I wonder if they’re all pups from a larger plant. Even the two multi leafed sans look like they’re in pots way too large for them. They look healthy but all 3 plants could be combined into one pot size wise. I thought sans like to be root bound sort of. I do have a large pot that’s pretty full with tall ones & another that has short rosette type. They are both in pots that have room for root growth but are full at top.

I agree with you about the pot size being too large for the size of the plants. I was also wondering about the striping on the leaves. I am not familiar with sans looking like that. The one in the middle looks like a different kind of sans. I am not familiar with it.

Depends on the price. If theyre cheap, get them. If not just go to a reputable stockist.

KW your sans is beautiful! All the leaves look great!

KW and floral, do you think the streaky yellow in the leaf is normal? The price is $5 Canadian. Good price?

Each? or for all 3? either way, having converted the price that would be a bargain here.. The yellow leaf wouldn't bother me, although I only have the photo to go on.

newhostalady - is that $5 Canadian for 1 or all 3? That’s less than $4 US so yes a very good price IMO. See the tag on my plant - it was $47 + 8.5% sales tax in a nice nursery. If you buy all 3 I’d think about repotting into one pot. I don’t think the streak of yellow is a problem - normal or not I can’t say but it looks interesting. If the leaf feels ok strength wise, I’d say it’s a plus for the appearance.

Sorry, I should have clarified. The price is $5 each.

KW, your plant for $47 plus tax was pricey, but you got a lovely looking plant. Our good garden nurseries (which are open year round) also offer a guarantee which is a good thing. Our sales tax is 13% which seems to really add to the final cost.

I do know that sans are slow growers. So I have to wonder whether the pot with the one leaf is worth $5. Now if it were something less common, then I think if it was rooted, it might be worth it.

On another thread I post a while back, Tiffany suggested I plant or take a sans outside to grow as I was not happy with it. That turned out to be a very good idea because my original sans wasn't pretty, but outside it grew several new pups! It's always nice to experiment and see what results you get.

I should’ve been more clear too that $47 was Canadian - it was $35 US - pricey but for the size & slow growth not bad. I’ve seen them for @$10 less in the big box stores. Wow 13% sales tax is high! I thought 8.5% was high but it varies much by state with many counties much higher. Then, there are some US states with no sales tax but things like property or income tax are higher than ours. My state - WA - has no income tax but neighboring state - OR - with no sales tax has a high personal income tax. That’s in addition to our federal income tax which we all pay - or are meant to!

KW, I thought you were in the States, and realized that your $35 was US.

Interesting how the taxes can vary so much. Where I am, it has been decided that we are going to have a property tax increase of nearly 10%. The 13% applies to most items, except for groceries. But we are still taxed on snacks and some baked goods.

When I have travelled to the US, it has been refreshing to have a lower tax rate applied.

That’s quite a property tax increase! Ours has quite a variance even within a city & county. States don’t set property tax but the counties & cities within the counties do. We have the base property tax based on a current value assessment of property made by the assessor’s office. Added to that property tax are bonds & levys which are voted on by the people within the counties & cities. The bonds & levys are for schools within a specific school district, libraries in the county, police & fire protection, emergency services (ambulance) etc. All pretty complicated. There is a county wide program for base property tax assistance in the form of discounts for seniors with limited income. That income threshold is determined by inflation & cost of living factors so it’s adjusted periodically. I think when US citizens travel to Canada, they like the buying power of US dollars. I understand liking the lower tax rate enjoyed when in US - I only have to drive 20 minutes to Oregon to enjoy their $0 sales tax compared to my city 8.5% on non-food items!

Interesting how things can differ between countries. We don't have the added bonds and levys that you have. It does sound complicated! We do have discounts for seniors also. It is a good deal for US citizens coming to Canada and shopping. But I have to say that there is a lot more choice in the US compared to Canada. I also find that many prices for the same items cost more in Canada.

Yes - I understand about the prices for same items being higher in Canada than US. When I lived in Seattle area, I knew of many Canadians who routinely made shopping trips to Bellingham, WA from areas in British Columbia. Shipping costs seem to be a huge factor in higher prices. Maybe customs tariffs too.

Kathy

I know this is an old post, but I didn't see anyone mentioning that when a cutting of a variegated sans is rooted, the plant that subsequently grows is the species plant. That's why those sans look weird. To get the same plant as the original, a portion of the rhizome needs to be included with the leaf.

Deanna

Thanks for your comment gardenfanatic!

Well, what happened was I did go to see the plants with the expectation of buying one. But the owner said I could have the three he had left. So I took them.

They looked like they were not in good media and were planted too deep, so I repotted to find that two of the plants had no roots at all and one had just a few roots. So I decided to experiment and plant two in soil and keep one in water. Would love to hear of any suggestions or comments about what will actually happen with these plants.

My hope is that they will grow roots and then produce healthy looking offsets.

I will take photos and post.

IDK if it will make a difference but I always root sans in perlite to eliminate the possibility of rot.

That's a good point gardenfanatic.

Here are pictures. The one in water has one root growing!

"I know this is an old post, but I didn't see anyone mentioning that when a cutting of a variegated sans is rooted, the plant that subsequently grows is the species plant. That's why those sans look weird. To get the same plant as the original, a portion of the rhizome needs to be included with the leaf."


I'm having trouble squaring this statement with the fact that both leaf and root are parts of the same clone and genetically identical. How can they produce genetically different plants? If you take leaf cuttings you get duplicate plants, not different ones. You do not have to include a piece of rhizome. https://www.rhs.org.uk/propagation/leaf-cuttings

What gardenfanatic said is true. I have experienced that. Probably have a propagated leaf in pot that I can show you.

@floraluk2 if you don't believe me, try it with a variegated sans that's not a species variety.

OK. I stand corrected. But you have to admit it's very weird behaviour. How does a piece of cloned genetically identical plant material produce something different?

IDK why. I suspect it has something to do with the plant being a sport of the species.

Newhostalady, the sans you're asking about is called Gold Flame, a variety of trifasciata. I believe this is a Futura type, which is a size in-between the tall trifasciata varieties and the dwarf Hahnii types. They can grow to about 18 inches tall. I find Gold Flame a bit difficult to grow and have lost lots of them over the years. I hope all these months later they are still growing well for you.

On leaf propagation, most times a variegated leaf will produce the base plant, in the case of Gold Flame I think you would probably get a green Futura.

It's remotely possible a variegated plant could arise from a propagated leaf if it originates from the variegated part of the leaf, but usually these plants are complete albinos and cannot survive if separated from the parent leaf because it has no chlorophyll to make food.

The usual rules for leaf prop of sansevierias is all species and hybrids produce more of the same. Variegates usually revert back to the same plant but without the variegation. As for varieties of species, it depends on which one is being propagated. Trifasciata varieties are especially notorious for producing strange and confusing results. Below is an excerpt from the great Juan Chahinian's book 'The Sansevieria Trifasciata Varieties'. I have omitted and added a few words for clarity..

The fact that some cultivar leaves when severed and propagated revert to the original Sansevieria trifasciata, does not mean that they originated directly from it. As obvious examples, S. t. Laurentii Compacta reverts mostly to trifasciata, yet it comes from Laurentii. Golden Hahnii reverts to the original Hahnii, yet it comes from Hahnii Variegated. There seems to be a general 'return home' for all cultiars. All roads lead to Rome, or do they? Actually Laurentiii Compacta may produce an entirely new plant (from leaf cuttings), Nelsonii, which propagates true from cuttings. Leaf propagations of Golden Hahnii often produce albinos.

Some of the Hahnii types are especially unstable in producing offsets. I once had a Hahnii Seibert, which has regular Hahnii color and pattern but has subtle yellow striations down the center of leaves. This plant produced a bunch of offsets at one time, a couple of regular Seiberts but also 3 Golden Hahniis. To me, this shows that the first Seibert might have originated from a Golden Hahnii. It later produced a second flush of offsets that included Seibert's and Golden Hahnii's.

Interestingly, some Hahnii types reliably produce a different variety from leaf cuttings. Loop's Pride, a plain, dark green Hahnii with extremely thick and brittle leaves, will often produce Malachite, a dark colored Hahnii variety with thick leaves and either sparse banding or speckling on leaves. Showing how strange trifasciata types are when propagated from leaves, Malachite always props true. But it's parent Loop's Pride does not.

A note about leaf cuttings, Chahinian says an entire leaf will produce more plants than one without it's top. This 'whole leaf' has potential to produce a flush of offsets which can then be taken off the leaf. But don't toss the leaf, you can replant it in fresh medium and it will produce more plants. As long as the leaf is in good shape and fertilized, it will continue to make plants if replanted and fertilized. Eventually it will become weak and die, but that could be 3 or 4 or more generations of plants later. I've experimented with this and it does work.

Russ, central Florida

Thank you Russ! Excellent information! I will tag this post so I can remember the part about which sans can produce different varieties---and the part about leaf cuttings.

As for the three plants I received, I had potted up two and put one of them in water. I would conclude that the ones potted did better than the one in water---but they are still all alive! Of the two potted, one of them produced a pup. The one in water grew roots very slowly.