Dracaena trifasciata
| Light | Tolerates low light to bright indirect light; a little direct sun deepens the leaf markings |
|---|---|
| Water | Sparingly; let the mix dry out fully between waterings, and keep barely moist in winter |
| Soil | Free-draining, gritty mix (see Soil and potting mix); a cactus or succulent blend is ideal |
| Temperature | Warmth-loving; keep above about 10 °C, and never let it freeze. USDA zones 10–12 outdoors |
| Propagation | Division of the rhizome, or leaf cuttings (see Propagation — cuttings and Propagation — offsets) |
| Toxicity | Mildly toxic to cats and dogs if eaten (saponins); can cause drooling and stomach upset |
Dracaena trifasciata, still very widely known by its older name Sansevieria trifasciata, is the common snake plant — a stemless, rhizome-forming succulent from tropical West Africa whose stiff, upright, sword-shaped leaves are marked with horizontal bands of light and dark green. Tough, forgiving and famously hard to kill, it is one of the most popular houseplants in the world, also known as mother-in-law's tongue. It belongs to the genus Dracaena, into which the old genus Sansevieria has now been merged.
Description
Dracaena trifasciata grows from a thick, creeping underground rhizome that sends up rosettes of erect, leathery leaves. The leaves are flat to slightly channelled, tapering to a point, and typically reach 30–120 cm tall depending on the form and conditions. Their surface carries the pale cross-banding that gives the plant its common name, often with a fine margin of a contrasting colour.
Given time, warmth and enough light, a mature clump may throw up a tall, slender flower spike of pale greenish-white, sweetly night-scented blooms, sometimes followed by berries. Flowering indoors is occasional and unpredictable, so the plant is grown almost entirely for its striking, architectural foliage. Many named forms exist, including the very common yellow-margined ‘Laurentii’ and compact rosette types such as the ‘Hahnii’ bird's-nest group.
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to tropical West Africa, from Nigeria eastward through the Congo region, where it grows in warm, seasonally dry woodland and rocky ground. Its succulent leaves and water-storing rhizome let it ride out long dry spells, and it spreads to form dense colonies where conditions suit.
Well beyond its native range, D. trifasciata has become a familiar dooryard and hedge plant throughout the tropics and subtropics, and in some warm regions it has naturalised and can spread enthusiastically from rhizome fragments. Where it is grown outdoors, gardeners should site it thoughtfully and avoid letting discarded pieces escape into natural areas.
Cultivation
This is deservedly one of the easiest of all houseplants. It thrives across a huge range of light, from a dim corner to bright, indirect light near a window; brighter conditions bring out the strongest banding and the best chance of flowering, while deep shade simply slows it down. A few hours of gentle direct sun are fine, but move plants into strong sun gradually to avoid scorching.
The one real way to kill a snake plant is to overwater it. Grow it in a free-draining, gritty mix in a pot with good drainage, water thoroughly only once the mix has dried right through, and cut back sharply in the cool, low-light months. It is untroubled by dry indoor air, tolerates being pot-bound, and needs little feeding. See Watering and Repotting for general technique; report only when the rhizomes are genuinely crowding the pot.
Propagation
Snake plants are easily increased by division: lift a clump, cut through the rhizome with a clean blade so each piece keeps roots and at least one leaf rosette, and pot the divisions up separately. This is the quickest method and the only one that reliably reproduces variegated forms true to type.
Leaf cuttings also work: cut a healthy leaf into sections a few centimetres long, let the cut ends callus for a day or two, then insert them upright (keeping the original orientation) into a barely-moist gritty mix until they root and pup. Note that cuttings taken from variegated forms such as ‘Laurentii’ usually revert to plain green, losing the yellow margin — use division to keep the variegation. See Propagation — cuttings and Propagation — offsets for details.
Cultivars
Dozens of selections are grown, differing in size, leaf shape and variegation. Widely available forms include the gold-edged ‘Laurentii’, the silvery-leaved ‘Moonshine’, and the low, funnel-shaped ‘Hahnii’ bird's-nest cultivars. Because so much of a snake plant's appeal is its variegation, remember that most of these are best kept going by division rather than leaf cuttings.
Common problems
- Root and rhizome rot — by far the commonest cause of death, almost always from overwatering, a soggy mix, or cold wet conditions; leaves go soft, mushy and yellow at the base.
- Mushy or curling leaves — a sign of overwatering or, occasionally in a badly neglected plant, of severe underwatering.
- Loss of variegation — variegated forms revert to green when grown from leaf cuttings or kept in too little light.
- Pests — mealybugs (white fluff in the leaf axils) and, in dry conditions, spider mites; see Pests and diseases.
- Cold damage — soft, translucent patches appear after exposure to temperatures near or below freezing.
See also
- Dracaena — the genus overview
- Watering · Soil and potting mix · Repotting
- Propagation — cuttings · Propagation — offsets · Pests and diseases