Actually, your poor plant will be fine! These are the marks that cold weather or just poor care inflict on these plants. They can look quite beat up, and near death. As long as the leaves have no wrinkling and are standing upright on their own, all you need to do is start good care.

This plant actually falls between the classifications of houseplant and succulent (stores water in thick leaves). Because of its almost succulent habits it really needs water about half as much as your other houseplants, especially if potted in a large pot. A smaller pot with several leaves in it can be watered on a regular houseplant schedule of once a week or so. Water well, and dump any water left in the catch pan.

They do best when given the highest amount of light you can, but will tolerate a dingy, back from the window corner for years. You will not see new growth with too low of light and that will prevent your new plant from coming out of its spoiled looks. These plants can grow in full sun also, but bleach out, and tend to end up looking much like the guy you just rescued. They prefer to be indoors and somewhat protected, if for no other reason than to keep them looking as pretty as possible for our tastes!

Try to maintain the teeny, tiny, spikey tip that most Sans leaves have. If broken or damaged, that leaf will stop growing at the size it is at when damaged. If the leaf tips are left, the leaf will continue to grow I don't know HOW tall. I started snapping mine off when they were at the level of my roll top desk while sitting on the floor. I know that these leaves crept another inch or so. This explains all the various heights of leaves you find in a full pot.

You can pop over to the Sans Gallery, where we post pictures of our plants. There is a post about a New S. trifaciate "Laurentii" that I purchased recently. You can see from looking at some of the pictures, it really was beat up. And some of the growth heads only had one leaf left after the centers had rotted out.

There is a LOT of hope for your new plant. After it has adjusted to your environment and care, you can start feeding it with a tablespoon of Epsom Salts to a gallon of water every so often when you water. All your houseplants can use this, and it might even cause some growth spurts.

Welcome to the GardenWeb, it's addicting if you like plants at all!

Cena, thanks for the epsom salts advice, I can use it as well as Dizzygreengirl - (love that name, by the way!)

Cena, thanks so much for the advice! Its such a relief! I never knew that epsom salts could be used as fertilizer too. I'm sure all of my other plants will appreciate the help as well! Thanks a lot! :)

For many years I have been saying that sansevierias grow best in the house. Ourdoors they are subject to things that cause spots, splits, dings, etc on the leaves. Even in greenhouses they can get marred up. The reason usually has to do with low temperatures and wintertime moisture, causing the damage. In terms of getting a very clean plant, indoors seems to work the best. Your plant sounds like it just needs a period to grow out of its damage. I bet the new growths that come up from the soil will grow clean and true, without your needing to repot or divide.

You can get rid of the worst leaves by cutting them off at the base. Because of the strong fibers you need a good pair of garden clippers or a single edged razor blade to get a clean cut. I have done this with regular old trifasciata plants that had leaves just like you describe. Once you cut out the bad leaves, the rest of the plant immediately looks 100% better. You can save those old ratty leaves and propagate from them.

Don't attempt to grow your plant in full sun. Cena is correct that they can survive, but only after a long period of acclimation to brighter light. Sanseverias will almost always burn badly when put outside into a spot that gets some sun. This is another reason for keeping them indoors.

Just keep it indoors in a bright window, and once it has settled in, you can feed it with a very dilute fertilzer with your watering. They often put up new growths in winter; so in January, look for new shoots coming up from the soil.

The leaves you cut off can be left out for up to a month or more. But, about 4-6 days is probably best. Then plant them in soil and wait. Then wait some more. They root but othen take about a year before they grow a new shoot, which will come up at the base. You can get multiple new shoots from a single leaf. The main reason for doing this is for the experience of it. But, you also get the new plants.

Jon

Maggie, I learned about the Epsom Salts while DH was recovering from foot surgery. I started watering all my plants regularly with water with high amounts of Epsom Salts. A foot basin at 1/2 gallon of water with 3/4 of a cup of ES added. Spread out amoung 20 houseplants over a month. Once a week or so, I would water outside plants of which there are considerably more.

My S. trifaciata popped 7 new growth heads from the soil, but all 7 show odd scars on the interior of the leaves. Not a single scar on the outside of the leaves.

Took it to a local C&S meeting for everyone to take a look. Most decided it was an overdose of the chemicals found in Epsom Salts.

So, use it in regular, SMALL amounts, in a judicious manner.

Thank you again, Cena. I'll get some tomorrow. In fact, Jon, I do get funny marks on my Sanses now and then, little white skid marks and sometimes brown marks, and I don't know what they are, but they don't seem to do any harm! Is there some invisible insect that specializes in Sansevierias, does anyone know?

Good term--skid marks. I have gotten those on plants that had no reason for them. I think it is just the luck of the draw. I have no idea how it happens--too much coolness?, a pebble in the soil that scratched the tender new growth while still underground? a pest of some sort?, a fungus? I think it is just something strange that happens at night. ;)

I have had one odd pest--a bug that eats out the centers of new growths, particularly on hahnii types. I did see some little black specks with it. I did get plants from someone with a huge collection who may have imported the pest. But that person told me it was thrips. I may have seen the last of this pest though (fingers and toes crossed).

Now I have forgotten what I knew about epsom salts. But, it isn't a complete fertilizer. I think it is used in agriculture to add magnesium and possibly iron to the soil?? I forget now.

Epsom salts are pure magnesium sulfate, so they add sulfer in addition to magnesium.