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Snake plant withering

11 years ago

I did a search for this but couldn't find anything that looked similar. Here's the background: I've had this snake plant for over 2 years now. It's thrived inside the house (Southern California) without any issues except for the occasional and impossible to eradicate soil gnat infestation. I water it sparingly now to avoid letting the eggs hatch. Even with the infestations here and there, the plant hasn't shown any signs of stress. However, recently, there was yet another large infestation due to my over-watering. I applied my usual treatment of Bacillus thuringiensis that targets them (without any issues). This usually helps kill the gnat eggs but not the adults. Anyway, shortly after (maybe 10 days) the plant started to wither as seen in the pictures. I thought it may have been over-watering from the BT application, so I moved the plant outside. I haven't watered it since (2 weeks), and the soil is still moist about 3 inches down near the roots. Any idea what's happening here based on the withering in the pictures? It looks almost like it isn't getting enough water, but it is definitely saturated. Root rot perhaps?

As an aside: the last time I had a bad infestation of soil gnats I repotted this plant. It struggled a bit for the first week, and then bounced back. But no other issues since.

Comments (13)

  • 11 years ago

    One more image.

  • 11 years ago

    Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Btk) is used against caterpillars.

    Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) is the correct form to use against fungus gnats.

    When roots are damaged or rot, the plant can't absorb sufficient water for the plant's needs. Result: The plant wilts.

  • 11 years ago

    Bti is different than Btk jean. Thanks for clarifying that for people who do not know that. I have been using Bti on my snake plant for my gnat infestations. So based upon the pictures you're seeing, this looks like root rot to you?

  • 11 years ago

    Thanks Tommyboy. I think the pot wasn't draining well at all. I repotted the plant and found the roots to be totally soaked still (after 3 weeks). There was not rotting in the roots as far as I saw. So I changed out the soil to the succulent soil that you mentioned and that I actually had on hand. I'll update if things don't improve, but hopefully that solves it. Now onto making another thread for my other suffering plant :)

  • 11 years ago

    Here's an update on the situation with this poor snake plant. I was able to repot the plant in a larger pot using the right kind of succulent soil. I also fertilized just a tiny bit a few weeks after repotting. The root system looks good, and there's no rotting or water pooling in the new miracle grow succulent soil. However, unfortunately, the plant is not thriving and is still very slowly browning along the edges and tips of the leaves (just like the pictures in the first post). Any ideas what my next steps should be to check? It gets ample, but not direct sunlight.

  • 11 years ago

    Maybe burning from too much fertilizer? I believe Miracle Grow soil has fertilizer in it, so doesn't need any more for a long while. Most succulents and cactus don't like too much fertilizer.


  • 11 years ago

    Sorry! My mistake Leslie. The potting soil was just regular succulent soil, not miracle grow. So I'm going to rule out that theory for now. Thanks for the recommendation to fertilize sparingly though. I don't know what else to do for this poor plant.

  • 11 years ago

    How's this plant doing? Do you have ground garden space, in mostly shade?


  • 11 years ago

    No better no worse. I want to keep this plant as an indoor plant. So I'm trying to avoid planting it in the ground. It just isn't thriving. More of a slow decay over months. I repotted again and made sure the roots have good drainage. Some of the leaves are drooping over. I'm just going to have to watch it and wait because I can't figure out what it needs and I've done almost everything I can think of. Any other ideas?

  • 11 years ago

    You knew what was on my mind, LOL! I think you could grow a crop of perfect-looking pups by fall, with part or all of the plant mass you have there, to start over with a pot of just those, but only if it sounds like a cool thing to do to you.

    Aside from that, not packing soil tightly, letting it dry significantly but not spend extended time past that before getting a drink. If you haven't already, snipping the brown tips at a sharp angle to mimic the natural leaf shape would look better for now, and give you a chance to more easily see further changes. Water gently (but thoroughly) so the force of gushing water doesn't compact soil. Don't mist.

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Thanks so much for helping out Tiffany. I'll follow your advice. Hopefully I'll see some improvement over the next month. I know the soil isn't the issue. But now that you mentioned it, I may have compacted the soil a bit during repotting. Hopefully, I won't have to crow pups and start all over. Is there a link you can give me for creating snake plat cuttings?

  • 11 years ago

    Good vibes & keep us posted. ;+) Many discussions & pics about that on Sansevieria forum.
    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/sansevieria