sansevieria formula for growth? Liquid kelp?

10 years ago

I have a question about the growth rate of this plant.
What I'm working with:

I have two sansevieria plants, one is mature with the tallest leaves being about three and a half feet tall, this one I got from a friend who fertilized it frequently with water straight from her fish tank, the plant is several years old.at least a decade. t's happy and healthy enough to have bloomed for me more than once.

my other sansevieria is much younger, has maybe 6-10 leaves at about 7-8 inches in length. the pot it is in is considerably wider than the plant but not TOO much deeper. I fertilize with a little bayer 3-in-1 (once or twice a season cause i have scale issues)
Now I don't expect it to bloom for a good long while BUT I would like to get it to the same height as my mature plant as quickly as I can. I don't have major expectations but it's only grown an inch and a half in five months. Surely I can speed it along.

Other than increasing the heat and humidity which I do for my other plant seasonally. I was thinking liquid kelp might help it along, along with a pot somewhat deeper than the one it is in.

Has anyone had success with a soil, pot, fertilizer, environment combo that in particular, helped the little thing shoot up at a faster rate than mine is currently growing

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Comments (12)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
The little Sans may not be a type that gets that tall. Sans grow really fast with tons of sun, heat, and water, but all 3 must go together. IME with the tall type you have, fast growth means more pups, not height of leaves. Really tall leaves just take time, several years.

...did that bloom smell heavenly or WHAT?!
KatherynIridaceae
Original Author
10 years ago
Ooooh my god they smelled so good! and such a pretty white!
Thank you, I hadn't thought about growth meaning pups and not height. hmm, that's food for thought. I think that this kind CAN get that tall because I sell it at work but it's possible that it's not... i'd imagine that the nursery didn't WAIT that long for the larger plants to get that big. So I'm kinda wondering what mega growth hormone they dumped on it if it is the same. We sell so many that supply/demand would increase/decrease faster than the sans could grow... I think?

I'm just impatient is all, I want to eventually mix them in the same pot, I don't have a pot I like yet so I figured I could put some height on the yellow one in the interim.
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years ago
A fast-draining mix of porous ingredients, regular watering, fertilization, and light/warmth....that'll move the Sans. right along.

Josh
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
Those who know Sans varieties more intimately might be able to help you ID it more specifically. It could definitely be a new pup of a tall type.

Just wanted you to have that in your mind since you seemed unsure of the exact ID, and so you can start loving it "that way" if it proves to be a short type. Since the pot is not full, it's likely a younger pup of whatever type it is. You also seem to have the bug, appreciation for variation in Sans leaves, a pretty serious illness, also why I mentioned that some Sans stay short. You can't want more plants if you don't know about them. Everyone appreciates that, right?

I'm sure not all Sans do so, but the most common types seem to fill the pot before they make really tall leaves. Not that it's a cause/effect, just that it takes only about a year (unless really unhappy) for a Sans to fill the sparse few inches of spare surface area they are usually given, but several years are needed for the tall types to make those really tall leaves. One's results would depend on if the material used to start the new pot was a young new pup, or a separated rosette with much more age.
petrushka (7b)
10 years ago
for the small one the pot is too deep as is(unless it's filled on the bottom /top with gravel/rocks). it's better in shallow pots. width wise - keep it same until it fills the pot.
whatever you do: do not divide the pups from mama - keep them all together, the new leaves should start getting bigger and bigger as they show up. if you divide: the leaves will go back to smalls.
Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6
10 years ago
You have different Sans there. One is Sansevieria trifasciata. Which is a fast tall growing type. The other looks like a Sansevieria trifasciata Black Futura 'Goldedge'. It grows much smaller but has a wider leaf. Good advise given about. The pups left on will grow larger then the Mother plant but only to it's full size. I had trifasciata grow to 5 feet. Low light will cause the leaves to stretch more 'leggie' and weaker. I like the stronger thicker leaves. Come on over to the Sans Forum for more information and we love to show our collection off.
Stush
tropicbreezent
10 years ago
I've got a large garden bed full of Sans all starting to bud up. When they flower the fragrance is amazing, and it carries right through the neighbourhood.
User
10 years ago
Hey Tropic,

Sounds lovely & exciting (I've never had a Sans. bloom for me). Perhaps you could favor us w/ some pix when the blooms are open? Would love to see, especially a whole bed of them, must be lovely. Can you pls tell us what it smells like?
KatherynIridaceae
Original Author
10 years ago
Stush, I didn't know there was a sansevieria forum! Now I'm excited.

Purple, The thing is... The larger of the yellwe edged sans WAS older, it had been left in four inch pot for a good year or two, and the smaller one was a pup off of a much larger plant, so for all I know they aren't even the same, haha.
Time will tell of course but I'm impatient.
tropicbreezent
10 years ago
Pirate_girl, I'm away from home at the moment, won't be back until end of next week. Hopefully they'll all be on the go then, along with the Dracaenas that have also started budding up. The Sans have a very sweet, sort of talc fragrance. It fills the air at night. The Dracaena fragrance is fairly similar.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
Does anyone else dream of visiting Australia because of Tropic's posts?
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
10 years ago
What Josh said upthread ["A fast-draining mix of porous ingredients, regular watering, fertilization, and light/warmth....that'll move the Sans right along"] is worth revisiting. Also keep in mind what Purpleinopp said about all the factors affecting growth needing to be concertedly favorable ..... it's the most unfavorable condition that limits your plant's growth. Finally, the idea that Sans like their roots tight is simply wrong. If you want to maximize growth, it's a requirement that you not allow the roots to become congested to the point the soil/root mass can be lifted from the pot intact. Once that state of congestion has occurred, even potting up will only allow the plant to regain a part of its potential for growth.

Al

sansevieria formula for growth? Liquid kelp?

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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

KatherynIridaceae
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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

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sansevieria formula for growth? Liquid kelp?

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KatherynIridaceaeOriginal Author

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