Sansevieria leaves wrinkling and browning

Question

First time with sansevieria in the home. Got them primarily because of the low water needs and put them in rooms that aren't frequently accessed.

How should I water them? What I've read online suggest anything from every 2-3 days to once a month. Have one in a dimly lit basement room with slightly higher humidity and warmer than the rest of the home and it seems to be doing fine. Another was in a brighter, drier room which isn't doing too well. A couple of the leaves have what look like dry tips, and one or too that have wrinkled, darkened and feel dry and thin. One of them has also become limp.

I've barely watered them. The soil they're in is very fast draining. As soon as I pour water over the top it starts to drain out the bottom. It looks like some bark, perlite and maybe a little peatmoss but it's mostly large particles. The next day after watering the top bark looks dry. Keeping a moisture meter in it and by the next day after watering the needle goes down to dry.

How do I keep these plants healthy and will the damaged leaves recover at all or do they need to be pruned?

Answer 1

'I've barely watered them' gives the clue as to why the leaves are shrivelled. Signs of underwatering include leaves which bend over and leaf shrivelling. These plants need less water during winter, maybe every 1-2 months depending on their environment, without wetting the heart of the plant, if they're growing in reasonable potting compost. From spring through to autumn, though, they should be watered moderately whenever the surface of the compost feels dry to the touch. They need average warmth - minimum 50deg F in winter, and will tolerate shade, but prefer bright light with a little sun (beginning or end of day only in hotter regions).

Regarding the soil they're in, either the soil is too light and free draining, meaning it doesn't retain water at all well, or the planting medium is so dry that any water poured in immediately runs through the holes at the bottom without penetrating the soil at all. Given you think there's perlite and peat moss in the mix, its possible its completely dried out and now needs to be soaked to take up water again, so I suggest you pour in water and leave the plant to sit in it in an outer container for an hour, then check and see if there's any water still sitting outside the pot - if there is, tip it away. Cut off severely affected leaves at their bases, and improve your watering regime for the future, particularly for those situated in brighter, warmer situations. Do this by touching the growing medium beneath the bark chips - how dry they are or not isn't really a good guide if they're just sitting on the top, it's the dryness of the soil within that's important.

If you think the bark chips are mixed right through the planting medium, it should still be retaining some moisture because of the peat and perlite - perhaps your moisture meter reads dry within a day after watering because the plant is gasping and has immediately taken up all the moisture provided the previous day, being so dry to start with. Alternatively, change the potting medium, though you still need something that's relatively free draining.

Answer 2

A moisture meter can be deceptive due to the bark chips and lack of material that conducts the micro amounts of electricity that the meter depends on.

A better way is....your finger...go down an inch or so and use that to determine how moist the soil is.

Sanseveria can rot easily and the leaves look soft and pulpy. If they are under watered then they become dry and papery.

Either way, for a new plant I recommend a high light area until they are thoroughly rooted. A period of at least three to six months should ensure this. Then you can reduce the light levels and water.

The damaged leaves will not recover and should be removed. If they smell when removed then over watering is likely. Leaves which still have some firm tissue can be trimmed back with a pair of scissors.

Answer 3

Although underwatering could be the reason, you might also consider that it has too much nitrogen and the leaves are being burned by it. If you've fertilized it much that might be a possibility. If you haven't, probably not.

Either way, you might consider adding more potassium (and just potassium). In addition to balancing nitrogen, it should help the plant to be more drought resistant. Potassium sulfate might be a good kind, seeing as it won't harm beneficial microbes in the soil. However, it may make the plant require more water than usual at first.

Although adding a single fertilizer ingredient is often condemned, you shouldn't have a problem with potassium if your plants are burnt or deficient. Just use a teaspoon of potassium sulfate per gallon of water. The odds of adding that much potassium hurting your plants, I think, are pretty slim with most commercial soils, which usually have a bias toward nitrogen. Most commercial fertilizers usually do, too.

I'm not familiar with the recommended fertilizer/nutrient regiment for this kind of plant, although I recently gave one some potassium sulfate. So, use this answer with caution, and feel free to ask me how it went in a few months, since it's a slow-growing plant.

Giving it more water first will probably be a good idea, just to rule out under-watering. However, I'm pretty sure ours looked different when underwatered. Ours have generally been in low light environments, and the soil wasn't as well-drained as yours, though. So, that might change the look. More light is often better, though. I'm not recommending low light.

The leaves look like they will not recover. However, they may not necessarily get worse.

Answer 4

Since the moisture meter may not be accurate, a better way to tell if the soil is dry is by weight. With that extremely fast draining soil you describe, I'd wait till you think the plant needs watering and then put it in a deep container so you can add water almost to the top of the soil line. Yes, you will be submerging the pot! Let it sit in the water for about 10 to 15 minutes and then put the plant in a sink to drain completely. After 20 minutes of draining, pick it up and pay attention to the weight of the pot. That is your moist weight. Test the weight every few days by picking up the pot. You will learn how it feels when it is wet and when it's dry. Keep in mind that if the plant is in a dim light it can be hard for it to handle very wet soil. You may want to wait for summer to try this technique.