Do Snake Plants Flower for Real?
Surprisingly, stress induced some snake plant varieties do produce pretty fragrant flowers.
Commonly known as Sansevieria, the snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue is one of the most preferred houseplants. Snake plants are known for their sharp, structured leaves containing yellow edges or jagged lines. They are a favorite among gardeners because of their ability to survive both indoors and outdoors.
Although the snake plant is quite popular because of its looks, the most unique aspect of this plant is its elusive and striking flowers. Yes, you heard it right. If you are wondering do snake plants flower? Snake plants do bloom. But only some snake plant varieties bloom under special circumstances.
So, if you are lucky, your plant may bloom. The blooming happens only rarely – once annually during spring or summer if given appropriate growing conditions. You may not even notice the white flowers flowering among the leaves.
Also, if you have the variety Sansevieria trifasciata it won’t bloom then no matter what you do.
Do Snake Plants Bloom Like Regular Flowering Plants?
The blooming event of snake plants is rare and happens only when the plant is stressed for a long time. You will see scattered tiny buds along a long flowering stalk that can reach a height of three feet. Sometimes these stalks reach the tips of the leaves. Usually, these plants do not have more than one stalk.
The stalks of snake plants carry many small tubular flowers in clusters and contain thin petals. There are some varieties of snake plants that do not sprout stalks. In such varieties, the flowers bloom in huge clusters at the base of the plant.
So, we now know does mother in law tongue blooms or not. To be precise, different shapes and colors of flowers bloom in different varieties of snake plants. These colors range from greenish-white or white or cream or even yellow. Their flowers resemble lilies.
Though the flowering of snake plants is very unusual, when they do bloom, they put on a striking display and emit a strong and pleasant aroma. The aroma is sweeter like jasmine or vanilla. It becomes stronger at night.
When Does Snake Plant Have Flowers?
Snake plants bloom annually usually during spring. Another prerequisite for it to bloom is being stressed for a long time. They bloom at night and close during the day. This happens only to the plants that grow outdoors year-round because they get an adequate amount of sunlight.
When the flowers bloom, they do last for 2 to 4 weeks. As the flowers begin to die, the plant can develop berries.
Snake plants can easily live up to 25 years if given the right growing conditions. Snake plants are also easily propagated through stem cuttings.
How Often Do Snake Plants Flower?
Snake plants do not flower often, it is a rare occurrence. Flowering is likely to happen in areas where snake plants are kept outdoors all year long. It usually happens in spring or at the start of summer just once a year.
The bloom is unique; it may happen to one in a hundred plants. Fortunately, the plant doesn’t die once it has blossomed.
Do Snake Plants Bloom Have A Scent?
Snake plants are long-living houseplants with many benefits. The snake plant flowers are extremely fragrant and emit a spicy vanilla or jasmine-like scent. Along with the scent, the flowers produce sugary nectar that drips down from the stalk. So, it is better to lay a towel or paper around the base of the plant. Or else the sticky fluid may end up creating a mess.
Flowers open up during the nighttime and close in the daytime. The fragrance grows stronger at night.
Related: Reasons for Snake Plant Not Growing | Snake Plants Leaves Curling | Disadvantages of A Snake Plant
How Long Do Snake Plants Grow Flowers?
The flowers can last for a couple of weeks to about a month. When these flowers die, prune the flower stalks from the base to preserve energy and display a neat appearance.
Do Snake Plants Die After Flowering?
No. The plants will keep on thriving once they bloom. The flowers turn into orange-colored berries and the stalks die eventually.
Do All Snake Plants Under Stress Bear Flowers?
Snake plants tend to survive a great amount of neglect. It can withstand even low light conditions. When it is neglected, it often encourages the plant to bloom.
Once you leave these plants to their resources, with little water and plenty of light, this gives the plant the message that it is going to die due to drought. Then they tend to spread quickly and become root-bound. This environment can make snake plants flower.
Each rosette of a Sansevieria makes a flower spike only once, and once it does, it won’t ever grow any new foliage. It won’t die, though the leaves will stay for years to come. The root mass will keep extending to new rhizomes that grow into fresh new rosettes. These in time may create their flowers.
FAQs
Q. Is the flowering snake plant lucky?
Ans. Snake plants normally do not bloom. It is a very rare event. So, if your snake plant blooms, it symbolizes good luck and prosperity.
Q. Does adding fertilizer to the growing soil speed up flowering?
Ans. Since snake plants are native to rock soil, they do not need more fertilizing. So, avoid overfertilizing. If you provide it with too much food, it can harm your plant instead of helping it.
Giving your snake plant more fertilizer than what’s needed will do more harm than good by adding unwanted minerals to the soil. Gradually this could degrade the quality of soil and even make your plant dehydrated and unhealthy.
If you really wish to enhance your plant’s growth, here is how to make your snake plant grow faster.
Q. Do snake plants flower need extra care or a change in their care routine?
Ans. No. The flowering snake plant does not need extra care. Snake plants need very little care to thrive. Once they have flowered, it is advised to cut down the stalks that had flowers. This gives a fresh look to the plant as well as allows that plant to allocate its nutrients correctly.
Also, you need to chop the old flower stalks, or they turn into toxic berries.
Conclusion
Snake plants do grow beautiful flowers. However, it is hard for this to happen, especially when the plant is grown indoors. So, to answer do sansevieria flower, we can say that they do only when they are stressed but not too much. If you are lucky, your plant will give you a stunning display of flowers.
