As many plant lovers know, purchasing new plants can become expensive. Luckily, there is a way to grow new plants for free without having to grow everything from seed. This process is called propagation. Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from leaf cuttings or other plant parts. It is an asexual reproduction method meaning that plant propagation results in a plant that is genetically identical to the parent plant.
There are a few ways to propagate Snake Plant. The first method is to propagate leaf cuttings in water. Similarly, you can propagate leaf cuttings in soil. Finally, one could use rhizome division to propagate Snake Plant. Variegated varieties of Snake Plant must be propagated via rhizome division. Otherwise, the propagated plant will lose its coloring.
The rest of this article will describe each propagation method in detail so you can try propagating Snake Plant at home.
About Snake Plant
Dracaena (Sansevieria) trifasciata, which is commonly known as Snake Plant, Mother-in-Law’s tongue, Saint George’s Sword, or Viper’s Bowstring Hemp, is a species of flowering plant that belongs to the Asparagaceae family. It is a popular houseplant because it requires little care and has an appearance that fits in well with modern decor. In addition, it is hardy and will survive in low light conditions. The Victorians used to put Snake Plant in their homes because it was one of the only plants that could survive in their dark houses.
Snake Plant is native to the tropical climates of Nigeria to the Congo. Snake Plant tends to grow very slowly, and its active growing season is during spring and summer.
If you have shopped for Snake Plants online, you may have noticed that some sources state that the scientific name is Dracaena trifasciata while others indicate that it is Sansevieria trifasicata. That is because the Sansevieria genus is now included in the Dracaena genus based on molecular phylogenetics studies.
To learn more about Snake Plant, click here to check out my Complete Guide To Snake Plants.
An Overview of the Science of Plant Propagation
Before discussing the steps for propagating Snake Plant, it is important to have a basic understanding of the science behind plant propagation. This will help you understand why certain propagation methods are effective and why others are not.
Plant propagation is built upon the principle of totipotency, which is a single cell’s ability to divide and create a different type of cell. There are specific parts of a plant that are totipotent. These parts of the plant are called meristematic tissue.
Meristematic regions, also known as meristems, are classified based on their location in the plant. Apical meristems are located on the root and shoot tips of the plant, and lateral meristems are located within the cork cambium. In contrast, intercalary meristems are located where leaves attach to the stem.
Apical meristems are responsible for producing the primary plant body and for extending the roots and shoots. Lateral meristems are known as secondary meristems because they are responsible for increasing stem girth.
Meristematic tissue can produce adventitious roots, which are roots that form on stem and leaf cuttings. In natural settings, adventitious roots will form from wounded plant tissue.
Propagating Snake Plant
Like many other houseplants, you can propagate Snake Plant fairly easily. However, some of the traditional propagation methods will not work well for some varieties of Snake Plant. I will discuss why in the following sections.
Propagate Leaf Cuttings in Soil
Taking leaf cuttings is probably the easiest and most popular way to propagate Snake Plant. To propagate a Snake Plant from leaf cuttings, select a healthy leaf. Then use a sharp knife to cut the leaf off about one inch above the soil line.
Then allow the leaf to callus over for a few days. This is an important step because placing allowing the leaf to dry minimizes the chance of rot. If you simply placed the injured portion of the plant in soil, you are exposing the plant to potentially harmful fungus and bacteria.
After allowing the cutting to dry for a few days, simply insert the cut end into a pot of fresh, well-draining soil. The cutting will root in a few weeks. If you want to increase the chance of rooting, dip the cutting in some rooting hormone. To learn more about rooting hormone click here to check out the article I wrote on using root hormone to propagate plants.
If you use this propagation method to clone variegated or patterned varieties of Snake Plant, the cloned plants will turn green. They will NOT keep their patterns. I discuss this in further detail in the section where I talk about propagating Snake Plant with rhizome division.
Propagate Leaf Cuttings in Water
A slightly more complicated way to propagate Snake Plant is using water. This process is fairly similar to the process for propagating Snake Plant in soil. The advantage of using this method is that you will actually get to see the roots grow from your cuttings. In my opinion, it is a neat process to watch.
To propagate Snake Plant in water, first, choose a container that is tall enough to hold the leaf. Then select a healthy leaf for propagation and cut it off using a sharp knife.
After allowing the wound to callus over for a few days, put the end of the leaf cutting in enough water to cover the bottom quarter of the leaf. Make sure that you are using water that is about room temperature. Then place the container in a spot with indirect light and change the water every couple of days. Eventually, roots will appear.
Some plants will propagate even if you put the “wrong” end of the leaf cutting in water. However, Snake Plant is very polar, so it will only grow roots if the edge of the leaf that was closest to the soil will grow roots.
I recommend cutting a V (upside-down V when the leaf cutting goes into the water) into the end of the leaf. This increases the amount of surface area that is in contact with the water. It also prevents the bottom of the cutting from pressing against the bottom of the container.
Finally, plant the rooted Snake Plant in a container of fresh soil.
Rhizome Division
Over time, Snake Plant will become “root bound” or too tightly packed in their pots. This is why gardeners repot their Snake Plant into bigger pots every couple of years. This is a good time to divide your Snake Plant so you can grow even more Snake Plant!
So what are rhizomes? They are modified stems that grow horizontally underground. Rhizome division involves cutting or removing part of the fleshy rhizome along with the leaf you are cutting off. It is important to allow the division to callus overnight in order to prevent rot.
The video below describes how to propagate Snake Plants with rhizome division.
Chimeras
Most varieties of Snake Plant with variegated leaves are actually chimeras which is a type of genetic mutation. A chimera actually contains the genetic material of two individuals. In other words, chimeras are two genetic individuals in one organism. Another example of a chimera is a cat with two different eye colors as shown in the picture below.
Chimeras cannot be cloned from leaf cuttings. The propagated plant will lose its patterning and grow as a completely green plant. For this reason, it is very important to be careful when purchasing Snake Plant leaf cuttings online. You can still propagate variegated Snake Plants via rhizome division.
Propagating Patented Varieties of Snake Plant
It may be odd to think of plant varieties as inventions with patents, but the development of plant varieties is protected in most countries as a piece of intellectual property. Countries that are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are obliged by Article 27.3(b) of the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to ‘provide for the protection of plant varieties either by patents or by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof.’
That means that new varieties of plants that are distinct, uniform, and stable are protected. Due to these protections, it is illegal to sell cuttings or clones of patented plants. You are allowed to propagate patented varieties of plants for personal use, but you cannot sell them.
Some examples of patented types of Snake Plant include:
- Dracaena (Sansevieria) trifasciata ‘Wintergreen’
- Dracaena (Sansevieria) trifasciata ‘Whitney’
- Dracaena (Sansevieria) trifasciata ‘Tyler’
- Dracaena (Sansevieria) trifasciata ‘Kristi’
- Dracaena (Sansevieria) trifasciata ‘Black Jack’
If you want to know whether you own a patented variety of Snake Plant, simply type the name of the cultivar into Google Patents.
Should I Grow Snake Plant From Seed?
It is definitely possible to grow Snake Plant from seed, but I would not recommend trying it. Unfortunately, Snake Plant seeds have a pretty low germination rate which means you would need to plant a lot of seeds in order to grow just one Snake Plant.
In addition, it is not possible to grow the patterned/variegated Snake Plants from seed. This is because these hybrids were grown through rhizome division.