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why do my snake plants sprawl?

 
Judith Browning
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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain
2880
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I see ones that fill a pot and all grow upwards....why are most of my leaves horizontal?
Everyone says these are easy but I suspect they feed them or do some magic thing that I don't know.

My house plant potting soil is whatever I have...this looks like it was the top soil I had on hand and some course sand along with probably a handful of rock dust.....

The one in the big pot is several years old from rooted cuttings I was given and the smaller one a division just potted last year.

I've killed TWO snake plants from over watering...roots rotted so I'm being more careful with that.  These are not wilted though as I am watering often enough.

IMG_20250829_143836_309-2.jpg
snake plant
snake plant

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

 
Mark Reed
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Still overwatering, that's my guess. I let those suckers dry up, only water a couple times over winter when they are inside. Rarely if ever when outside over summer. I have to divide and repot them every couple of years. In late spring outside they grow bloom stalks with tiny flowers. Maybe lack of light too, they look kind of shoved in a dark corner. Cool painting.

Nothing ruins a neighborhood like paved roads and water lines.

 
James Bradford
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i was gonna say to try them on more sunlight ...not too sudden of a change, just gradually move them to brighter and brighter spots.   Mine are in pretty fertile soil, they don't seem to might that.    Maybe try cleaning out a gutter that's full of leaves (good compost in those kind of places), and use that to pot up one of your next pups.

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merrily merrily merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

 
Judith Browning
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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain
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Mark,
Those are the only ones I did not put out for the summer so ,yes, they are not getting any direct light.   I need to hide them from my watering can then!
I don't have any shade in the yard for house plants so have them on the porch getting filtered light through a screen....will put these out also.

What is your potting soil like?

(since you mentioned the painting I've attached an image of the whole thing...old, and I don't know the artist)
IMG_20250829_154133_037-2.jpg
[Thumbnail for IMG_20250829_154133_037-2.jpg]

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

 
Judith Browning
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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain
2880
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posted 3 weeks ago
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James Bradford wrote:i was gonna say to try them on more sunlight ...not too sudden of a change, just gradually move them to brighter and brighter spots.   Mine are in pretty fertile soil, they don't seem to might that.    Maybe try cleaning out a gutter that's full of leaves (good compost in those kind of places), and use that to pot up one of your next pups.


good advice...one year I put all of my house plants out in what I thought was a shady spot and several leaves got sun burned.

I need to work on my potting soil mix...we even have a gutter to clean.  This soil in my pots is pretty dense and hard when dry.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

 
Mark Reed
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My potting soil is just a mix up stuff I find around the place. Maybe a bit of compost, a little plain garden dirt, some partially composted leaves or grass clippings. It gets pretty brick solid when dry too but the snake plants don't seem to mind. I take them out in spring on the porch and when the trees leaf out pretty good, I set them on the ground under so that they get direct morning sun but not much else through the day.  In winter they go to an unheated room upstairs with east windows and are watered very little.

Nothing ruins a neighborhood like paved roads and water lines.

 
May Lotito
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I agree that adding organic matter will help. Also, do you use soft water on them? If so, use hard water to supplement some calcium. It will make cell wall stronger and promote root growth.

Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

 
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