4

I have a Snake Plant, Sansevieria trifasciata. As you can see, around the edges of the tip, the color and stiffness of the leaf/stem changed. It is pulpy now. This leaf is also drooping heavy on the other side.

I watered this plant more than a month ago, as this plant is in my home and it's very cold here. The room temp is not too cold, though.

Temp:4°-16°C, 39°-60°F

I am thinking of cutting down this stem/leaf.

What's caused this issue?

Click on pictures for larger, close-up view.

enter image description here enter image description here

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
  • 6,215
  • 8
  • 39
  • 74
4-K
  • 3,117
  • 10
  • 42
  • 61
  • 1
    sansevieria, not Aloe. Somewhat cold sensitive, but not to the same extent. You're using topsoil in a pot? That could cause issues. Also, judging by the etiolation stretch in the near crown I'd say the plant had been pushing some growth where there wasn't enough light – J. Musser Jan 19 '17 at 11:40
  • @J.Musser Yes. Snake Plant. My bad. Dunno how "aloe vera" came to my mind. But the soil is not topsoil. The drooping stem is completely resting on the pot brim. – 4-K Jan 19 '17 at 12:42
  • @J.Musser Also, the tip of the new leaf is brown. – 4-K Jan 19 '17 at 12:44
  • What mix are you using? It's not best to use a soil based mix for these – J. Musser Jan 19 '17 at 16:11
  • 1
    @4-K You've been mixing your own soil using...garden soil. Looks like too much water and the clay in your soil holds onto water. Quit watering so much. These guys love to be ignored...the leaves are getting too heavy with water and they are rotting. Cut the mushy parts of the leaves off. If you had a good grow light using high pressure sodium HPS that would add some good warmth. Without warmth the plant shuts down and all that water stored just becomes great medium for rot. – stormy Jan 19 '17 at 20:02
  • 1
    @J.Musser 4-K is in India where amazingly there is no potting soil. Bamboo and I have worked with him on this soil issue and this is the best he could do. Seriously, we've talked with others in India having to use garden soil because they are unable to get bagged potting soil. So weird. I was tempted to send them some or even start a potting soil business in India!! Few have any land, just balconies and indoors. Potting soil would be a very profitable product over there I am thinking....grins!! – stormy Jan 19 '17 at 20:06
  • @stormy, J.Musser: This is the best soil I could get and it drains really well. It also doesn't get soggy or retains water for too long for a succulent. The soil is completely dry and I mean completely. Watered this plant more than a month ago, and it was fine a few days back. Dunno what happened. It is also getting light. :) – 4-K Jan 22 '17 at 13:32
  • 1
    The temperatures are playing a part in your grief, 4-K. This plant is obviously getting too much water and the temps are too cold. Too cold of temps mean the plant goes into a sort of dormancy and will not suck up more water. Your plant has plenty if not too much water in its vegetative material/leaves. The cold is exacerbating the very full of water plant cells and allowing the soil to hold too much water too long. Otherwise, your plant got too cold period. Actually froze some cells and that is why you've got mush. I'd get lights that add heat to the environment...more root growth. – stormy Jan 23 '17 at 00:51
  • 1
    Btw, cut off that stem/leaf. Too much energy is going into damage, repair and the plant is trying to cut that leaf off by itself. I wish I could send you a couple of huge bags sterilized potting soil!!! Do you see the headaches caused by garden soil in pots? You are wonderfully persistent, patient and tenacious. I adore you!1 – stormy Jan 23 '17 at 00:55
  • 1
    @stormy Thank you, Stormy :). Yeah, thank God the end of winter is near. I dig the soil for at least 7-9 inches and found it to be completely dry :( – 4-K Jan 27 '17 at 09:13

2 Answers2

6

Sansevieria is cold sensitive; optimum temperatures for health and growth are between 18 and 27 deg.C, and whilst it will tolerate down to 5degC, it only manages that if the soil is completely dry, and not for long periods. If your room temperature has dropped to 4 deg C regularly, likely that's the cause of the problems you're seeing, including the brown tip on the new leaf, particularly if the soil was even a little damp when the temperature became too low. Information here http://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/sansevieria

If possible, the plant needs to be somewhere a little warmer - the larger leaf with significant damage may need to be removed, as well as the small, new leaf, but see how they go - if the damage continues and those two leaves get worse, then probably best to remove them. Of prime importance, though, is moving it somewhere warmer, or at least less cold.

Bamboo
  • 131,823
  • 3
  • 72
  • 162
  • The soil is completely dry. I use heater in my room, but maybe the coldness at night is what caused the problem. – 4-K Jan 22 '17 at 13:33
4

Definetly overwatering, I also had this problem and that's how I know. Even if you water once a month, it may be too often for a plant that didn't need it.

When I notice I have overwatered succulents, I take them out from the soil, let their roots dry for a few hours, usually from morning to evening, then replant them in new dry potting soil without watering at all. Since this has required extra effort, I became less and less willing to do it, so my overwatering rarely happens anymore.

I have discovered that my succulents grow happier when I leave them unattended and I don't think there is such thing as underwatering Aloe in winter. You might even stop watering it for a few months without the risk of killing it.

Alina
  • 5,376
  • 2
  • 15
  • 47
  • Are you sure? Cz I watered this plant more than one month ago. Probably in early November. – 4-K Jan 19 '17 at 12:43
  • 1
    I didn't let the soil to become completely dried between waterings, it was somewhat dry at the surface, but sufficiently moist in the lowest part of the pot. If there is not enough light for a plant to grow, it should be left either dormant (if the species needs winter dormancy), or watered only after the soil has dried at the botom of the pot. The plant can't cope with water input and low light, that's why its leaves become etiolated or even mushy. – Alina Jan 19 '17 at 12:58