Over the Garden Fence: Snake plant shows off
This week my husband and I arrived at an official birthday on the same day, "geezerhood."
A pleasant plant surprise was much like a gift for me when the discovery of fragrant greenish-white blooms appeared on my snake plant, the sansevieria trifasciata. In all the years of growing house plants, never once has this particular plant bloomed. It never lived long enough. They rarely ever bloom indoors anyway. So listen to this: "It flowers annually when its water, sun and humidity needs are ideal." Crazy, but wonderful, and it is so exciting to me this one is sporting blooms.
Next comes an admission. In the past, too much water was shared with the snake plant, killing it off. Not this time. The sansevieria stands happily on the screened porch along with a bunch of tropical and vining houseplants. It has received steady doses of sun and warmth, not much water and is clearly profiting from our humidity. This is thrilling to a person who cannot seem to make African violets thrive and manages to send orchids to early deaths.
You are thinking snake plants are one of the easiest houseplants to grow because they take little care and stand up to drought conditions. That is true. But it is easy to ignore warnings about overwatering. That can lead to root rot. And though this plant has not lived very long with me it must be a mature one to bring such luck.
It was in May it caught my eye while standing in the checkout lane with my granddaughter, Leah. Without hesitation it was snatched and added to the purchases.
As soon as we arrived home — the snake plant and me — the plastic pot was removed and into a blue ceramic planter it went. It was crammed in because a few friends told me snake plants love being crowded. Well, I should say. It is holding its own in a cluster of potted sprengeri fern, amaryllis, alocasia and a dracena that is recovering from drastic pruning. This crowded, sun-loving plant is in its glory. Warmth without direct sun in this outdoor location has triggered a rare event. Snake plants love temperatures from 70-90 degrees.
An added surprise; a 'pup' has appeared
There is more joy. At the base of the plant near the top of the soil a "pup" has appeared. That is a baby offshoot. Just today I learned that as these develop they can be planted in another pot. As summer winds down, the houseplants will come back inside. This one will not tolerate cold well so, before we return to 50 degrees, it will have a spot inside where it will rarely be watered in its winter dormancy.
The history of the sansevieria states it is native to western Africa, Nigeria maybe. But the Chinese cultivated it watching its erect, sword-shaped foliages marked with silvery horizontal stripings. This culture believed that there were eight gods bestowing virtues upon those who grew the snake plant. They would be blessed with long life, prosperity, beauty, art, poetry, health and strength.
Oh, I left out intelligence. My treatment of the plant will be approached with utmost care because my life treasures those virtues. And when you get this old, you need all the help you can find. If a simple, slow-growing plant can bless people, then I should heed every precaution related to its care.
Life is good.
Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, an accredited master gardener, a flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth grade teacher.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Over the Garden Fence: Snake plant bloom birthday celebration
