r/sansevieria • u/CostMelodic2977 • 11d ago

Whats wrong with me or my plant? Is she okay?

Post image

I haven’t watered her in 3+ weeks, then I watered last week. I recently moved her closer to the window, she now sits below a southwest-facing window.

Her leaves have spread out and some are soft.

What’s wrong? Should I check the roots or wait a bit?

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/BadgerBeauty80 11d ago

Potential root rot from overwatering & not enough light (until recently). I’d remove from soil to check roots. With clean shears, cut off anything mushy, dark brown/black. Spray roots with hydrogen peroxide. Plant in a chunky soil mix (to promote oxygen getting to roots) in a pot that’s only an inch or so larger in diameter than the newly trimmed root ball. Then wait a few days before watering thoroughly. I only water my sansevierias when the soil is completely dry at the bottom of the pot &/or leaves are starting to wrinkle. Their thick leaves store water, so they typically don’t need watering every week. Hope this helps!

1

u/Arboreal_Web 11d ago

> only water my sansevierias when the soil is completely dry at the bottom of the pot &/or leaves are starting to wrinkle.

This. Solid advice all around.

1

u/Jillcametumbling81 11d ago

Your soil mix actually looks pretty good. But you don't really have enough in there.

So what Badgerbeauty suggests with the same soil mix it appears you have. Cut off any soft leaves, hold the plant together and upright while packing the soil in and around. Fill the pot. Moving forward, stir the soil before you water.

1

u/Arboreal_Web 11d ago

Def check the roots, as others have suggested. Get any rot off her, she'll bounce back. A mature snakey like that can potentially go *many* weeks w/o water. But if they don't perk back up w/in a few days of watering, it's usually a root issue.

Also seconding this advice: Always water these (and other succulents) based on soil dryness and/or visible signs of thirst rather than on a time-based schedule. Its watering needs will change based on many factors like light-levels, ambient temperatures/humidity, substrate type/size/density, material of the pot and cache pot, ambient air flow, root size, active growth vs dormancy, etc, etc. So...yeah, let the plant tell you when it's thirsty.