you don’t have to panic.
We can fix them in a couple of ways. Let’s take a look at how we can resolve this issue.
Low Humidity
The leaves of snake plants often crack or split due to a low humidity environment.
Dehydration increases due to low humidity, causing leaves to lose more water. Therefore, leaves may split or crack due to low moisture content.
What to Do?
You can do the following:
- Every day, mist the leaves.
- You can use a humidifier.
- You can increase the humidity inside your snake plant with a pebble tray method. The snake plant can be placed on some pebbles in a tray full of water and put over it.
Physical or mechanical damage
Roaming Pets
I feel bad to mention that it could have been one of your cute pets, and they likely caused the split.
Plants inside are definitely attacked by pets, who love to play with them and ruin them.
Plants have cooling effect so they love hanging around them.
What to Do?
- Your pets may not reach the plant if you place it in a safe location. Also, snake plants contain mildly toxic compounds, so keep your pets away from them.
- Build a barricade around them or erect an indoor fence as protection.
- The pot or plant holder should be a large one that will elevate the plant off the floor.
- Teach your pets not to mess around with your other “babies”.
When your pets damage your plants, don’t get frustrated. As long as you persevere, you’ll soon learn how to maintain the balance between the two.
Mishandling
You will cause physical harm to your snake plants if you are not careful when moving around them. Make a plan beforehand before rearranging and relocating them.
Basically you should prevent them from getting scratched, split, or spilled by limiting movement.
What to Do?
- Decide what type of arrangement you would like to have.
- Start by removing the smallest potted plants and then move them to the outside of the room.
- Taking each plant one by one and carefully placed in its new location, rearrange your interior.
- If you will be putting indoor plants near the snake plant, try not to overload it (it may sound like an obsession but it is essential to be careful).
Plants should be handled in certain ways. As you proceed through the planting season, you will learn them.
High Traffic Location
Whenever a snake plant is placed in an area with a lot of people, it is likely to split. High traffic places include doorways and stairs, places where people pass through most frequently.
As they moved in and out, they may have unconsciously touched the leaves with their feet. It’s possible that one of their bags bumped into it. You can imagine countless possibilities, right?
What to Do?
- Placing them in a place that doesn’t get much traffic (such as a corner, windowsill, or tabletops) should do the task.
- Provide enough space for your snake plants in a dedicated cabinet display.
- Let your family know how important your plants are to you. Encourage them to treat them with respect and care.
- When you have limited space inside, you need to minimize your indoor plants.
I understand that we can get a little too excited when putting our plants on display. Yet, you need to make sure they are situated in an area that will support their growth. Plants in poor health are not what you would want to see, would they?
Extreme Temperature
As I mentioned previously, snake plants can tolerate some strain, but anything a little bit too much could harm them. Plants generally become stressed when temperatures exceed a certain threshold.
In ideal conditions, snake plants require a temperature between 60F and 80F. If temperatures get too high or too low, they will be damaged.
In particular snakes, plants dislike very cold environments, less than 50°F (15°C). This becomes crucial during the winter season, so better keep an eye on your plant.
What to Do?
- They should never be left in an environment where extreme heat or cold is prolonged, such as heaters or air conditioners.
- The plants in the windowsill will be more energy efficient if an insulator is put over them.
- Consider moving them to a new location whenever necessary, especially when the weather is too cold or too hot
Varying temperatures can ruin your plants in an instant, but if you’re aware, you can avoid the harm. Don’t forget to check on them once in a while.
Over Watering
The leaves of a snake plant are not happy with so much water. If you overdo it, you may be the reason why your leaves are splitting. Remember that the plant is succulent, which loves a dry environment.
Too much water will cause the leaves to expand. When temperatures rise and transpiration increases, water will be used up, causing the leaves to shrink.
The following article describes how to save your snake plant from overwatering and provides some tips for avoiding watering mistakes.
Swelling and shrinking of the snake plant can damage its cells, which is why it splits.
What to Do?
- Twice a month is a plenty of watering for snake plants.
- The plant should be repotted in a more suitable soil mix, one with good drainage.
- Place it in a dry environment.
Deficiency of Boron
Plants need boron for the formation, maintenance, and repair of structural membranes of their cells. The snake plant’s general structure, including its leaves, will deteriorate once it becomes deficient.
What to do?
- pH plays a significant role in the availability of Boron in your soil. Too acidic or alkaline soil inhibits Boron availability.
- Improve the availability of essential nutrients by adding more organic matter to the soil.
Presence of Pests
Although snake plants have sturdy leaves, they are also vulnerable to pests such as mealybugs and spider mites.
They remove the sap of the leaves and leave tiny marks that eventually worsen into holes and splits on the surface.
What to Do?
- Make sure your plants are well looked after and look for the presence of pests.
- If you find foreign organisms in the plants, remove them manually.
- The parts of the plant that are severely infected should be removed and disposed of properly.
Depending on the season, pests may reappear every once in a while. You may experience some damage if you don’t spot them quickly. It is hard to recover a heavily infested plant.
How to avoid Snake Plant leaves from splitting
Here’s how to prevent your snake plant’s leaves from splitting. With proper care and making sure the plant needs the right things, you can prevent a problem like this.
Potting mix that works well
Planting success depends on the quality of your soil. It should be rich in organic matter, well-drained, free of fungus, and have an ideal pH (5 to 6.5).
Take the time to mix the right amount of amendments into the soil before you pot it.
Good Location
Make sure the environment is favorable for your snake plants. Choose a partly shaded place.
You should also make sure that it is not too crowded and that the plants are placed in a stable fashion to avoid mechanical damages. Choose a dry environment.
Schedule for watering less frequently
Schedules would vary depending on the season. If it’s warm and dry, do it twice a week. If it’s cold and wet, repeat it once a month.
Never water the soil again before letting it dry out.
Regular checkups
It’s important to keep in mind that you’re caring for living organisms, so it’s always crucial to be hands-on with your plants.
Make sure you observe how they behave and respond to the changing environment. It is best to diagnose a problem early to avoid any further setbacks in the future.
Do Your Research
Once you start learning the ins and outs of snake plant planting, you’ll be surprised by how much knowledge you’ll gain.
Get to know your plant on a deeper level. There are a lot of resources you can tap and most of them offer solutions.
Conclusion
If you’re gardening, it’s normal to feel heartbroken. Just stay strong. By now, you’ve probably learned some of the reasons why your snake plant’s leaves split.
Because most reasons for such damage are easy to handle and can be prevented, you can release that breath of relief.
Try these tips and see whether it helps you resolve the problem. Are you ready for another shot?
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