In online articles, you often read that snake plants are indestructible and can cope with a wide array of conditions.
Because of this advice, I find that many people treat snake plants like ornaments, locating them in darker corners, watering them only occasionally, and expecting them to grow quickly, stay upright and green.
With my first snake plant, I used to do the same.
I located my first snake plant in my poorly lit hallway for around two years. It didn’t die as such (they are tough), but it didn’t grow well either. There were no smaller emerging leaves from the soil, and no impressive tall leaves to it, but it rather just stayed the same in a state of survival.
Once I changed my perspective and actually started treating my snake plants as actual plants rather than indestructible decorations in the corner of a room, I saw how much better they really look. In the optimal conditions, they produce stronger, upright leaves and steady new leaves that emerge from the base.
This is my method of care I use now, based on my years of trial and error, repotting experiments, and rescuing friends and families’ neglected plants.
1. The best snake plant potting soil: The importance of aeration and a porous structure for drainage
If I were to boil it down to just one thing that determines whether your snake plant survives or actually grows well, it is the soil type, or more specifically, the soil structure.
A lot of care guides that I’ve read give the generic advice of “use well-draining soil,” but in practice, I’ve found that this advice is far too vague and far from universal advice. I’ve personally experimented with plenty of pre-made succulent potting mixes over the years, and many of them still held too much moisture around the snake plants’ roots for too long.
In my experience, snake plants, like all succulents, need a soil mix that does two things well:
- drains quickly from the roots
- keeps oxygen around the roots
The succulent potting soil mix I use
I now use a three-part, homemade mix:
- 1 part houseplant potting soil
- 1 part coarse grit or perlite
- 1 part pine bark chippings (like an orchid potting mix)
Most people associate pine bark with orchids or other tropical plants, but from my experiments, I’ve found it works extremely well for all succulents, including snake plants.
The bark is nice and large compared to the soil, which creates larger air pockets throughout the soil mix, which helps prevent compaction and keeps the rhizomes and roots oxygenated.
Since I switched to this more open, aerated, porous soil mix, I’ve had far fewer problems with yellowing, rot, and stalled growth to the point it has practically mitigated the risk of overwatering, which is the main threat to snake plants.
2. Best Light for Your Snake Plants: Low Light Keeps Them Alive, whereas Brighter Light allows Them to Grow
Due to misinformation online, the biggest misconception about snake plant care is that they like or even prefer low light.
I can tell you from growing snake plants for years, this is unequivocally not the case.
They do tolerate low light, but they don’t thrive; this is the distinction that needs to be acknowledged online.
My snake plant in my low-light hallway stayed alive for years, but it didn’t actually grow much. In brighter light, growth is noticeably stronger and faster.
The light conditions that work best for my snake plants
The best snake plant growth in my own collection of plants always happens in:
- brighter, indirect light
- Or a few hours of gentle morning sun with shade in the midday and afternoon
An east-facing window is most often ideal for this. Whereas a west-facing window can often lead to the snake plant being scorched in the afternoon by stronger sun.
You can grow snake plants (quite quickly) in rooms with a south-facing window if you make sure it isn’t in direct light, or perhaps you use a sheer curtain or frosted glass to diffuse the light. Snake plants do scorch in hot, direct sunlight.
I’ve found that once I move a snake plant from a low-light corner into brighter light, then new leaves start growing thicker, stronger, and less likely to lean if you rotate the snake plant every month for even growth.
3. How to Make Your Snake Plant Grow Faster
Snake plants are naturally slow growers, like all succulents. Even in their ideal conditions, they are never going to grow as quickly as your viney pothos or spreading spider plants.
However, there is still a big difference between slow growth and growth that has completely stalled.
If you want to encourage faster growth for your snake plants with nice, tall leaves that would look good on Instagram, the following are the factors that have made the biggest difference.
The importance of warmth in the soil
Snake plants are, of course, tropical plants, and they grow better when both your room and their soil are warmer.
I’ve noticed they grow quicker and better (with bigger leaves) when the temperatures stay above about 70°F (21°C). What to watch for are snake plants that sit on cold tile floors or on drafty window sills.
Keep them in a proportionately sized pot
Snake plants do not need especially big pots. In fact, what I’ve found is that they grow best when in a pot that is proportionate to the size of the plant.
I once moved a smaller snake plant into a much larger pot, thinking it would grow into the extra pot space, and I wouldn’t have to repot it for several years as a way of saving time (it was also a handy free pot!). It unfortunately barely grew at all for over a year.
From my research, I learned that the reason for this is that snake plants divert their energy into growing their roots and establishing themselves in the soil when in larger pots, rather than growing their leaves.
Now I only repot one size up at a time with a pot that is only 1 or 2 inches wider in diameter than the current pot. This has helped keep growth more consistent for all my succulents.
Cleaner leaves help growth
This sounds trivial, but I’ve consistently noticed that dust on snake plant leaves slows a plant’s growth rate down.
Every couple of weeks or so, I wipe my snake plants’ leaves with a damp, microfibere cloth to removed ust. They seem to attract dust more quickly than other household surfaces, I find! It improves light absorption for photosynthesis and keeps the plant looking healthier and more vibrant.
Bonus tip:
The ultimate way to increase the rate of a snake plant’s growth is to use a grow light. They can supplement the natural light in the evenings. This is the single most effective way to stimulate growth for snake plants. They also help keep the snake plant healthy in the winter if you live in a low-light apartment like I used to. I used to use it on all my succulents.
4. Watering: The best Method
I don’t water snake plants on a predefined schedule that I read about online.
That is one of the biggest perspective shifts I made when caring for houseplants, and it solved many of my problems.
The frequency of your watering should change according to:
- the season
- the light levels
- the pot type
- the room temperature
- the soil structure
But of course you don’t have to account for each of these little variables each time, as they are too hard to keep track of…
What I now do instead
I personally pick my pots up and assess their weight.
Right after watering, I lift the pot and get a sense of its weight (which is when it is at its heaviest). Then I pick up the pot periodically and wait until it feels much lighter before watering it again.
For me, this usually works out as:
- every 2 weeks in spring and summer
- much less often in winter, I often go over a month
The snake plant naturally goes dormant in winter in response to lower light levels and therefore demands a lot less water. Overwatering is common at this time of year, so if in doubt, leave watering another week.
There is one important detail
I always avoid pouring the water into the center of the plant or crown area. If water sits there too long, it can cause the plant to rot.
So water the soil, not the leaf bases. The goal of watering should be to get the soil evenly moist, so give it a really good soak.
5. The Best Pots for Snake Plants
The choice of pot matters more than you’d think.
After growing my snake plants in plastic, glazed ceramic, terracotta and clay, I’ve found that terracotta and clay work best for me, especially for my larger snake plants or if I know I’m prone to overwatering.
Terracotta and clay help because:
- They are porous in nature (as opposed to plastic, which is impermeable)
- It allows moisture to slowly dry through the sides
- This helps the soil dry more evenly, thus preventing root rot.
In side-by-side trials, I’ve found that my snake plants in terracotta and clay dry out much faster than the same plant in plastic.
In the world of succulents and snake plants, this is a very good thing, as the number one cause of a dying snake plant is root rot due to overwatering.
Quick Care Summary
If I had to distil my snake plant care tips down to the essentials, it would be the following:
Soil: porous, gritty, and aerated
Light: bright, indirect light or gentle morning sun with afternoon shade
Water: only when your pot feels light
Pot: preferably clay or terracotta
Temperature: warm and stable
Maintenance: wipe dust from leaves every other week
If those basics are in place, then snake plants are very forgiving of neglect. If you forget to water, it’s no big deal!
Frequently Asked Questions About Snake Plant Care
Are snake plants toxic to cats and dogs?
Yes, this is the case as our Snake plants contain saponins, which can cause vomiting or stomach upset if ingested by our pets. I keep mine out of reach.
Can I trim brown tips off?
Yes, you can. I personally use clean (I sterilise them with hand gel) scissors and trim only the dead brown portion, leaving a very small sliver of brown left, so I don’t accidentally cut into healthy tissue.
Why are my snake plant leaves wrinkled?
Wrinkling on the leaves usually means that the snake plant has gone too long between waterings. If the soil is extremely dry, (does the pot feel much lighter than expected?) I place my snake plant in a basin of water for 20 mins to properly rehydrate the soil.
Do snake plants bloom?
Occasionally, they can do, yes. However, it’s rare indoors, but certainly can happen. I’ve only had a couple bloom over the years. What I’ve noticed is that they tend to flower when slightly root-bound or mildly stressed in some way or other.
Can I grow a snake plant in water permanently?
You can propagate your leaf cuttings in water, but I don’t find long-term water culture produces the strongest growth, as the roots are very weak and tend to rot. For a snake plant that thrives and produces leaves, I much prefer soil.
How often should I repot a snake plant?
Usually, I repot mine every 3 to 5 years, depending on the growth or if I notice the pine bark pieces have decomposed into soil (which retains more moisture, which can cause root rot). I repot mine also when roots are crowding heavily, even pushing the plant upward, or the roots are obviously pot-bound.
My Final Thoughts on Snake Plant Care
The biggest change in how I care for my snake plants was realising that their indestructibility is not the same as being easy to grow.
A snake plant in poorer light and bad soil may actually survive in its pot for some years. But if you give it…
- brighter, indirect light
- a more porous, gritty soil mix,
- a proportionately sized terracotta or clay pot,
- and the right kind of watering (only watering when the soil is dry)
It is a much better, healthier succulent.
That’s when you start seeing the thicker leaves, stronger structure, and regular new leaves emerge from the base.