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Garden Clinic Cacti & Succulents House Plants

Weird, large, dry patch on new snake plant. Should I be concerned?

Christie Pickel

3 years ago

I just got a large snake plant off of Facebook marketplace, and the largest stalk (Is this the right word to use?) has a large dry patch right at the bottom. The texture is dry, wrinkly, and firm. Not mushy at all. No evidence of bugs that I can see. I was considering cutting the stalk off above the patch and trying to propagate it, but I know that can take a long time with snake plants. I'd like to avoid that if the patch is just evidence of past damage.

Any ideas on what this might be and what I should do? Any and all help is much appreciated!

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
is that a saw hanging on teh wall behind it??? ... i might just take that.. and cut off that leaf ...

no plant holds all its leaves forever.. and its not uncommon to have to remove one or two every season ...and its usually the oldest.. ergo the largest of the bunch ...

and your seller probably should have done that before they gave it to you ...

did someone really mail this to you.. or was it a local deal???

im also wondering about the giant plant in a relatively small pot ... you might want to repot it ... in a few months.. but for now.. just let it settle down from the stresses of shipping/moving... changing locations... etc ...

its stressed not hungry.. no fert ...

ken
Christie Pickel thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Christie Pickel
Original Author
3 years ago
@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 Haha, it's a bread knife! I've got it chilling in my kitchen till I get it repotted. The plastic pot it's in doesn't keep it upright/stable enough for me to risk putting it in reach of my cats.

It was local. No way I'd have paid the shipping costs on this bad boy.

Yeah, I definitely plan on repotting it (just got a pot for it today) into better draining soil, but I was waiting to figure out what to do with the big leaf. I'll probably give it another week or so to settle in and then repot it.
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1 leaves; as Denise noted depends of growing conditions, all mine are grown outside, so a lot of damage caused by bugs, rain, wind a bit too much of sun or a squirrels using my pots as a pantry! None-less, although not perfect my plants are healthy and look like hoyas in the wild! ;) 2 pots; I guess it's personal preference and conditions. I have only couple in clay, rest in plastic pots. With 90 degree temperatures clay just goes dry way to fast, and watering 30 pots 4 times a week is just to much! 3 soil; loose soil is good, check archives, hoyas need fast drying airy soil. It is loose most likely due to shipping. Repoting is up to you, that soil worked for grower who sent you plants, it may work (or not) in your conditions. If you have personal favorite mix you use for other plants, go for it, for sure I would not repot into some standard peat based mix from the store, and keep them in the same size pots unless root bound. AS always it is my opinion, it works for me in my conditions! Good luck with your plants! Aggie
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Agreed with above comments. Once damaged the Snake plant doesn't show it soon, leaving many to believe it is okay. Then a month later, you see what yours looks like. Damage will never repair itself but will out grow it with new leaves and pups (new young plants). There are many factors that can cause a plant's demise. Mostly keep warm, out of drafts and all the bright light they can get. With warm weather (80's to 90's) they require all the water possible. I have seen some sitting in water all the time! Most people don't keep their house that warm and hope you can take them outside for summer vacation. A large well grown Snake Plant can take a lot of abuse being in darkness and little water and even temps in the 50's, but if something does go wrong then it will advance rapidly.
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Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6
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Make sure it has open drain holes in the pot. So far it looks too wet. If it was hot summer that would be okay but not this time of year.

I would remove the leaf and throw it away. If you cut off the bad section and let the cut dry out for a few days and then pot up and hold off water for a week and then only a tiny bit the new growth will not have the yellow edges in it. Don't plant too deep. Even with the crown of the plant. Could use a tomato cage to help hold the plant upright.

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