Sansevieria is a charming plant, known not only for its interesting appearance, but above all for its ability to purify the air. It absorbs carbon dioxide and numerous harmful substances, which is why it is recommended for home cultivation. It has long, stiff leaves that resemble swords and is also known as snake plant.
It appears in many homes as a window sill or shelf decoration. However, in winter it may suffer from cold or dry air. How to take care of it so that it does not waste away? We explain how to care for sansevieria in winter and what to avoid so as not to harm it.
Sansevieria care in winter it should look slightly different than during the rest of the year. First of all, you cannot pour it because it requires much less water. It is best to water it only when the soil dries to a minimum depth of 5 cm. It is worth putting your finger or a bamboo stick into the pot and checking.
The best time for watering is the morning hours. Thanks to this, the sansevieria will have time to absorb water before it cools down at night. Do not overwater the plant to prevent its roots from rotting.
When it comes to in winter this should not be done at all. In winter, the plant does not absorb nutrients, so any fertilizer could only harm it by burning the roots. From October to March, sansevieria does not need additional support.
In winter, you need to remember not only about proper sansevieria, but also about proper care. It is better not to overdo it and clean the leaves with a soft, damp cloth. Water the plant with boiled or filtered water. Place an air humidifier or water in a wide vessel next to it. We can also place several plants next to each other to create their own microclimate. This is good for their health.
To provide the sansevieria with more light, we can place it near a mirror. It is also worth illuminating it with a lamp with a color temperature of 5000-6500 K, turning it on for about 6-8 hours a day. And if we notice that hers the leaves turn yellow or darken, it may mean overwatering or too low a temperature. Black leaf tips they may also appear after exposure to a cold draft. Let the substrate dry and remove the changed fragments using clean scissors.
Sansevieria is a plant that is very resistant to harmful environmental factors, but winter is also not an easy time for it. During the heating season, homes become dry and warm. Humidity drops to about 18-25%, while the plant needs about 40% air humidity to grow healthily. During this difficult time, its condition may significantly deteriorate, which can be noticed by stunted growth, limp leaves and browning of their edges.
Drafts and proximity to a radiator are also harmful to Sansevieria in apartments. Therefore, it is worth moving the plant away from the window if we want to ventilate the room and move it away from the heat source. However, let’s not change her permanent place of residence often. Sansevierias do not like frequent rearrangement.
It is also worth checking whether the plant has not frozen. This is easy to do when the temperature drops below 13 degrees Celsius. Then its leaves begin to curl, soften and even rot. In such a case, you need to remove the rotten, soft leaves and move the plant to a place with better conditions – at a temperature above 20 degrees Celsius. If its roots remain healthy, the condition of the sansevieria will improve in spring and it will be beautiful again.
