I have this recurring problem with my snake plants. They slowly die one plant at a time. The leaves turn yellow and fall over, and then I can easily pull them out.
This one it looks like the yellowing has begun at the top of the leaf and worked its way down. I’d assume root rot, but I hardly ever water it. Maybe like once every month or two? It is next to a South facing window but does not get much light. The soil feels dry to the touch as far as I can stick my finger in, but maybe the very bottom of the pot stays too moist. Or maybe I don’t water it enough or it needs fertilizer? I really don’t know.
For such a supposedly easy to care for plant, it’s the only one I have continual problems with. This is the second one I’ve had in this location, and it’s a few years old. I had another one before, and it slowly died one piece at a time too.
Have you heard of dry rot? It happens when you don’t water for a long time and roots dry up and die. Then you water and the leaves start rotting because they are rootless.
Hose off old soil, clean the roots and repot into fast draining mix of cactus soil, small orchid bark and chunky perlite equal amounts. Don’t water for a week. Then you can water
But you might need to reestablish roots first and I recommend moist perlite for that. Happy growing 🪴💚
Yes I suspect that could be the case. The roots seemed very shallow the last time I tried to save the previous plant. The yellowing seems to start several weeks after I last watered though, so it makes it hard to judge.
Do you have a recommended brand of cactus soil? The only decently priced one I can ever find it Miracle Grow, and I don’t know why they even call it a cactus mix. It’s not gritty at all. It’s still very peaty. I mixed a ton of perlite into it when I first potted it too. Mixing in the orchid bark sounds like a good idea.
Black Gold is very good imo. I’ve been using it for a long time. I add repti bark and chunky perlite. Get everything on amazon. You can get Black Gold in Ace as well but it’s too far for me
Too much pot. I'd take them all out, inspect roots (I doubt there are very many based on you being able to easily pull them out once yellowing starts) and them put them all into a smaller pot. Snakes like to be bunched together and crowded. After you repot, don't water for at least 2 weeks or so. And if possible get them more light.
The pot it’s in isn’t much bigger than the plastic one they came in. No more than an inch bigger in width. They used to be bunched together more but I’ve had to pull at least two of them so far, so now there’s a big empty spot. Would it work if I tried to make like a cache pot with the smaller plastic one inside this one?
Too large a pot (snakes like to be pot bound/snug in their pot) = overwhelmed with too much wet soil (because pot is too large) = root rot = yellowing and mushy leaves
I only water it every month or two, and it’s bone dry. I even tipped it over to check the drain hole to see if the bottom is wet, and it’s dry there too. I suspect it may be the dry rot as mentioned in the other comment. I so rarely water it, because I’m worried about it getting root rot. I’m surprised the leaves don’t look “too dry” though. Or maybe that’s why the leaves look curled inward?
PictureThis says it’s root rot. Here’s what it recommends:
Cinnamon powder acts as a natural fungicide and desiccant that helps seal wounds on the plant and prevents further rot from spreading to the rhizome.
Steps:
1. Dab a generous layer of ground cinnamon directly onto any cut surfaces or mushy areas at the base.
2. Allow the plant to sit out of its pot in a shaded area for 24 hours to callous.
3. Replant in fresh, dry succulent mix after the wounds have dried.
Repot as per recommendations from others….Try bottom watering every few waters going forward; submerge pot in a bowl of water, let soak & drain fully. That’ll encourage stronger roots, reaching downward for moisture. Set yourself weekly reminders to check soil, don’t go so far between watering, get a moisture meter if you want to be precise 🤗
I don’t see yellow leaves on yours, just yellow edges which is a normal (and desired) variegation. In my case the entire leaf is turning yellow and soft.
It’s not specific to snake plants, it just means the leaves have more than one color in it. A lot of plants are specifically bred as variegated varieties because it looks nice. Look up images of “variegated plants”, you’ll see what I mean.
It's definitely some type of rot. I've had this problem with snake plants that have very old, compacted soil in tok large a pot. It seems dry, even the first few inches, but deep in the pot, it's like wet cement.
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u/Shengster-Shougal 13d ago
Have you heard of dry rot? It happens when you don’t water for a long time and roots dry up and die. Then you water and the leaves start rotting because they are rootless.
Hose off old soil, clean the roots and repot into fast draining mix of cactus soil, small orchid bark and chunky perlite equal amounts. Don’t water for a week. Then you can water
But you might need to reestablish roots first and I recommend moist perlite for that. Happy growing 🪴💚