Snake plants make a perfect and beautiful addition to your home. These plants belong to the genus Sansevieria and are present in the garden of every plant lover. Snake plants are succulent and are born for growing as indoor plants and have an impressive long height. But how to make snake plant grow tall is a frequently asked question.
The tall and towering height of the snake plant depends on plenty of water, nutrients, and sunlight. Furthermore, repotting it when required also helps achieve nurtured growth and height of snake plants.This article contains reliable tips, and some factors that you need to focus on, and then you can easily make your snake plant grow tall and healthy. In addition, details about some taller varieties of snake plants are also provided in the blog. So, stay tuned!
How Fast Do Snake Plants Grow
If you have a healthy and well-growing snake plant, it will grow taller up to 6 feet in a year. But it would help if you gave the plant proper care and attention for this purpose. There are different varieties of snake plants; some are grown in small spaces and bred to stay low to the ground. These varieties can easily grown in offices and small apartments. You can also choose some other taller varieties if you want your plants to grow out, such as;
1. Laurentii
This Laurentii is one of the most iconic snake plants due to the distinctive lemon-colored stripes on the edges of the plant. These plants can grow to 4 feet, and they are good to grow in indoor conditions.
2. Cylindrica
These plants have tube-like leaves bound to bend outward and braided into the elaborated towers. These leaves pretend to grow straight up, and they grow fully outdoors.
3. Mother-in-Law’s Tongue
This name is one of the most iconic snake plants, and these plants also resemble Laurentii. The plants have golden bands at the edge of the plants and tend to grow for more than 6 feet.
4. Whale Fin
Whale fins grow wide and tall and are well-known for creating big oar-shaped leaves with an interesting speckled pattern. If you provide the plants with proper care and support, they can easily grow and reach 5 to 6 feet.
5. Ehrenbergii
These snake plants are unique, and they are well-known for producing canoe-shaped, along with red-edged foliage. These plants are also known as Samurai Snake Plants. The leaves also develop a beautiful blue-green tinge, along with good lighting.
All these mentioned categories of plants take a lot of years to gain the maximum height. These plants grow 1 – 3 inches per month, along with 2-4 new leaves growing out during the spring and other growing seasons. You must follow the tips and achieve their full height.
Tips To Make Snake Plants Grow Tall
Every plant needs proper care to grow to its maximum height. A snake plant tends to grow to its full height if you follow the given tips:
1. Provide Proper Lighting
Snake plants need proper lighting to grow to their full size. They tend to grow if they have good low-light and are tolerant of fairly dim conditions. These snake plants can survive without the sun, but that does not mean they prefer to live in this condition. When you feel your snake plant is not growing as it should, it needs more energy for proper growth and development.
If your plant is habitual to growing in less light, you need to ensure that you are not suddenly increasing the amount of light. You need to increase the amount of light your plant is receiving gradually. If the plant is a little far from the window, you can try placing them a little closer to the window. If the plant cannot get full light, you can also try to put the place on the balcony to ensure proper light is available.
Changing the temperature and sunlight level can induce shock. So, you must slowly help the plant soak up direct sunlight for 5 to 6 hours daily. This extra and direct sunlight will help the plant to grow considerably. Along with providing adequate heat, you also need to ensure that you are not providing excessive heat to the plant, not more than 85 degrees.
2. Adequate Watering
Snake plants need proper watering to grow, however their biggest hazard is overwatering. The plant’s roots need to hang in the well-drained soils to absorb as much water as they need. But ensure that the water quantity does not exceed the tolerance of these plants. Water is undoubtedly essential and significant for plants to grow. However, excess water can also cause the plant’s roots to rot and become dehydrated, hampering the plants’ growth.
To ensure that your plants are growing in the optimum conditions, you must check the soil more often to check the moisture level. You need to make a schedule to check for the water level after every 5 days and check for your plants if it is completely dry. There are different tools through which you can check the moisture by using a wooden skewer or moisture meter to check the moisture.
If the moisture is just at the bottom of the pot and the plant needs more water, water again to protect it from wilting and stunt growth. If the plant is already soaking in a lot of suns, you can take care of the water needed as the sun evaporates the water. If the plant is kept indoors under minimum or dim light, the chances of drying are less because there is no sun to absorb the water. Ensure that the plant contains fast-draining soil that helps absorb the chunky mineral components.
3. Supplement Diet
When growing a snake plant indoors, you must ensure that it takes enough sun and air from its environment, including nutrients and water. You also need to fertilize your plant to help it grow perfectly. You can also provide the plant with more fertilizer to ensure proper growth. But there is always a limit to everything. If you overdose the plant with a lot of fertilizer, your plant will build up all the unhealthy minerals and salts around the roots.
It further results in stunt growth and wilting of the plant. You can also ensure a half-strength dose of liquid fertilizer that contains all the essential components. For example potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and make an even ratio or formula to provide all the essential components in the right amount.
When the plant’s growing season is leaving, you can stop the fertilizer. If you continue to fertilize your plant after the growing season has ended, the plant might suffer. If you have recently repotted your plant, there will be enough fertilizer in the new potting mix to ensure growth and development.
4. Provide Space
One of the essential things your plant needs to grow properly is enough space. How can you expect the plant to grow tall if there is no space for the plant to grow tall? Snake plants need full space to grow to their full size; you need to also check for the root-bound signs. If you see the plant is getting root bound, repot the plant immediately. Some gardeners and another source say that these snake plants prefer to grow in root-bound conditions. However, the bear this condition for a small time. After that, you need to repot the plant for its better growth.
(Expert Tip: Repotting your snake plant once a year during their growing season helps encourage its root development and delivers fresh nutrients. This practice further results in the tall height of these slow growers.)
Conclusion
Snake plants are famous for their thriving growth and low maintenance requirements. However, there are some significant needs to ensure proper plant growth, such as water, fertilizer, and light. These optimum conditions will help the plant to grow well while living indoors. Growing a snake plant in your indoor space is not very complex, you must ensure plant’s optimal requirements. You need to check the signs of distress, wilting, and yellowing of the leaves to ensure that the plant is growing well. Read the complete article to be a pro in growing snake plant with taller heights!
FAQs
1. Why Is My Snake Plant Not Growing Tall?
There are a lot of factors that do not let your snake plant grow further. Some of these factors include; soil conditions, water quantity and quality, light quantity, and quality. You need to check all these conditions and ensure the growth of your snake plant.
2. Do All Snake Plants Get Tall?
There are different varieties of snake plants. Some grow to their maximum height of 6 feet and more, while some of the varieties can only grow to 3 feet. This height matters due to the change in the living conditions and space available for the plant.
3. Why Is My Snake Plant Growing Tall and Skinny?
If the snake plant looks thin and narrow, the reason is that the sunlight is not enough. You need to ensure that the plant has enough sunlight to support growth. If the plant is getting direct sunlight, the plant will continue to grow properly.