5

I heard on a video on Youtube that a snake plant (Sansevieria) will stop growing if it loses its leaf tips or if the tips gets brown or broken. Is this true?

Many of the tips of my Snake plant are either broken or brown. Is there anything I can do to make the plant grow bigger? Or is that all?

Bence Kaulics
  • 1,908
  • 3
  • 13
  • 30
4-K
  • 3,117
  • 10
  • 42
  • 61

1 Answers1

5

As time goes by, the web is turning out to be as big a source of misinformation as actual word of mouth - no, its not true as far as I'm aware. In fact, I have, in the past, clipped off the tips on mine if they've developed what looks like a spike on the tip of the leaves. Although the 'spike' or point looks like a thorn, it isn't, its quite soft, but might cause injury to the eye of a small child if they fell onto it - which is why I used to clip them off. I suppose, when I clipped them, the leaves were already the average full height of 2/3 feet though, so maybe they would have grown taller if I hadn't removed the tips, hard to say. I should like to see this Youtube video, so a link to it would be helpful.

As far as I can tell over 17 years of owning one (during which years its largely been completely ignored) it seems snake plants are practically bomb proof as long as you don't overwater - new growth arises at the base of existing leaves, and those leaves will grow on normally, even if other leaves are damaged.

Bamboo
  • 131,823
  • 3
  • 72
  • 162
  • Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lc837kU6qM – 4-K Oct 21 '16 at 15:22
  • Wait. I mean, if the tip of a leaf gets damaged or broken, will the leaf stop growing? – 4-K Oct 21 '16 at 15:24
  • 1
    I suppose if the damage is bad enough to affect the rest of the leaf which remains, it might not, but certainly brown tips or deliberate removal of the tips did not cause the leaves on mine to die back or stop growing. In fact, I wish it had, I'd rather have a shorter plant... not to mention I don't think I'd want to keep badly damaged leaves on the plant anyway, I'd remove the more badly damaged ones at the base. – Bamboo Oct 21 '16 at 15:28
  • 1
    Hi 4-K! No offense to anyone, but I agree with Bamboo that the internet,, especially YouTube, is becoming a source of lots of misinformation, though not of course in every case. That's one of the reasons why SE is so dedicated to quality. Thanks for bringing your questions here so people can learn from them with trusted information from people like Bamboo and so many others! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Oct 21 '16 at 15:33
  • @Sue You and Bamboo are right. The information bothered me a little cause many of my Snake plant's leaves have lost their tips, so I was a little worried. Glad that's not a problem anymore. – 4-K Oct 21 '16 at 15:46
  • 1
    @4-K - my advice is to check the source - if its just some random joe uploading a Youtube video, then double check the information at a reliable source, such as a proper horticultural source - that holds true for stuff on Wiki too... I always seek at least two (if possible) reliable, confirmatory sources. – Bamboo Oct 21 '16 at 16:13
  • 1
    @4-K I just watched the video you linked to - interesting, I might clip all the tips on mine again just to stop the leaves getting any taller! That suggests your damaged leaves won't get taller, but you will get new growth which will continue to grow in height over time. I'd remove the damaged leaves as soon as new leaves have started growing on well anyway, to improve the look of the plant. – Bamboo Oct 22 '16 at 00:33
  • @Bamboo Thanks! :) But I didn't find any info about the tips on Wiki. And that's an advantage? I mean, very tall snake plants don't look good. So one way to stop the leaves at desired height is by breaking the tip. It's like a button on the plant. But it only works once. :D – 4-K Oct 23 '16 at 13:10