All About Snake Plants

There’s a lot to be said for “easy” plants—the ones that don’t require much active care in order to thrive in a house or apartment, but are still interesting enough to be fun. For a few decades now Dracaena trifasciata—more popularly known as snake plant—has been a favorite of indoor gardeners and plant lovers everywhere, and with good reason. This plant is accessible, easy to care for, and visually quite striking. It’s also got an interesting history and some equally interesting habits that make it much more fun than many folks realize. So, let’s dig in and learn all about snake plants, how to care for them, and what makes them so flexible for indoor gardening!

The History (And Names) of Snake Plant

The snake plant has many names—so many that a misunderstanding we had with a fellow gardener vis-a-vis nomenclature was the genesis of this article! Snake plant is also colloquially known as Saint George’s Sword, Saint Barbara’s Sword, Golden Bird’s Nest, Good Luck Plant, Viper’s Bowstring, Skoonma-se-tong, and (unkindly) Mother-in-law’s Tongue. This plethora of names is perhaps related to snake plant’s origins in West Africa—European explorers and colonizers spread the plant around the world over the course of centuries, creating a number of different names for it as they did so.

As you might imagine, this visually striking plant takes on a cultural significance everywhere it lands. In Portugal and parts of Brazil, Dracaena trifasciata is sometimes grown in the house as a form of protection against the evil eye. In its native West Africa and among some African descendants in Brazil, snake plant is associated with the spiritual entities that govern storms or warfare. The plant also makes an appearance on the porch in the iconic 1930 painting American Gothic. This deliberate choice on the part of artist Grant Wood has led to some speculation as to the plant’s meaning in this context—but we’ll let you decide that for yourself!

Caring for Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)

Snake plants are notoriously easy to care for, which makes them a popular choice for folks who “don’t have a green thumb.” Well, at Gardzen we think gardening is for everyone, but there are some circumstances where low-maintenance, easy-care plants really do fit the bill. Snake plant is a wonderful indoor plant for busy folks, folks with minimal space for plants, and folks who may not have the best lighting. Snake plant comes in a number of varietals with different sizes ranging from 6-7 inches/15-18cm tall to 4 feet/120cm or more in height. This makes it easy—with a little research—to find the right snake plant for your space.

ONE QUICK WARNING before we continue: snake plant is toxic to pets and potentially toxic to small children, so please keep that in mind when selecting this plant for your home or garden.

It’s a bit of a myth that snake plants thrive in low-light conditions. The truth is that while snake plants tolerate low light fairly well, they do their best in bright but indirect lighting. Keep them out of direct sun, which can cause burn damage with prolonged exposure.

Snake plants like well-drained soil—we find that a good cactus or succulent mix works best, but any relatively loose potting soil does fine. Speaking of soil, snake plants do not like to be kept moist, so water only when the soil is dry. Over-watering is one of the few fast ways to kill a snake plant, so err on the side of caution. During growing season snake plants can be relatively heavy feeders, so a monthly dose of fertilizer is a good thing at that time. We find that while any container plant fertilizer is suitable, as with the potting soil one formulated for cactus or succulents does best.

The long blade-like leaves of snake plant will benefit from the occasional wipe-down with a damp cloth to remove dust and debris. Any damaged leaves can be snipped off at the base with a pair of clean, sharp shears or clippers. Leaf cuttings are also one way of propagating the plant—and snake plant is a wonderful plant for those who enjoy propagation and sharing plants with others! Either cuttings or root division are the preferred methods of propagation, and the hardy, forgiving nature of snake plant makes it an ideal place to practice these skills.

Propagation via division also helps maintain a regular re-potting schedule, something that snake plants need occasionally to thrive. Typically snake plants need to be re-potted every few years; while they tolerate being root-bound they’ll be healthier in the right sized container. If you are growing the taller varietals of snake plant, try to select a heavier, broader container in order to weigh the plant down and avoid having it fall over!

Snake Plants: Proof Gardening is For Everyone!

We genuinely like this plant of many names. It’s beautiful, easy to grow, and fits well in so many different spaces. It’s a fun reminder that gardening is for everyone and even an indoor gardener with limited space and sun can grow some really fun and interesting plants and explore the world of gardening. We hope this helps you better care for your snake plants—if you have any fun pics, stories, or snake plant care tips, we’d love to hear them!