Snake plant leaf damage

I bought 2 pots of snake plants and divided those into 9 individual plants 12" to 18" tall (good deal for $10). They transplanted fine. A few of the tips are damaged or broken off, and a few have vertical splits on the leaves. They were damaged before i brought them. I've read about certain plants (such as the snake plant) that said they will not grow if the tip is damaged. Some plants you can trim the damaged ends and the leaves will continue to grow. Will this work with a snake plant?

Are the "leaves" of a snake plant actually called leaves, or do they have another name?

I also have Areca Palms. Should i trim the brown tips, or just let nature run its course?

Both plants are indoor plants.


Thanks,
Kevin

 

Unfortunately, I believe that's true. Once a leaf tip of a Sansevieria is damaged, or broken, it will stop growing even if trimmed.
All the leaves will br growing in the pot except the one with the broken tip. Some people will resort to using something like green acrylic paint, or green crayon to cover up the lighter color of a missing tip. I think it's just better to cut the ones that are damaged to make room for healthier ones to replace them. Yep, they are called leaves.

You can trim the Areca fronds, but in the long run, the brown tips can come back. Thongs that might help. Don't let the soil completley dry out or stay wet, they like semi moist conditions at all times with bright indirect light.
Try using water from a jug that's sat out for 24 hours so the chlorine evaporates and use less fertilizer. The really bad fronds with a lot of brown on the tips can be snipped off at the bottom of the stem, or at the growing point.

 

I did not know that about snake plants! Now I feel guilty for sneaking out leaf cuttings from the plant in the office next door...

 

Thanks for the information. I may propagate the snake plant by using the damaged leaves.

 

You can certainly do that, but, it can take a long time until you see new leaves from the cuttings.

 

Cookie, thats too funny. Did you get any to grow?

 

You can take one leaf, chop it into ,say, 10 pieces and get 10 new snake plants. However, (and this is a real kick) the mottled 'snake skin' look of the new leaves will be gone. Grown from a root "pup", the snake skin is there, but from a cutting, the new plant just grows green (no mottling).

 

Sadly, that's true too! Snake plants are pretty inexpensive, so if you just want more of snakes, buying them might be easier, but if you want to try and save some cuttings and you don't mind them being green without any variegation, then you should give it a try.

 

Actually, my cuttings propagated like crazy! They're really cute when they're babies, too. I kind of like the all-green coloration better than the variegated types anyway, plus I get a little more sense of accomplishment growing a little bitty thing from cuttings rather than buying a grown adult plant. But jeez, now I think about the poor parent plant I butchered and I feel super guilty.

 

How did you propagate the Snake Plants? Water or soil?

Are they slow growing plants?

 

I don't like to propagate cuttings in water because I either read somewhere or I fabricated it completely in my own head that when you root a cutting in water, it loses the water roots and has to start rooting itself all over again when you plant it in soil. I have no idea if there's a shred of botanical truth to that, but it's my story and I'm half-heartedly sticking to it. It's definitely a slow-growth process, so it may not be for everyone. As a back-up plan to satisfy my need for instant gratification, I also brought home a cute little full-grown rosette type snake plant.

 

Propagating a 'snake' is just about as easy as getting a kalanchoe going. Stick the thing in a pot and don't let it get bone dry.

 

When I tried my hand at propagating snakes on a few occasions, I guess I always kept them a little too wet, or maybe too dry.