Realized I was overwatering my snake plant for 8 months straight

I got this snake plant from my neighbor last April and it just kept getting yellow leaves. I thought it needed more water so I gave it a cup every 3 days. Then I saw a post on a plant forum saying they only water theirs once a month in winter. Checked the roots and they were totally rotted. How often do you guys actually water your indoor plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

kimmurphy1mo ago

Right, I killed three succulents before I figured out the "once a month" thing (seriously, less is more with these guys).

murphy.aaron1mo ago

And your succulents probably looked all sad and wrinkled too, right? That's the thing that tripped me up for the longest time. I thought wrinkly leaves meant it was thirsty, but with succulents and snake plants they actually do that when they're too wet, not too dry. Like the roots are drowning and can't take up water anymore so the leaves start looking dehydrated. I finally just set a calendar reminder on my phone for every three weeks for my snake plant and stopped second guessing it. Once I stopped trying to "rescue" it with more water every time it looked bad it started putting out new growth like crazy.

bennett.evan1mo ago

That's the thing that got me too lol. I actually read somewhere that snake plants are originally from dry parts of Africa so they basically evolved to survive on neglect. Once I learned that it clicked in my head why mine looked worse when I tried to be a good plant parent. I water mine now maybe once every 5 to 6 weeks in the winter and it's finally getting those tall new shoots. The whole "wrinkly leaves means too much water" thing is so counterintuitive but once you know it it saves you so much heartache.