How to Grow Snake Plant at Home and its Benefits
Flowers and plants not only enhance the beauty of the house but also benefit in many ways. Talking about indoor plants, snake plant is often seen in people’s homes. Let us tell you that planting this plant that looks like a snake has its benefits. By keeping it indoors, it works to purify the air. Not only this, this plant keeps on making oxygen by absorbing carbon dioxide. That’s why many people like to keep it in the drawing room, lobby or living room. The special thing is that this plant does not require much care.
The leaves of snake plant are dark green in color, long, thin, and erect. The top end of the snake plant looks like a snake’s hood and it is because of their stripes that they have got the name snake plant. Snake plant is easy to plant and care is very less. Other names for the snake plant are Mother-in-law tongue plant, Saint George’s sword, and Viper’s bowstring hemp. The botanical name of this plant is Dracaena trifasciata. Let us know how it can be planted in a pot.
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How to Plant Snake Plant
Snake plant is a low-maintenance plant which means it requires less sunlight, less water, and less care. It also does not require regular fertilization, but if you add a little fertilizer, then good growth will be seen.
Plant the snake plant in a strong pot like clay, or ceramic because its roots are strong. A weak plastic pot can break the snake plant’s roots as it grows or spoils the shape of the pot.
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Soil and Compost
Snake plant does not require much variety in the soil. All you have to keep in mind is that the soil should be soft. Ordinary soil is enough to plant snake plants in a pot, just a hole should be made at the bottom to drain out the excess water in the pot. Lay small stones at the bottom of the pot and then fill the soil. If you want your snake plant to grow well, then you should add half soil and half coarse stony sand and some cow dung or organic fertilizer mix in the pot. Adding thick stony sand reduces the chances of water stagnation in the plant. Due to stagnant water in the pot, the root of any plant gets damaged and diseases occur. For top dressing, 10-10-10 NPK manure can be applied in the summer season.
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Snake Plant Propagation
This air purifier plant grows from a single cutting. You can plant it in soil or water. First, you take a leaf, clean it and cut it straight from the bottom. This cutting should be about 4-6 inches long. Now you can take one or two more cuttings from this big leaf. Just keep in mind which part is the bottom.
- To propagate the cuttings in water (snake plant propagation in water) you have to take a transparent jar.
- Now put the cutting of Snake Plant in it.
- Now pour enough water into the jar, so that the cutting remains in the water only for two-three inches from the bottom.
- Change the water throughout the week or ten days.
- Cuttings may take three to four weeks to develop.
- But when the roots start to form, you can plant it in a big jar or you can also plant it in a pot filled with soil.
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If you want, you can also propagate the cutting directly into the soil. For this, you have to take a small pot, which has good drainage.
- Now you can fill it by mixing normal soil and compost.
- Plant the cutting in the soil and water it from above.
- Keep the pot in such a place where there is a good light but direct sunlight does not fall on the pot.
- Keep watering regularly.
- In two to three weeks you will see the cuttings begin to develop.
- Now if you want, you can plant these plants in big pots.
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You don’t need to worry too much to take care of it. After watering wait for the soil to dry up and water only after the soil is dry. In winter, they need water only once a month. Insects and mites also do not appear in this plant. Most importantly, snake plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen faster at night than other plants.
Plant Snake Plant Cuttings in Water
It is not necessary that soil is required for planting snake plants. You can also apply it in water, for this take a water bottle and cut it from the middle. Remove cuttings from a snake plant leaf that is large but not too old. Take a 6-7 inch long cutting from the plant and keep it in a glass or such a vessel so that the leaf remains straight. Pour enough water into the glass so that the cut end of the leaf is submerged for about 2-3 inches. You can set it with the help of sticks in such a way that it stands upright in the glass. Change the water of the pot every 2-3 days. In 2-3 weeks, a white root will begin to emerge from the tip of the leaf. When these roots grow at least 3-4 inches, they can be shifted to a pot.
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Plant a new plant from the root of snake plant.
This is the easiest way to produce a new plant. Many new plants start growing from the roots of the old plant of snake plant. Such spreading roots are called Rhizome which is like ginger in appearance. If you take out a big plant with a root, then you will get such roots. Cut off any good root with at least 1 or 2 leaves with a knife. Now plant it in a new pot. If the plant does not have many roots, then cut the main root into 2 parts and make such 2 parts that have a group of 3-4 or more leaves.
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Snake Plant Benefits
According to NASA, the snake plant is a plant that cleans the air by absorbing harmful gases and harmful elements such as CO2, Benzene, Formaldehyde, Xylene, and Toluene from the indoor air. Snake plant absorbs carbon dioxide and makes oxygen even at night, so keep snake plant in the drawing room, bedroom, lobby, living room, etc. and get its benefits.
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