Mother-in-law's language in your house: Sansevieria three-way

A special place among indoor plants in the apartments of beginners and experienced gardeners is occupied by the unusual flower of Sansevieria or Sansevier.

Once an acquired plant settles in the house forever. For inexperienced lovers of indoor plants, Sansevieria does not cause difficulties with growing, and flower growing veterans admire the power and beauty of the plant.

In the article, we will clearly see what this amazing plant looks like, and also learn how to care for it.

Sansevieria trifasciata: a botanical description

Sansevieria's most popular species is Sansevieria trifasciata or Sanseviera three-lane (three-lane), which belongs to the Asparagus family and has several popular names:

1. Mother-in-law's tongue.
2. Pike tail.
3. Snake skin.
4. The language of the devil.
5. Leopard Lily.

All names correspond to the appearance of the flower.

This is a perennial herbaceous succulent with a thick root, up to 2 cm in diametersprawling in the upper layer of the earth. The flower has no stem, and its leaves, resembling sabers, grow from the rhizome in the form of a rosette.

Mother-in-law's tongue is a resident of the hot African deserts and semi-deserts, distributed on the island of Madagascar and in Asian countries. For the first time, the Italian prince Sanseviero delivered the plant to Europe in the eighteenth century. An amazing flower was named in his honor, which has an unusual ability to take root in any proposed conditions without losing its decorative effect.

Each three-way Sanseviera rosette consists of 6-8 thick and hard leavesthat grow straight up and have hard, as if sharpened edges. In length, the leaf can grow up to 100 cm with a width of 8-10 cm. Each leaf narrows upward, forming a sharp "spike" resembling a nail.

Under comfortable conditions of detention, Sansevieria trifasciate has a dark green leaf color with a bright yellow stripe at the edges.

Important. The brightness of the leaves of mother-in-law's tongue depends on the amount of light. The lighter the place of residence of the flower, the more saturated the color of the leaf, and clear boundaries of the picture are visible.

Photo

Check out the photos of this amazing plant.

Home Care

The native land of the plant is the African continent with a hot, dry climate and rocky, poor soil., so the living conditions are ideal for keeping this succulent. Sansevier three-lane is not capricious and does not need special care, but nevertheless, in order for the flower to please with variegated and dense leaves, some features of the content should be taken into account.

• The temperature regime for mother-in-law's tongue does not have much significance. The plant feels excellent at high air temperatures, tolerates a short-term decrease to +5 degrees. Do not allow direct contact of Sansevieria with frosty air when ventilating, and do not allow the leaves to touch the frosty windows.
• Proper watering should be given attention. A plant for 2-3 weeks can do without water, but it will use the moisture accumulated in the leaves, because of which they can lose their elasticity and become soft. To create a flower comfortable conditions, you should wait for the soil to dry between waterings.

  Attention. It is necessary to water Sansevieria strictly on the soil surface, do not fill the middle of the outlet.

• The pike tail grows well in the light and in the shade, but with good lighting, lovers of this plant will receive a bright and variegated color of the leaves; Sansevier, located in the shade, will be dark green. When watering the sansevier, the amount of light should be considered. The dimmer and shorter the daylight hours, the less often the flower should be watered.
• Soil this flower prefers drained. When transplanting plants into universal soil, add 25% of the sand. Drainage at the bottom of the pot is needed in order to prevent stagnation of water.
• The pruning procedure involves the removal of old leaves that have lost their decorative appearance. Removing aged and rotten leaves will give young shoots a better and faster development. You can also trim the dried ends. If you cut too many leaves, flower growth slows down.
• Sansevier should be fed only during the growing season with fertilizers for cacti. If the air temperature in the room is below + 18o, feeding is not necessary. With an excessive amount of fertilizer, the leaves can lose their shape and change color.
• Three-lane Sansevieria root is located close to the surface, so you need to choose a low, but wide pot. The walls of the container must be thick and strong.
• The flower grows quickly and the transplant should be done as the container is filled with roots or immediately after buying the plant. A signal to replace the tank will be the appearance of thin roots from the bottom hole of the pot.
  1. At the first transplant after acquiring the flower, the earthen lump is better to completely replace with fresh soil, as the former may be depleted or of poor quality.
  2. Before planting, it is necessary to carefully examine the roots of the flower and remove dead or dried roots.
  3. At the bottom of the pot, pour a thick layer of expanded clay to provide oxygen access to the roots.
  4. Sprinkle the drainage with earth, put the plant in a pot and pour the remaining soil from above, then lightly tamp the surface with your hands.
  5. Abundantly water the transplanted sansevieria.

Suitable seasons for transplant are spring or summer.

• In winter, when the room temperature decreases and daylight hours are reduced, the frequency of watering should be reduced.

Breeding

To propagate Sansevier in several ways:

• Dividing a bush or extracting side layers.

  The most reliable method of breeding this plant. In the process of development of an adult plant, Sansevier children are growing from the rhizome. To plant a young plant, you need to use a sharp knife to cut the root with a new outlet and transplant the baby into another pot.

• The plants propagated by the leaf take root well. For this procedure, select:
  1. adult healthy leaf;
  2. cut across the fibers into cuttings 5-10 cm long.
  3. within 2-3 days, the cuttings must be dried in a dark room;
  4. then plant them in moist sand at an angle of 45 degrees for rooting.

  The process from planting the cuttings to obtaining a full-fledged baby takes 2-3 months.

• Rhizome division also gives a positive result.
  1. in an adult plant, a part of the root with a kidney should be cut off;
  2. clear of thin roots;
  3. put in a separate pot.

With any chosen method of propagation, Sansevier should not be allowed to overflow in containers with young plants.

How does Sansevier triphosphate bloom?

Being in a comfortable environment, blooms mother-in-law very rarely. Emission of a peduncle can provoke a gradual deterioration in conditions, for example, a cramped pot. The flowers, located on a long stem, have the shape of a miniature lily and spread a pleasant aroma. White or pink small flowers are covered with droplets of nectar and attract many insects.

Diseases and Pests

Sansevier is disease resistant and rarely attacked by pests.

• Diseases can be caused by excessive waterlogging of the soil or stagnation of water inside the outlet. A sign of excess moisture is the decay of leaves with a color change at the base.
• If the leaves wither, but remain green, this is a sign of hypothermia of the flower.
• Yellow spots on the entire surface of the leaf indicate a sunburn. Pests attack weakened plants. This can be a spider mite, thrips or mealybug.

Similar views

Among the many species of Sansevieria, there are similar specimens that differ in size, color or leaf shape:

1. Hanni- differs in the compact sizes.
2. Laurenti the oldest plant variety from which many modern species originate.
3. Variegated - compact look with decorative coloring.
4. Sansevier white - white stripes turn green.
5. Futura differs in a wide form of a leaf.

Sansevieria - a plant that does not require much attention and time-consuming, will decorate an apartment or office with its appearance. Being among people, the flower absorbs carbon dioxide, purifying the air.