{"product_id":"mother-in-laws-tongue-sansevieria-trifasciata","title":"Mother in Law's Tongue - Sansevieria trifasciata","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe plain species of snake plant is the one for the darker rooms of a house. Its rigid leaves are deep green crossed with wavy bands of paler grey green, with no yellow edge, and with every part of the leaf working it copes with lower light than the variegated forms, so use it in a hallway, an office corner well back from the window or a bathroom with frosted glass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndoors it is close to indestructible as long as nobody drowns it, and an established clump keeps sending up new leaves around the rim until it fills the pot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe one rule: let it dry out\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlmost every dead mother in law's tongue was overwatered. Water only when the mix is dry most of the way down, which in a typical house works out at roughly fortnightly in summer and monthly or less through winter, and tip out any saucer still holding water an hour after a drink. A plant kept wet and cold goes soft at the base, the leaves fold over and the rhizome rots, and by the time you notice it is usually too late. Grow it in a free draining cactus and succulent mix in a pot with drainage holes. Terracotta helps twice over: it dries faster, and its weight stops a tall clump from toppling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLight is flexible. In bright, indirect light it grows faster and makes firmer, more upright leaves, and it survives in shade where most indoor plants sulk, although growth slows to a crawl. That is what it has over the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/laurentii-snake-plant-sansevieria-trifasciata-laurentii\"\u003eLaurentii Snake Plant\u003c\/a\u003e, whose yellow margin needs a brighter room to stay crisp. At the other extreme, direct summer sun through a west window will still yellow its leaves. When a clump finally splits its pot, which can take several years, saw through the rhizome with a sharp knife in spring and replant the pieces at their old depth. A weak liquid feed in spring and again in midsummer covers its year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhy it belongs in a pot\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe same toughness makes it a problem outside. In frost free coastal gardens it creeps steadily outwards on underground stems. It is regarded as an environmental weed in Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory, and Brisbane City Council lists it as Council Pest Vegetation. Keep it in a container on a shaded patio or indoors, and dispose of unwanted divisions in general waste, never on a compost heap or in bushland. In cooler districts it also collapses outdoors after a frost or a long, cold, wet spell.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe leaves contain saponins and are mildly toxic to cats and dogs if chewed, usually causing drooling, vomiting or an upset stomach, so put it where a curious pet cannot work on it. The \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/low-maintenance\"\u003elow maintenance plants\u003c\/a\u003e collection groups it with others that take the same neglect, and the guide \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/indoor-plants-that-actually-survive\"\u003eindoor plants that actually survive\u003c\/a\u003e explains why water and light, not feeding, decide how a plant fares inside.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 300mm, at $229.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67671355720049,"sku":null,"price":229.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/mother-in-laws-tongue-sansevieria-trifasciata.jpg?v=1791520044","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/mother-in-laws-tongue-sansevieria-trifasciata","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}