Help with a 40+ year old Sansevieria

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

I have recently brought this sans from my late mother's house in Pennsylvania to my home in Ohio.

This plant is over 40 years old (passed down from my great grandmother) and I would like to save it! As you can see the plant is very droopy. I have it tied to the pinwheel behind it to hold it up. Within the last week, two leaves have turned yellow and two little sprouts have completely fallen out of the soil.

Should I repot in a smaller pot? It has been in this planter for quite a while, probably at least 5 years. Was much taller and not so droopy when my mom was alive. She also kept it in a bright sunny south facing area with it sitting on top of a milk crate over a heat vent. It has been in west facing not so bright area until 2 days ago when I brought it outside to our porch.

These are the 2 sprouts that completely fell out. I know my mother has always taken any shoot or cutting from almost any plant she's wanted to grow and had success in rooting it by placing it in a small glass of water in a sunny window. My thumb is not as green as her's though. Will this technique work for these?

Thank you!

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Comments (5)

akrrm (Nancy in NJ 7a)
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
First of all, I'm so sorry your mother has passed.

That pot is too large and it will need a well draining soil mix. I use 50% miracle grow cactus soil and 50% perlite. I get them at my local Ace hardware but homedepot and lowes should also have it.

Those long stringy things look like roots so your plant is good. If it were mine I would trim the left one right above the bottom leaf and the roots for the top right portion.

The plant on the right I would remove the new growth on the left that is shooting out from the yellowed leaf. The new growth looks like two pieces, the orange area is a rhizome where roots will grow. The two larger leaves on the left of that plant look okay. Is the leaf on the right mushy where it's yellowed?
Katrina
10 years ago
Yes, condolences.

I have rooted one Sans leaf in water. I cut it off the stem and just plunked it in about 2 inches of tap water. It's in a north facing window with nice roots, but hasn't put out another pup yet.

Since you have roots and rhizome, you may want to take Akrrm's advice on this. There appears to be a lot of hope for your plant.
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Carly Kaye
Original Author
10 years ago
akrrm and Katrina, thank you, I assumed the pot was too large for the plant from what I have researched on this site. I have one that is half that size that I am going to put it into. The yellowish leave on the right sprout isn't really mushy and not that yellow looking in real life. I will follow your advice on those though. Should I try with the water to get a few more roots or just plant them tonight when I repot the large plant?
Carly Kaye
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Oh my! No wonder my poor plant was falling over! There was only about 3 inches of root on it! That planter only had one drain hole in the bottom of it, all of the soil in the bottom was a completely solid chunk.

It already looks better and drained quickly, still needs a bit of support until it settles in though! Thank you for the advice!
Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6
10 years ago
You may get away with over watering it during the summer heat. Keep on the dry side during winter months. Water is your enemy. Bright light but not direct sun is best.