How can you determine when to replant snake plant? The roots will tell you that it’s time to repot when they are swirling or coming from the bottom of the pot. Water draining straight through your drainage holes indicates that your plant needs to be replanted. If your snake plant has root bound, it means it needs a new pot. It’s easy to tell if you have a root-bound plant by wriggling the root ball out of the pot and seeing how tight the roots are wound. Remove the roots from the plastic pot carefully to avoid damaging them. Repotting your snake plant is recommended if you find this evergreen friend in either of these situations.
Late winter or early spring is the best time to repot your house plant. In winter, your plant is dormant and right before the active growing season (Spring), which makes this a good time to propagate. You can repot indoor plants any time of year, but this tends to be the best time of year.
Why We Love Snake Plants (Sansevieria)
The leaves on Sansevieria grow vertically and resemble spears. The narrow growth pattern of these plants makes them ideal for narrow spaces like hallways or corners. This plant’s leaves have various colors depending on the variety – they can be black and green, variegated yellow and green, green and silver, with vertical and horizontal patterns. Sansevieria trifasciata Hahnii is often called ‘Birds Nest Snake Plant’ as it is dwarf and has a squat growth pattern. Plants like these work well in offices or desks where there is not much natural light.
It is extremely tolerant of different lighting conditions, handling anything from low to bright indirect to even direct sunlight. In addition, they prefer dry soil conditions and require less water than most houseplants. These plants are able to store moisture and nutrients past waterings due to their unique rhizomes. Overwatering can also result in root rot of these fleshy roots.
Replant Or Divide?
Another reason why you should know when to replant snake plant is that you need to find a better pot for the plants and their pups. One of the unique characteristics of Sansevierias is the tendency to create pups from the main plant. Its fleshy rhizome will extend from its main root ball and then produce a set of vertical leaves beside it. It is possible to divide these pups from the main plant since they develop their own root structure.
For those of us who are partial to ceramic pots, this can cause issues when too many pups crowd out the main plant. But no worries, there’s a solution! These baby Sansevierias can be separated from the main plant and maintained in the same pot. It is also a great opportunity to provide your main plant with new soil, if its roots have been messed up.
In general, Snake Plants prefer root binding, so I do not recommend repotting your plant into a larger pot if you do not need to. It can unnecessarily stress the plant. The Snake Plant doesn’t need to be replanted, even though it has a new ‘pup’, there is plenty of room to grow. As we move forward, I will refer to snake plant as the common name.
To determine whether your snake plant actually needs repotting, you should examine it carefully. A good indication that a plastic pot needs to be replaced is if it is beginning to deform a bit. There may be bulges in the plastic where pups’ rhizomes are pushing against it. The Snake Plant can be replanted into a larger container about 1-1/2 inches larger than its current container, or it can be replanted into a smaller pot.
How do you determine when to replant snake plant? There is visible deformation of the pot of the Sansevieria as the ‘pups’ grow. There is really no need to replant your plant if it is not looking crowded in its container, and doing so might harm the plant. I highly recommend buying a pot slightly larger than your current one and dropping it into it if you just want to switch up the style from plastic to ceramic or something else decorative.