May 5, 2011Shout out for sansevieria
Oh sure, Mother-in-law’s tongue has fallen out of favor for a decade or three, but these pricey succulents are creeping back into the mainstream. New colors, forms and sizes are popping up in the occasional nursery.
You may still have yours from back in the 1960s. Still struggling, even though you haven’t watered it since the Nixon years. Testimony to how durable these plants are. But if you grow them right, you’ve got to admit they are gorgeous. Here’s how.
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sharon says:
I love the color of this one. When you go to a nursery that carries a lot of houseplants—like Rolling Greens, for instance—it’s pretty amazing to see how much variation there is in this one plant. And they look really cool together. I’ve always wanted to devote one section of my garden to that idea. And you’ve inspired me. Maybe I’ll finally get on it.
Posted on May 6, 2011 at 8:07 am.
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Ron, the Plant Man says:
Way back in the early 70’s I had a potted Sansevieria that survived all kinds of abuse from me. It had been a gift from a friend for some occasion so long ago that I can’t ever remember what it was! It was growing in the darkest living room you can imagine…one very small north facing window. It looked so ratty most of the time that I would put in in the closet whenever company would come over, and then forget about it for months at a time…and it still survived! When it was out, I would suck up the leaves with the vacuum trying to get the dust off them… and it still survived! Frankly, I don’t ever remember watering it…and it still survived!
Well, one day I was looking at the strange way my front entry was constructed…it seems the contractor had left a 6 inch by 4 foot gap between the wall of the house and where the porch, or rather the entry way ended….kind of like he expected something to be planted there. When I first moved into the house I tried to imagine what might grow there, total shade, very narrow growing area, no way to water it except deliberately bring water out and pour it into the area and could never think of anything that would grow there. Well, to make a long story short, one day I was looking at the poor Sansevieria plant and was trying to figure out what I should do with it and suddenly it hit me to plant it in the narrow planter in the front entry! I did, and it thrived like nobodys business! New, bright shiny leaves started growing right away and as it sent out the runners for new plants the 4 foot space filled up in no time. Outside, the leaves grew to about 2 to 3 feet tall and really looked spectacular and broke up a rather dull and plain looking concrete and stucco area. It got watered about once a month when I would wash off the sidewalk and entry way, and still looked nice 15 years later when I sold the house and moved to Orange County! Haven’t been by the old house in years, but I expect the Sansevieria is still doing well!
Posted on May 5, 2011 at 10:03 am.