Snake plant ((Dracaena trifasciata, formerly Sansevieria trifasciata)) is a low-maintenance, easy-to-grow indoor plant. It is well-known for its adaptability and ability to withstand frequent watering and low-light conditions.
While this hardy plant isn’t a heavy feeder, providing it with the proper nutrients can boost its growth and overall health. One way to add the required nutrients to the plant is to apply fertilizer.
But what is the best fertilizer for snake plants?
Read on to learn about the best fertilizer for all snake plant varieties and how to apply the fertilizer effectively.
The Best Fertilizer For Snake Plant
As stated above, snake plants are low-maintenance plants and do not need much plant food, also known as fertilizer. However, fertilizing them properly can help them grow and increase their chance of blooming.
The best plant food for snake plants is one with a balanced NPK ratio of about 10-10-10 or similar.
Nitrogen (N) helps to keep the plant green and fresh, phosphorus (P) promotes flower and root development, and potassium (K) aids general cellular functions.
Although a houseplant fertilizer with a 10-10-10 NPK ratio is ideal, slightly increasing the phosphorus level can promote the elusive blooming of the plant. A perfect example is the Schultz 10-15-10 Plant Food Fertilizer,
More so, for the best performance, consider using top-quality, all-natural liquid fertilizer. Liquid fertilizers are the best choice because they are easy to dilute.
A great liquid fertilizer choice for your snake plant is the Espoma 2-2-2 Organic Indoor Plant Food.
When using liquid fertilizer, carefully dilute it according to the instructions on the pack and apply it when watering. Try as much as possible to apply the recommended dosage to avoid over-fertilizing your snake plant.
Overfertilizing can damage the plant, but using the recommended dosage ensures that the roots are not burned or shocked with too many nutrients in one application.
Nevertheless, overfertilization remedies include repotting, trimming roots, or flushing the soil.
If available, granular fertilizers are also a good choice, just that they release their nutrients slowly over time. Also, you just need to apply granular fertilizers less frequently than liquid fertilizers.
How Often Can Fertilizer Be Applied to Snake Plants?
Naturally, snake plants are well adapted to dry rocky soils with low fertility. Hence, they are not heavy feeders. Nevertheless, fertilizing plants helps with their growth and benefits their overall health.
However, how often you need to apply fertilizer to your plant largely depends on the time of year.
For instance, the period from spring to fall is the snake plant’s active growing season. During this period, fertilizing the plant no more than once a month is beneficial.
From late fall to early spring, snake plants are dormant and do not need to be fertilized.
Fertilizing your plant more often or beyond the guidelines above can lead to overfertilization, which may cause fertilizer burns or nutrient toxicity.
Common symptoms of overfertilization include sudden yellowing of leaves, brown leaf tips and edges, and crispy leaf edges.
Helpful Fertilizing Tips
Please note the following helpful tips:
- Snake plants require low fertilizer application. Hence, fertilizer should not be applied more frequently than needed.
- Although fertilizing may seem unnecessary, it can benefit the growth and overall health of the plant.
- Don’t fertilize more than once a month in the active growing season.
- Avoid fertilizing your plant in wintertime when it is dormant
- Liquid plant foods are the best choice because they are easy to dilute.
How To Fertilize Snake Plants
Now that you know the best snake plant fertilizer, the benefits of fertilizing, and how often to apply fertilizer, you may be planning to fertilize your plants.
Fertilizing your snake plant is really simple. To guide you, here are the steps to follow:
Get the necessary supplies
The first step is to get the needed supplies, which include your fertilizer, a clean bucket or watering can, and a measuring cup.
Dilute the fertilizer
The next step involves mixing the fertilizer with water to dilute it. This step must be done carefully because if done improperly, you may end up damaging your plant.
Carefully read and follow the instructions on the label of your fertilizer. Make sure you measure out the necessary amount of fertilizer and add the right amount of water to dilute it.
Once you have got the right mix, add some drops of the diluted fertilizer to the water in your watering can. Stir the mixture with a stick gently and ensure that the fertilizer dissolves fully into the water.
Apply the fertilizer
Whether your snake plants are grown in pots or raised garden beds, thoroughly soak/drench the soil with the fertilizer till excess water starts coming out of the bottom of the pot/raised bed.
Drenching the soil ensures that the nutrient gets to every part of the soil, including the roots of the plants.
If your pot or raised bed doesn’t have drainage holes at the bottom, then carefully fertilize it once without adding excess.
Watch out for symptoms of overfertilization
After fertilizing, carefully monitor your plants over a few days for any symptoms of overfertilization.
If you notice any yellowing or browning of leaves or brown tips or edges on your snake plants, just know that you have applied too much fertilizer.
Don’t panic, you can add more water from your watering can to flush the soil. This will wash off excess fertilizer and cause your snake plants to bounce back to life.
Conclusion
Snake plants are low-maintenance houseplants with low fertilizer needs. However, giving them the proper fertilization can boost their growth and overall health.
Proper fertilization is not just about feeding your plants. Instead, it’s about giving the proper nutrients at the right time and in the right amounts. This will help your plants to achieve their blooming best.
We hope this guide will help you give your snake plants the best fertilizer without causing any problems to your plant care. Once your snake plants begin to thrive, here are ways to propagate them to generate new plants at no cost.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Generally, snake plants are slow growers and require low maintenance. However, they need to be fertilized, and there are some signs that your plants need fertilizing.
Slower growth and lackluster appearance are major signs that your plant needs fertilizer application. Other signs include brown or yellow tips.
Once any of these signs appear, fertilizing should be your next step.
The best snake plant food is one with a balanced NPK ratio of about 10-10-10 or similar. You can also consider fertilizer with a slightly increased phosphorus level if you wish to promote the elusive blooming of the plant.
More so, for the best performance, consider using top-quality, all-natural liquid fertilizer. Liquid fertilizers are the best choice because they are easy to dilute.