Sansevieria, also known by its scientific name Sansevieria trifasciata, is an easy plant to grow. It is also popularly known as tiger’s tongue, cow’s tongue, mother-in-law’s tongue, cat’s tongue, tiger’s tail, and Saint George’s sword. It is a very decorative and resistant plant. In addition, it is a plant that helps clean the air inside the house. All these types of house decorative plants are easily available in online plant stores.
Benefits Of Sansevieria
Sansevieria, also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, is one of the plants recommended by NASA (United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to remove toxic substances such as benzene, toluene, xylene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde. And add to this that it is very resistant to pests; even mites have a hard time with it. For all this, there are the top ten of those that cannot be missing in your home if you are a beginner.
Varieties And Types Of Sansevieria
Sansevieria trifasciata: it is the most common variety. Its leaves are narrow, flat, and oval and grow from the root zone. They are usually dark green and white speckled. Sansevieria trifasciata is a widely used indoor plant that stands out for its easy care. It has many subspecies, such as sansevieria laurentii.
Sansevieria cylindrica: Although less usual, it also has a very decorative appearance. It is a kind of upright sansevieria, whose leaves are long, rigid, and fleshy, dark green in colour, and cylindrical in shape. In addition, they can reach up to 1 metre in height. Its flowers are milky white with pink tips that form a cluster-shaped inflorescence. This species also includes multiple varieties.
How To Care For A Sansevieria
Light: Although it is very resistant, However, the ideal is to place it in places with a lot of light because, being slow growing (it only creates 3-4 new leaves a year), the leaves will not have the strength and it will be difficult for them to grow straight and upright.
Temperature: the ideal is between 15 and 20°C, although in summer it can withstand temperatures of 30º. Avoid drafts.
Watering: If you want to keep it vigorous, do not water excessively and only when the soil is dry. In winter, it only needs water once or twice a month, depending on the indoor environment’s temperature.
Transplant: if the pot has become small, it is ideal to move it to a larger one when spring begins, between March and April. To ensure good drainage, it is advisable to place some pieces of baked clay or stones at the bottom of the pot to prevent the substrate from being completely waterlogged. If it is not transplanted, it is advisable to renew the upper substrate: remove 3 cm of the superficial substrate and put it in new soil.
Compost: Apply compost when temperatures start to rise steadily (late spring and early summer) and do so once a month until temperatures start to drop again (autumn).
Pruning: Sansevieria or cat’s tongue does not require pruning, but it is advisable to remove dry leaves to avoid diseases.
Flowering: This tropical plant does not usually flower indoors, but if it does, small flowers will appear in late summer.
How Long Does It Take To Grow The TheTtongue Of The Mother-In-Law?
Sansevieria is a slow-growing plant. It usually blooms after many years of cultivation during the spring-summer season.
How To Revive A Mother-In-Law’s Tongue?
Sansevieria is generally a very easy plant to care for. If some leaves begin to wilt and turn yellow, then you have to take care of the watering. Being indoor plants, low temperatures can play tricks on them. Therefore, you must always take into account if they lack water so that the sansevieria does not rot or fill with fungi.