PlantFiles: Snake Plant, Mother-in-Law's Tongue
Sansevieria trifasciata

Mine stayed in the same old black 12" nursery pot for about 15 years until it just split the sides in several places and started putting on new plants on the outside. I finally broke down and made 8 more pots out of it after it bloomed for the first time. I keep them outdoors until it gets about 40 at night then put them in the greenhouse. They are all growing fast! I can't wait to get another bloom!

Although not a favorite of mine, I have a few in containers. They make an interesting houseplant. Some folks plant them in the ground here in the south, which is not a good idea, as they are invasive and can take over an area quickly.

Perhaps there is some confusion with sansevieria, and diffenbachia (also called dumb-cane), which can paralize the vocal cords. Do not keep this plant in the same house as small children or cats. My husband gave dumb-cane as a house-warming gift to our friends. Their toddler ended up in the hospital after eating on a leaf. But I have never had a problem with mother-in-law's tongue with cats or children. They just never bother it.

If you go to this web site, and roll across the blue name, it will show you a nice picture of the two different plants:
[HYPERLINK@www.denverplants.com]

I had abandoned my green/birdhouse due to an allergy to the hay I used as an amendment to the soil. I cleared out most of the plants but left the snake plants 'cause I didn't think they were worth the trouble. That spring, after no water the whole fall and winter, they were in there just blooming up a storm. Never seen it before. And of course all the neighbors would not believe it until they saw them, too. Now they are kept in their pots sideways under the work tables all winter long until the night temps level off at 60*

Once, I was given an old plant as a gift and the following month, it bloomed. I was told that this plant only bloomed once every 10 year, or is it that it will bloom once it's 10 year old. Something like that....

Mine flowered indoors here in Arkansas in a sunny western window...tough plant, but the flower fragrance, as someone else here posted, literally made me almost sick. I thought it smelled strange, not pleasant but not repelling, and after a few minutes I got a terrible headache. Now when it blooms I admire it from afar.

Sansevieria (Snake Plants) became popular across the United States of America because they were one of the plants, along with African Violets, Jerusalem Cherry, etc that Woolworth stores sold in the 1920's and 30's. The Florida plant industry had its start growing these plants for distribution to that chain.

In Japan this plant is called 'Tigers Tail,(とらのお）'. In Brazil it is commonly known as espada-de-são-jorge (sword-of-saint-george)

Easy to care for plant: Did you know where this plant got its name from?? These plants belong to the Agave-family (Agavaceae), although several botanists place Sansevieria together with Draceana and Cordyline in the Lily-family (Liliaceae), while putting Agave-species in the Amaryllidaceae. The Swedish naturalist C.P. Thumberg got the plant from its discoverer, Vincenzo Petanga from Napels, who wanted to name the genus after P.A. Sanseverino, duke of Chiaromonte and collectioner of rare plants in the south of Italy. However, because of linguistic problems, Thumberg erroneously named it Sansevieria, after Raimondo di Sangro, prince of Sanseviero, who was a military man and an inventor, and had nothing to do with plants. Hence, instead of Sanseverinia, the genus got its current name.

The Sansevieria (aka Snake Plant, Mother-in-Laws-Tongue) is named for the chevrons/cross-banded patterns on its sword like leaves. Even without the serpent connection, many people find this houseplant kinda blah. The embodiments of the 1970s houseplant phase (along with those Spider Plants in macramé hanging baskets) this plant refused to die. It was the zombie like survivor in a dim lighted, overheated home where all the other plants had the decency to kick the bucket.

A friend once told me the Sansevieria reminded them of their parent’s nursing home. They said it was a dusty plant sitting in a window for years. This plant also reminds people of a used car lots 1970’s/early 80’s office (the bad 70’s paneling and all that). For many years I myself hated the look of this plant (I’m born in 1974). It was #1 on my least favorite plants list. Just plain old boring...

Now lets look at the Sansevieria from a new point if view. I had purchased a Snake Plant in 2007 at Home Depot for my office since I knew they grow well in office settings with the fluorescent lights. I put the plant in a nice looking bonsai pot with some stones on the surface of the potting soil. All my co-workers started asked me about the Snake Plant. I noticed all the people asking were just younger (born 1980ish and after). They have no experience/prejudice with this plant at all. To them, it was different and cool looking. I guess the saying, “What’s Old Is New” must be true. Co-workers were so impressed, they stopped over at LOWES/Home Depot to pick one up one for there desks too. Who knew that the Sansevieria now is available in many different varieties (moonshine, black gold, hahnii types that look like Hosta etc). So many colors that appeal to different people, I can now see how this plant is popular again.

What’s great is Snake Plants are easy to care for as long as you don’t over water. I understand most snake plants are native to Africa. They thrive well indoors and much info is available about them on the internet and this website is great too.

I have read varieties developed in the 1930’s and 40’s are by a grower named Sylvan Hahn are called birdnest types or called “Hanhii” for their smaller clusters of wide leaves. Golden Hahnii is a heavily variegated yellow and green form. I find a variety named Silver Hahnii to be supremely elegant looking. The leaves are a silver-green suffused with faint green bands. The leaf margins are a fine, dark green or marginated. Another interesting snake plant is called Bantel's Sensation after its discoverer, Gustav Bantel. An upright form, it has slender leaves that are heavily streaked in green and white. It looks more like a variegated pond iris than a snake plant (different). Also, one called Sansevieria Manolin is very different looking too.

With all these varieties, it is perhaps no surprise that some floral designers are beginning to take a fresh look at this old workhorse. NY designers advised they were struck by the number of new varieties available. Ironically, this plant can have a futuristic look. For high-tech electronic displays in Manhattan etc snake plants put in square stainless-steel containers looks ultra mod.

A few places on the web will sell this plant, like ebay, glasshouseworks, bobsmoleys etc. Dave’s Garden has good write-ups on these garden centers, so you can check it out b-4 you purchase anything.

My friend gave me a Snake Plant about 3 years ago. It was about 1-1/2 to 2 feet tall when she gave it to me and it is now over 3 ft tall. I am in zone 5 so this is a house plant for me but I do put it outside in the summer in an area that is mostly shade. I had no idea that these plants bloomed. I also have a mother-in-laws tougue which to me looks like a miniture version of this plant. It is only about 10 inches or so tall but the leave look identical to the larger plant. Both plants require very little attention. The leaves are very attractive although I have heard about them being poisenous to cats. I do have 2 cats but they never bother these plants.

I have had this plant for13 years, and my hubby's mother for 25 or so before that. Apparently, it came in a basket to welcome his little brother into the world. I have a little tale about this poor thing.
It was a GORGEOUS specimen - his mother took great care of it, but when she passed, it was given to my husband to take care of (a 20 something prof. musician/partier). One day, I was looking for something in his room and moved this pile of clothes to reveal a pot with 1 stem, brown and whithered, laying in this pot. I yelled, "How can you kill this plant?? NOTHING can kill this plant!"
Needless to say, I rescued it, have divided it many times with great success, passed it's babies all over, and it graced me with beautiful white flowers this summer for the first time. It only gets outside in the summer because I live in Michigan, but I was so thrilled with the flowers. They smelled so good and were so dainty for such a tough looking plant.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my little story.... just my experience with the plant...

I have successfully grown this plant outdoors in Corona and Lake Elsinore California. Survived the severe frost we had in early 2007 when temps got down as low as 19 degrees. Some damage was sustained, but it was easily cut out and has re-grown back. I have not had a problem with it spreading, but I also drip it. Maybe the high heat and low humidity and rain fall summers keep it in check here in the growing season.

We have had this plant for 30 years. I think I dug it up out of the yard of our first house. It has been remarkably tolerant -- drought conditions, heat, cold, freezing weather -- but, I have only seen it bloom one time...and it was wonderfully fragrant! Until I read those other comments, I thought maybe I had just imagined that one time of bloom. I will have to try to coax it to bloom again!

Personally, I do not like them, but my Mom sure does! She has several that are decades old, grown in pots indoors. They like to be crowded, like subway riders in Tokyo, crammed into the pots. This summer we put them outside in partial sun, and one is actually getting ready to flower for the first time! Will send photos when it blooms.

I've had the same snake plant in the same (small) metal pot for 35 years. I was so surprised when it bloomed once, about 5 years ago. Lately it's been looking sick and losing a lot of leaves. After reading the comments, I'm thinking that I could be watering it too much lately. Does anyone think that I should add anything to the soil after all these years or have any other suggestions? I would like very much to keep this plant alive. Thanks for your help.

I have had my Mother-in-Law's tongue for at least 20 years, maybe as long as 30. My husband's landlord gave it to him because he had about killed it. I keep it outdoors, in a pot, from mid-March to the first freeze; and indoors in my "plant room" during the winter. (Quite a lot of Southern sunlight, and not much heat at night.) It broke a plastic pot maybe 7 or 8 years ago and I repotted it in a larger ceramic pot. Now this year, to my amazement, it has bloomed. It had the buds on it for a month or so, and last night I realized it has a lovely smell of hyacinths. I was so intrigued I found Dave's Garden just researching it. Also I have had cats as long as I've had it, and no bad experiences for it or the cats, although it IS on the top level of a wrought iron plant shelf.

Debbiewake, the plant you describe that your Mother gave you is a "Pregnant Plant" also known as Mother of Thousands or Mexican Hat Plant (Bryophyllum daigremontianum). I've had them, and you need to be very careful with them, as they spread and multiply very quickly. Even if indoors, if allowed to overhang another plant's pot they will drop the babies into the other pot and take it over. DO NOT plant it outdoors...

As for the Mother-in-Law's Tongue, I've had one indoors in my office with no windows and only fluorescent light during office hours for several years. I remember this same plant from 25 years ago when I was in junior high school. I have never seen it bloom, but it has only been in my possession for 10 years or so. I'm about to repot and divide it to spread the greenery around my office a bit.

It grows well with a minimum of attention & actually seems to prefer being neglected. I must admit that while the blooms are supposed to be fragrant, I suppose each one has their own idea of what smells nice & what doesn't. When it first flowered, I was happy as I read that it had a heady fragrance. More like a funeral parlour! It was so unpleasantly strong & the odour made me feel ill. Sadly, I couldn't bear the smell so cut all the flowers off. I won't let mine flower now.

It grows very well here in zone 9b outdoors, not bothered much by the occasional frosts, but you must keep it in check, or it can take over a small area quickly. Blooms November through Feb here. Most I have are around 2 - 2 1/2 feet tall. It is VERY hardy, you just can't kill it, but it can become a problem if you don't stay on top of just where you want it to be. It may be better suited as a potted plant, so it won't spread to areas you don't want it.

Was not aware this plant was toxic to cats. Interesting--my cat seems the one to be doing the damage. This is the only plant he bothers and leaves in shreds. Have not had problems with kitty getting sick. A vigorous plant, which I keep controlled in a large pot. Extremely low maintenance. Have it outdoors getting afternoon sun, and indoors in very low light. Does well in both locations.

I had never heard that a snake plant was called a "Mother-in-law's tongue". I had had several of these plants for years and have had great success with them.
My mother recently gave me a "baby" from a plant that someone gave her. My mom said the woman told her that the plant was called "Mother-in law's tongue". It is not a snake plant. The plant is a single stalk like stem and the leaves are triangular shaped with jagged edges and almost the texture of a succulent. The edges of the leaves produce small round "seeds". As these fall from the plant, many "babys" produced in the soil below. My mom said that when she first saw the plant it had beautiful purple flowers on it. We have not seen those yet. Does anyone know what this plant might be or how I could find out about it?
Debbie

i've had my plant for about 3 years in a container. it was given to me as a gift before i became a consiensous gardener and was totally neglected, yet continued to thrive. i rarely watered it and it was in a shady area inside of the house. it didn't grow much during that time, but it didn't die either. now it is in a sunny west window and is watered once a month. several new leaves have sprouted and it seems to be growing well. it has never bloomed, but this plant is definitely a survivor.

I enjoyed reading all the comments above! Snake plant is a "nostalgia" plant for me...got my first start from my mother YEARS ago....like someone else I've only experienced one blooming in my lifetime. Appreciate it for its independence...little light, little watering required. Having lived in colder states than FL, I was surprised at its reputation as an invasive weed.
Greta in NC

i have not tried growing this plant before, but here in singapore it is quite common. i have never seen a pot that was destroyed by sansevieria. in fact, many of the sansevieria plants i have seen grow in pots.sansevieria rarely flowers in singapore. i have only seen a flowering sansevieria plant once in my lifetime.

As a no-brainer house plant, it is great. Its vertical growth fits well into a blank wall space or a corner.

Requires little light, little water and don't re-pot it until it literally breaks the pot it is in. It seems to love to be crowded and gets taller when it is crowded.

Mine blooms every year but it isn't a sweet scent. It is rather obnoxious. It doesn't mind being ignored.

Snake Plant, Bowstring Hemp, or Mother-In-Laws Tongue is a great houseplant native to Africa. DO NOT, I repeat, do not plant this popular plant outdoors in the warm climates it thrives in (particularily my zone in Florida, 10), though! Its extremely weedy outdoors in zones 9 to 11 and southward! They take over a large area over time and may disrupt vegetation (on Florida EPPC Plant List Two). Best to keep it indoors carefully (reportedly poisonous) where it dosn't spread! It can be kept in many parts of the world indoors with proper care and temperature.

I don't know about snake plants being poisonous to housecats, but I know my housecat was poisonous to my snake plants. Many years ago I lived in a loft in NY City and my bedroom wall consisted of a row of potted snake plants each about four feet tall. My cat killed half a dozen of these very vigorous potted plants by systematically peeing on them even though the pots were packed so tightly there was no room for him to stand in the pot. Never could figure out how he did it, and it took him almost a year to kill all of them, but there was no mistaking the odor of cat pee on the plants

It is so easy to take care of this plant, no care at all, except when I lived in Chino Hills, Southern Calif, We had a freeze, the whole huge plant just bent over, and that was the end of that one. My father has had his in the same container now for over 20 years, never repotted it, it's hysterical, over 2ft across, I'll have to take a pic next time We go down.

Hello - I just purchased several buckets of this neat plant at my local home improvement store and was reading through all the notes posted. I saw the note about Snakeplants being poisonous to housecats - is this true? Does someone have more information than what was previously posted. I did not see much discussion after this certain posting so I am hoping that it was just this one person's bad experience. Any info on this subject would be appreciated as I have a cat who will take a bite or two out of my aloe vera from time to time and this plant is so much like an aloe . . .

These are such attractive plants that require very little care.
They will tolerate low lighting conditions indoors and thrive in part shade outside. Water only sparingly during winter months to prevent rot, otherwise when the soil becomes dry. I have never understood their boooming habits but just enjoy their beauty and fragrance when they do decide to
bloom.

Sansevieria is commonly seen as a plant in offices, even fast food restaurants, since it seems almost impossible to kill. When friends have tentatively asked for a good starter plant, this is the one I give 'em. The only real instruction: don't over water. I guess temperature or humidity extremes could still cause problems, but not here in San Francisco.

Another point: don't put these in plastic containers-- the roots will eventually warp the post into an oval, and crack most plastics.

i have had a large one in a pot on my screened-in patio in orlando, florida, for about 2 and a half years. i rarely water it--maybe once a month, if that. it blooms dec-feb, and thrives! it loves to be ignored and it's extremely healthy.

however, i have not had success with these inside the house since i moved to florida. in coastal southern california, i had many in the house, and they thrived. within a year and half in florida, all of my houseplant snakeplants died. perhaps it was the air conditioning, or something else?

While snake plant is an attractive upright houseplant, I will never plant it outside even though it should be too cold here in zone 9b for it to survive. I have held one prisoner for years in a pot in the yard. Before I moved in 2002, it had broken its pot (plastic) and was trying to escape out the bottom. After I moved, I divided it (an adventure in itself) and now hold two large pots and three small ones prisoner.

At Epcot, this plant is, or was, along the entry to the undersea ride, and made quite a nice show there looking somewhat like seaweed and all. However, these people knew the plant, and it was surrounded by concrete on all sides in a raised bed! Very bright light, afternoon shade -- big happy plants. It must have been quite a job tending that bed.

Anyway, if you love it, grow it but keep it contained and away from pets trapped inside -- they lack common sense where eating plants is concerned.

Out of curiosity, this plant is used for ritualistic purposes by followers of the Umbanda (an african cult with catholic influences), along with another plant called "Guiné" or "Guinea" (genus Petiveria, family Phytolacaceae).

Noxious weed here in zone 11.

I have heard the reason this plant is called "Mother In Law's Tongue is because of the properties of the liquid this plant contains. Seems given in a small dose in coffee or other drink, paralyzes the vocal cords of the person drinking the concocction, Hence the name "Mother In Law's tongue". I do not advise using this at ALL in anyone's coffee or other liquid!

I live near Toronto, and have owned this houseplant for 15 years or more, and it has bloomed for the very first time spring of 2002 and now again spring 2003. I do nothing special to it except water once a week and occasionally dust of the leaves. The small white flowers that it produces are very fragrant. For me, this plant is very easy to grow.

According to information I gatherred, as well as experience, the Snake Plant will tolerate low light but performs best in med. or high light.
I have found the propagation of this plant to be simple. The fact of the plant being poisonous is new to me. I display the snake plant for indoor beauty and have found it to be a very tolerant and an eye pleasing addition to my housegarden.

Do not grow indoors if you have cats. This plant is DEADLY to cats if they chew on any part of it!

Plants that grow from leaf cuttings will not have the yellow stripes. Blooms only in Summer.

There is now a new variety of Snake plant, a compact version that is 4-6 inches tall and 6-7 inches wide. Requires same care as the Snake plant.