Snake plants are good-looking exotic houseplants perfect for indoor gardening novices as well as seasoned indoor gardeners. If your home interior receives very low light, snake plants are one of the houseplants options for you. With its many varieties, the snake plant can easily mix in the existing indoor plants’ color and general home aesthetics. You may have noticed that your Snake plant has grown a new shoot recently.
The snake plant’s spear-like and typically vertical leaves make it ideal for growing in any narrow space. Depending on the variety, you can have snake plants potted on an office desk, table, corners, or along walkways.
With the exotic beauty and varied color of leaves, you can be interested in planting more snake plants in your garden from the many pups you see protruding from the mother plant. This post covers more on how to harvest pups and propagate snake plants from pups.
How to harvest a new shoot (pup) from a snake plant
When a snake plant grows, it develops a dense root system called rhizomes. With favorable growing conditions, the rhizomes start developing shoots that grow up to become mature snake plants. These new shoots are at times troublesome as they can lead to overcrowding of the pot, making it hard for the available little pot soil to provide enough nutrients.
Instead of waiting until the most drastic moments when the rhizomes have filled the pot, it is important to check, resize or cut out some pups and leave the mother plant to flourish.
The pups removed from the plant can be used for propagation if you need more of the plant in your garden. However, if you don’t want to propagate more, you can dump the pups and remain with a healthy single snake plant in your house pot.
Here are a few steps to harvest or divide snake plant pups:
- Gently remove the pups by pulling apart a section of the thick leaves close to the base and tugging as much as possible.
- Pulling apart helps you see where to cut apart as some of the roots are thicker.
- Cut through the thick rhizomes to divide the pups from the plant. You can use a sharp garden knife or sterilized sharp pruners.
How to propagate snake plant from its pups
After cutting out the plant pups, you now want to prepare them for potting. When it comes to potting snake plants, always use a well-draining potting soil like cactus potting soil or just regular potting soil.
Select gallon-sized nursery cans; they will all serve you best, whether new or reused. If your budget allows, you can find the terra cotta pots. They are best for snake plants because they allow water to dry relatively faster.
Fill the pots with soil to about ¼ full while leaving some space at the center where you will insert the pup. Next, place one pup of the snake plant and fill it with soil until the white root part is fully covered.
When potting the snake plant pups, remember not to plant them too deep in the soil to allow them to establish faster. After planting, water your snake plant to save them from transplant shock and also allow them to establish very fast.
Even though you may have cut out the plant pup from rhizomes perfectly, you should not expect the new pups to grow immediately. They will go through some stress before they establish and adapt to the new pots.
Put the plant pot in a place where it does not receive direct light or bright indirect light. Instead, position the pot in a corner or walkway where it will benefit from dim light. Placing the plants near a northern window can also help ensure the snake plant receives little yet enough light.
The new snake plant pups need to be supported in the new pot. You can use small stakes, bamboo pieces, or anything you think can help the plant grow straight despite the imbalance caused by the upper part of the pup being heavier than the lower part. Decorative stones placed on top[ of the plant pot can also help support the plant as it establishes its roots in the soil.
Snake Plant New Shoot: Conclusion
The snake plant is a beloved houseplant due to its colorful straight leaves. It is a low-maintenance plant with minimal water and light requirements. Propagating snake plants is easy whether you use leaf cuttings or harvested rhizome pups. If you opt to plant new snake plants from pups, you can follow the few tips in this article.