Pot for Snake Plant?
Comments (13)
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last yearlast modified: last yearChoosing an Appropriate Size Container
How large a container ‘can’ or ‘should’ be, depends on the relationship between the mass of the plant material you are working with and your choice of grow media. We often concern ourselves with "over-potting" (using a container that is too large), but "over-potting" is a term that arises from a lack of a basic understanding about the relationship we will look at, which logically determines appropriate container size.
It's often repeated that you should only move up one container size when "potting-up". The reasoning is, that when potting up to a container more than one size larger, the medium will remain wet too long and potentially cause root rot issues, or at a minimum, limited root function. In reality, it is the size/mass of the plant material you are working with, and the physical properties of the medium you choose that determines both the upper & lower limits of appropriate container size - not a formulaic upward progression of container sizes. In many cases, after root pruning a plant, it may even be appropriate to step down a container size or two, but as you will see, that also depends on the physical properties of the medium you choose. It's not uncommon for me, after a repot/root-pruning to pot in containers as small as 1/5 the size as that which the plant had been growing in prior to the work.
Plants grown in ‘slow’ (slow-draining/water-retentive) media need to be grown in containers with smaller volumes so the plant can use water quickly, allowing air to return to the medium before root issues more serious than impaired root function/metabolism become a limiting factor. We know that the anaerobic (airless) conditions that accompany soggy media quickly kill fine roots and impair root function/metabolism. We also know smaller medium volumes and the root constriction that accompany them cause plants to both extend branches and gain o/a mass much more slowly - a bane if rapid growth is the goal - a boon if growth restriction and a compact plant are what you have your sights set on.
Conversely, rampant growth can be had by growing in very large containers and in very fast (draining) media where frequent watering and fertilizing is required - so it's not that plants rebel at being potted into very large containers per se, but rather, they rebel at being potted into very large containers in a medium too slow and water-retentive. This is a key point.
We know there is an inverse relationship between media particle size and the height of the perched water table (PWT) in containers. A PWT is water that fills spaces between soil particles and defies gravity by refusing to leave the pot. As particle size increases, the height of the PWT decreases, until at about a particle size of just under 1/8 inch, media will no longer hold perched water. If there is no perched water, the medium is ALWAYS well aerated, even when it is at container capacity (fully saturated).
So, if you aim for a medium (like the gritty mix) composed primarily of particles larger than 1/16", there is no upper limit to container size, other than what you can practically manage. The lower size limit will be determined by the medium volume's ability to allow room for roots to ’run’ and to furnish water enough to sustain the plant between irrigations. Bearing heavily on this ability is the ratio of fine roots to coarse roots. It takes a minimum amount of fine rootage to support the canopy under high water demand. If the container is full of large roots, there may not be room for a sufficient volume of the fine roots that do all the water/nutrient delivery work, and the coarse roots, too. You can grow a very large plant in a very small container if the roots have been well managed and the lion's share of the rootage is fine. You can also grow very small plants, even seedlings, in seemingly inordinately large containers if the medium is fast (free-draining and well-aerated) enough that it holds no, or very little perched water.
I have just offered clear illustration why the oft repeated advice to ‘resist potting up more than one pot size at a time’, only applies when using heavy, water-retentive media. Well-aerated media are not bound by the same restrictions. As the ht and volume of the perched water table are reduced, the potential for negative effects associated with over-potting are diminished in a direct relationship with the reduction - up to the point at which the soil holds no (or an insignificant amount) of perched water and over-potting pretty much becomes a non-issue.
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Deeper pots are easier to grow in because they have a larger volume of well-aerated soil. The pots below are full of grow medium. The shaded area is saturated soil, a 'perched water table'.
Terra cotta pots or others with gas permeable walls are better (from the plant's perspective) because they facilitate gas exchange and they dry down faster, which is particularly important when using a water-retentive medium.
The pot your plant is planted in should always have at least 1 drain hole. If a pot has no drain hole, the probability of achieving satisfactory results is diminished drastically.
When using a collection saucer, the pot should not rest on the bottom of the saucer as that arrangement ensures the effluent that exits the drain hole has a pathway by which it can make way back into the grow medium, thus defeating the reason for flushing the soil when you water.
The pot should be positioned well above the high water mark in the saucer.
As a bonsai practitioner, I have several hundred pots from cheap plastic training pots to very expensive pots by well known potters. I keep all of them handy for a wide variety of reasons. The only time I discard a pot is if it's broken, or in the case of plastic training pot, to badly damaged by the sun (too fragile) to be usable. I think this will vary significantly from person to person.
Thoughts?
Al
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last yearRelated Discussions
worms in soil of snake plant
Comments (9)Hi Pirate Girl, Thanks for the IMO & IME slang. I don't think you are rude, just expressing your opionion. I appreciate your input. Re: your statement, "I don't wish to be rude Melba, but given how you recount your history since 1970, is that to say you can't grow, change or learn new & better ways of doing things?" Beleive me, in most aspects of my life, I am a very detailed & analytical person. Before retiring, I received several promotions because of "my attention to detail & analytical abilities". (my kids & and some others feel I am too detailed, but are appreciative when I provide a thought that only "I" would come up with.) My history with plants since 1970 is NOT doing the same thing since that time. I have tried many new & different (&sometimes better) methods of transplanting, many types of soil, bought several books, plus some of my own ideas. In the long run, I have not eliminated my problem, but My own ideas (clear pots, shallow pots) have worked the best/longest for me. As I have gotten older, I realize I function better with hard-copy info vs flip-back-and-forth online instructions, and sometimes need to observe something being done. I think if I had a good plant "buddy" & could observe their methods, I might solve most of my repotting problems. I sometimes wonder if I am not like some cooks. Many can cook everything perfectly every time... while others (using the same recipe) can never get the recipe to turn out the same way twice. Thanks, Melba...See MoreSnake plant rotting?
Comments (6)hahaha purple. you funny. i took pics cuz i knew without pictures, my post would be next to moot. :) thank you so much for the replies! I have other snake plant, few leaves plus one new leaf sprouting nicely, on the other side of french door (no, the door isnt entry to outside or whatever, just to cinema room). That another plant was split from my mother's big snake plant at her home, not from Wal-Mart. The lighting is very poor in the area, but that is why I chose the snake plant.. The snake plant is supposedly to do great in poor lighting areas. Did I get that information wrong? My mother's snake plant did fine in the similar lighting condition at my mother's house so I don't think its a factor in rotting. I will go ahead and cut the bad leaves and put in the bigger pot. Hope that will help. I needed some plants that can go few weeks without watering, because I go to the Netherlands a lot. Actually, I will leave on next week for a month to see my husband there. And yes, I am in Norfolk, VA but none of snake plants are sitting outside. I am in the process of putting the other tough plants that can stand Norfolk's heat and insane storms throughout the summer, so it will be less maintenance work for me on my front yard. So far, I have gigantic elephant ears, cannas, two queen palms, and two banana plants. It is gonna look nice for a surprise welcome home party when I come back, with my husband and his cat. haha =D and yes Norfolk indeed had a lot of rain lately. Yesterday, Norfolk was the only city in the Hampton Roads that had over 3 inches of rain, while all other cities had up to only one inch and half. I guess I am free from watering the garden for the rest of week! Again, thank you and I will keep you all updated in a month with the result. This post was edited by norfolkgardener on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 13:19...See Moreplant for dark bathroom
Comments (7)Is sounds as if it is quite dark in that location. It may work better to purchase two plants. Put one on the bench, and the other in a location with better growing conditions. Then switch the two plants every week or so. Snake plants have a fairly slow growth rate, and their upright foliage won't droop during the dark period. But they won't go into the decline that would happen if you left a single plant under insufficient-light conditions for too long....See Moresansevierias/snake plant repotting disaster
Comments (1)There are many different kinds of sansevierias. All prefer light soil mixes and to be kept dry in winter. I assume yours in indoors. Dig as much potting soil as possible from around the roots. Then, I would just mix perlite in with the potting soil, put the mixture around the rootball and press down firmly to pack the soil. Put the pot on wire rack-something that will allow the water to drain through the soil completely, then pour tepid water on your sans until water is draining through. If soil washes down too far and exposes the roots, just add more of the soil/perlite mix. Do not water again until the soil is very dry. Keep your sans in as much light as is available for your siruation. Sans like bright light but will live in darker areas, too. Johanna...See More
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last yeargardenwolverine
last yearIt just occurred to me that I failed to say that the dimensions of its current pot are 10" WIDE and 4" DEEP. But when I see pictures of other snake plants I never see them in anything remotely similar, so I was wondering if it was something else I needed to fix. If it needs lateral space as opposed to depth, tho, then it sounds like the current pot might actually be fine and there's no reason to shock it by repotting right now. But that was the real reason for my question.
Ken, I promise I'm not ignoring you, I just don't have everything you're asking for at the moment. But I'll try.
Light: eastern, direct. Blinds are down about 60%, and kept closed in the morning or else my apartment becomes a solar oven in 3 of the 4 seasons. But once the sun is overhead I twist open the blinds. Snake plant is about 8 feet away up on a set of drawers, as no plant can stand up to Snacking Cat who also likes the window (my other plants are in a lighted shelf framework to the side of the window where We Have Agreed She Can't Get Them, so long as I keep one of her Offering Plants on the floor).
Fertilizer: 1 c of diluted Cactus Juice at present, whenever the meter reads 'dry', so along with its regular waterings. I may up it to 2. Previously it has had regular (about every 2-3 months) sprinkling of 1-2 tablespoons epsom salts, and many drops of Miracle Grow cactus food. Should I continue the epsom salts?
This is where it was previously, in my bedroom on a high shelf with no direct light, in April:
This is where it is NOW, in my living room where its getting more light:
I cut the longest leaf up into about 8 pieces and tried to root them - half of them seem to still be alive.
--GWgardenwolverine
last year
popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
last yeargardenwolverine
last yearlast modified: last yearhc mcdole
last yearA lot of pots cannot contain Sansevieria when it gets root bound - plastic, clay, even glazed will break under too much pressure. I even have one plant out of its broken pot this summer and it is doing fine. It will need something to house it before I move it back indoors for winter.
A plastic bowl works well for multiplying but then what?
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last yeartapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last yearIt just occurred to me that I failed to say that the dimensions of its current pot are 10" WIDE and 4" DEEP. But when I see pictures of other snake plants I never see them in anything remotely similar ..... Shallow pots require that the grower is very careful when choosing the grow medium being used. The pots below are all filled to the top with the same medium and the shaded area represents excess (perched) water held between soil particles and resisting gravity.
Most media based on very large fractions of fine ingredients (peat, coir, compost, composted forest products, sand, topsoil, ...... support several inches of perched water. The norm is 3 to 6 ". As you can see, when using a pot 4 " deep and a grow medium that supports 3" of perched water, only 25% of the soil will be hospitable to roots. Should the medium support 4" of perched water, 100% of the shallow pot would be saturated and wholly inappropriate for the roots of almost any plant.
It's not that you can't grow sans in pots as shallow as yours, it's just that they require a medium that holds very little or no perched water in order that they might realize as much as their genetic potential as possible. Too much water in the root zone limits root's ability to function normally, and can set the stage for fungal infections of roots.
There are some tricks you can use which will limit how much excess water a planting can hold. Ask if you have interest.
..... just tried to update my profile with my Zone, which is 7b in western WA, but Houzz won't let me ..... Mouse over "Your Houzz" on the Houzz menu bar - upper right corner, then select "Edit Profile and Settings". Scroll down to "Profile Information". See the text boxes "First Name" and "Last Name". You can enter your user name and location/ zone in the first name text box, or you can leave your user name as is and type your location/ zone in the last name text box; then tap "Update" below your last profile option below.
Al
gardenwolverine
last yeartapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last yearThe number 6500 on packaging of lights or bulbs can refers to the color of the light on the Kelvin scale, thus the 'K', or the output in lumens. The 'color' of daylight is approximately 5200K. I use 6000K LEDs at 6500 lm for foliage plants (trees). 6500 lumens isn't so bright that it will burn your eyeballs to a cinder at a glance, but neither is it comfortable to stand a few feet from and stare directly at the light. Light diminishes very quickly as the distance from source increases, and this can be determined by using the Inverse Square Law. The formula is Intensity=1/Distance² . So, at 2 ft from source, 1/4 of the light available at 1 ft would strike the plant. At four ft, only 1/16 of the light available at 1 ft would strike the plant, and at 6 ft 1/36. The unit of measurement (ft, meter, mile) doesn't matter.
Al
popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)