Snake plants, also known as sansevieria or mother-in-law’s tongue, are extremely popular houseplants due to their striking looks and hardy nature. Their sword-like, upright leaves add an architectural, almost sculptural element to indoor spaces.
However, even the most resilient plants can sustain damage over time. You may notice your snake plant developing yellow, brown, or broken leaves, drooping foliage, or leggy growth with large gaps between leaves. Properly trimming a damaged snake plant is key to maintaining its health and appearance.
Follow this comprehensive guide to learn when and how to trim a snake plant, address underlying issues, provide proper aftercare, and keep your plant flourishing.
When to Trim Snake Plants
For best results, trim snake plants during the early spring, just before their active growing period begins. This gives the plant plenty of time and energy to recover before winter dormancy sets in. However, trimming can be done at any time of year if needed to remove dead or damaged leaves, control leggy growth, or divide rootbound plants.
Trimming the plant right before it goes to sleep in the fall can shock it. If there are any problems, they should be fixed in the spring, and trimming should start again the following spring if needed.
Signs Your Snake Plant Needs Trimming
Watch for these signs that your snake plant would benefit from trimming
- Yellow, brown, or broken leaves
- Leaves lying flat or drooping
- Overgrown, congested clumps of leaves
- Damaged leaf tips exposing the soft inner portion
- Leggy growth with large gaps between leaves
Trimming off damaged leaves encourages fresh, healthy new growth. And thinning overcrowded plants allows light to adequately reach all the leaves so they can thrive.
How to Trim Snake Plant Leaves
Follow these steps to properly trim damaged leaves on your snake plant:
Gather Your Tools
You’ll need clean, sharp pruning shears or scissors. Sterilize your tools with diluted bleach to prevent spreading disease from plant to plant.
Identify Unhealthy Leaves
Look for any yellow, brown, or broken leaves that need removal. Drooping or limp leaves should also be trimmed.
Make Your Cuts
Snip damaged leaves off right at the base, near the soil line, using your sharp pruning shears. Make clean cuts.
Treat Remaining Leaves
If you see any more brown or torn leaf tips, you should also cut them off to stop the damage from spreading.
Remove Debris
Discard removed leaves and debris in the yard waste, not the compost pile.
Allow Time to Recover
Don’t fertilize the plant for a few weeks after trimming it so it has time to heal before it starts growing again.
Check for Underlying Issues
Monitor for any signs of rot, pests, or improper watering that may have caused the damage. Address any problems found so they won’t reoccur.
How to Trim Leggy Snake Plants
Here are the steps for properly trimming and caring for leggy, overgrown snake plants:
Identify Leggy Foliage
If you see plants that have big gaps between their leaves and are too tall, that means they are becoming leggy.
Trim Tall Leaves
Use clean shears to trim the tallest leaves back by halfway, making angled cuts.
Remove Lower Leaves
Cut off the lower leaves entirely and trim the remaining stems back to 6 inches tall.
Repot in Fresh Soil
Repot the trimmed plant in fresh potting mix, burying some of the stem. Water thoroughly after repotting.
Increase Light Exposure
Place the plant in bright, direct light after trimming to prevent future stretching and legginess.
Provide Support If Needed
Stake leggy plants for support while they re-establish after dramatic trimming.
Regularly trimming overgrown plants can help rejuvenate them and keep growth compact.
How to Divide Overgrown Snake Plants
Follow these tips for dividing and trimming overgrown, rootbound snake plants:
Remove from Current Pot
Carefully remove the entire plant from its current container and loosen the dense root ball with your hands or a garden spade.
Divide the Plant
Using a sharp, sterilized knife, slice through the rootball to divide the original plant into smaller sections.
Trim as Needed
Trim off any damaged leaves or roots on the divided sections. Let them rest for 2-3 days before repotting.
Repot the Divisions
Repot each division in its own container with drainage holes, using fresh potting soil. Water well after repotting.
Provide Care
Grow the divided plants in partial sun. Stake any unstable, top-heavy divisions for support until established.
Dividing congested snake plants every 2-3 years encourages healthy, vigorous growth.
Caring for Snake Plants After Trimming
Once trimmed, provide attentive care to help your snake plant recover:
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Place in bright, indirect sunlight to prevent future stretching.
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Resume a normal watering schedule, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings.
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Apply a balanced liquid fertilizer monthly during the active growing season.
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Repot every 2-3 years in fresh, well-draining potting mix.
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Monitor for signs of stress or disease and address any additional issues promptly.
With proper trimming technique and attentive aftercare, your snake plant will quickly regain its health and natural beauty. Removing dead or damaged foliage encourages new growth while thinning congested plants allows better air circulation and light exposure.
Carefully assess your plant’s needs, use sharp sterile tools, and make your cuts cleanly. Support recovery by addressing any underlying issues and providing ideal growing conditions. With a bit of patience and TLC, your trimmed snake plant will soon be thriving once again!
heating mat can speed up the rooting but make sure that it is never in direct contact with the container where the plant cutting is.
Using a humidity dome or a propagator can also cut down the rooting time in half. If you are using a humidity dome, propagator, or humidifier, however, always make sure that there is also sufficient airflow around the cutting to avoid rot-related issues due to stagnant air. A small fan is all that you need to introduce some air movement.
How long does it take for snake plants to root? Sansevierias root very quickly. In two to six weeks, you should see roots growing on your snake plant cutting.
Option 1: Do Nothing
I.e. let your snake plant be a plant and do its thing
If, after carefully observing your snake plant for signs of pests or rotting issues, you conclude that the damaged leaf is just a one-off occasion and is not indicating that your sansevieria is suffering from any health issues, you don’t have to do anything unless you want to.
Of course, you can remove any damaged, split, or dead leaves from your snake plant but it is not a must.
You can let your snake plant do its thing and deal with the damaged leaf itself if it is otherwise healthy, sends out new growth, and the look of its less-than-perfect leaves doesn’t bother you.
In most cases, if the damage is severe, your sansevieria will naturally kill off its unneeded leaf and consume valuable nutrients from it.
In other cases, the plant will just keep on growing and won’t mind the broken/damaged leaf at all.
However, if you notice that your snake plant is feeling overall a bit under the weather, you need to thoroughly inspect your houseplant for pests and any root problems.
What are the signs and symptoms of a pest infestation on a houseplant? Check out our detailed guide on how to identify pests on plants and get rid of them for good.
10 Common Snake Plant Problems & How To Fix Them
FAQ
Should you cut off damaged snake plant leaves?
Getting rid of diseased, damaged, or dead leaves: Snake plants can survive in a variety of conditions, but bad care, like not giving them enough or too much water, can cause diseased or damaged leaves. Removing the damaged leaves of your snake plant can help keep it healthy and look its best.
How to fix a damaged snake plant?
Remove any infected roots using sterilized scissors or a knife. Remove affected leaves to help your plant direct energy to new, healthy growth. Repot the snake plant in fresh, well-draining soil suitable for succulents.
Should I trim damaged snake plant leaves?
To help the plant, cutting off the old, damaged leaves at the soil line doesn’t hurt it. The roots can only grow so far in the pot. Every time you see damage just cut that leaf off. You’ll notice that shortly after new growth will appear.