If it's a bright yellow, it could be a variety of mushroom that commonly occurs on potting soil. If so, you'll know in short order because the things grow very fast. If it is a mushroom, get rid of it ASAP. It won't harm the plant, but spores are produced quickly & you'll have repeat performances at regular intervals. Let us know what it turns out to be . . .

Mine blooms every year, in spite of the terrible neglect and abuse it received under my care, lol. The poor thing resides in my east facing kitchen window. Get ready for the 'loud' aroma of these flowers and get ready for the copious amount of sticky nectar each will produce. I always put paper towels all around it during the weeks (and weeks) of blooming. I don't think that you put your plants outside for the summer, right? (Nor do I) A few years ago, I had a hefty Sansevieria cyclindrica that I hauled to the back patio for a repotting. It was getting ready to bloom at the time. I left it outside for a couple of days to take advantage of some summer showers and when I was ready to bring it back inside I noticed that the little florets were all open and EVERY SINGLE one had a swollen ant attached to it! They were so huge with this free flowing nectar that they couldn't walk. I called that plant 'ant-sicle' after that episode. So, don't take it outside!

The last time I bought a little Sans, I managed to knock it over myself more than twice before finding a better place for it. Some signs of injury may become apparent, damage is slow to show up on Sans leaves, but your plant was probably not bothered much by the experience other than cosmetically. How long ago did it take a tumble? It could handle more light, even direct outdoor sun, if you would like to have a faster growing plant. Sounds like this one might need a less 'active' spot anyway, though it's not your son's fault these plants are top-heavy. If given a pot with some space to make a fat rhizome and some pups, the center of gravity will be lower, less likely to tip over. A clay pot is good for that, and for reducing risk of rotting roots of plants like these that won't tolerate being constantly moist in a pot. The mixes shown in the pics above are: 1. much better than in the pic below, though, in my defense, sand just gets everywhere here, I didn't put any in this pot, and didn't start with anything like what's pictured above. You can see how the roots are avoiding the areas where the organic ingredients have decomposed into tiny particles of silt, there's no oxygen in those places. I don't recommend replicating anything about the 'dirt' in my pic, go with the other pics for that please, but showing the pic so you can see what the rhizomes look like and do under the surface. Why any Sans can't be all it can be without room to do this. The rhizomes all go to the edge of the pot, then have to make a turn to find the surface. 2. also heavier than fluffy, peaty potting soil, helping keep more weight as low as possible, as well as being able to plant a *little* deeper so plants are less likely to fall over within the pot, a win-win. Josh, is that one of those mosquito incense coils? We use a lot of those! - Tiffany

A complicated question. The easy answer is, "it depends". Plants don't age like animals do. We age chronologically, while plants age ontogenetically through stages of growth that culminate at sexual maturity. While this isn't precisely accurate, you can think of aging and the plant becoming mature as based on the number of times the cells have divided. Since cultural conditions govern growth to a very large extent, you can see that a plant with good cultural conditions that grows rapidly will reach its mature stage much sooner than a plant stuck in a dark corner and largely ignored. You might be interested in knowing that some plants can take as long as 100 years to mature. Also, if we were to observe a hawthorn tree, it might take as long as 25 years to mature and bloom/bear fruit. Strangely though, if you start a tip cutting from a branch that flowered, it might only take a few years for it to bloom. A tip cutting is some of the youngest tissues on the plant, but because it is the product of so many cell divisions, it retains its maturity, even as a cutting. Too, whether or not you plant will reach 2 ft tall in a single season depends on 2 different factors. Species and genetics, which we'll lump together as one factor, and how good you are at optimizing the cultural conditions that affect growth rate (light, fertility, temperature, soil water management), and eliminating any other factor that has the potential to limit your plant's health. Your plant will grow best when it's in the sweet spot, that is to say when all cultural conditions are very favorable. Al