There are three methods by which you can propagate a snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata synonym Sansevieria trifasciata) from a cutting. You can:
- Propagate a snake plant cutting in potting mix/soil (my preferred method),
- Root a snake plant cutting in water, or
- Split up a snake plant using the division method.
I detail the steps to propagate a snake plant by cutting in soil below.
Steps to Propagate a Snake Plant from a Cutting in Soil
How to propagate the snake plant (Dracaena Trifasciata propagation) from a cutting in soil
Time to propagate 120 days
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Get Your Snake Plant Cuttings
To get your cuttings from another plant you can use either a pair of secateurs or a utility knife. Make sure that whatever tool you use is sharp and clean.
You can propagate a snake plant with just a single leaf, but if you can, get more than just the one leaf just in case it fails to propagate successfully.
If you can it’s best to get a full stem cutting from a snake plant. However, you don’t need much of a cutting for it to grow roots. In my case, I had a snake plant cutting that was less than 10 centimetres / 4 inches long to grow roots successfully.
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Clean up The End of The Snake Plant Cuttings
When I got my cuttings I didn’t have either a sharp knife or secateurs with me and used a steel ruler to cut the snake plant cuttings. I re-cut the ends of the cuttings to make them neater.
I didn’t waste the bits that were cut off though, I planted them to see how they would grow. Read to the end to see the results.
I did this step the day of planting the cuttings, which means I didn’t give the end of the cutting any time to callus over. You would usually let the cuttings sit for at least 1 to 3 days to allow the ends of the cuttings to dry out to reduce the chance of the cutting rotting (recommended). This wasn’t required in my case as each of the 6 cuttings I had were successful.
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Pot Snake Plant Cuttings
Fill a plastic grow pot up with a well-draining potting mix. I used a general potting mix which seemed to suit the snake plant fine.
If you had a succulent potting mix available for you to use then this would also be fine.
Once the pot is filled and semi-firm, insert the cuttings into the pot by just pushing the bottom of them into the potting mix. Make sure you don’t get confused about which end of the cuttings is the top and bottom.
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Water Cuttings
Once the cuttings have been inserted into the potting mix, give the cuttings a really deep watering.
After today, I will water my snake cuttings every 4-7 days. Be careful that you don’t water too frequently and overwater the snake plants. Before watering you should test the soil out, if the top 2 inches (5 centimetres) are dry then give them some water, if however it is still wet then don’t water them.
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Place Snake Plant Cuttings Out Of Direct Sunlight
Because the cuttings don’t have any roots and aren’t able to support themselves, place the pot somewhere out of direct sunlight, but also somewhere it will receive almost a full day of indirect light.
You don’t want it to receive too much direct sunlight so the cuttings don’t dry up before they get a chance to grow roots.
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Snake Plant Cuttings Growth After Almost 4 Months
After 4 months of nothing happening, it finally happened and the snake plant put out some pups, which showed me that there was definitely some root growth happening underneath the soil.
Supply:
- Plastic grow pot
- Potting mix (with good drainage)
Tools:
- Secateurs or utility knife
Snake Plant Cuttings Growth (4 Months After Planting in Soil)
After 4 months of nothing happening, it finally happened and the snake plant put out some pups, which showed me that there was definitely some root growth happening underneath the soil.
Snake Plant Propagation Progress (7 Months After Planting in Soil)
After 7 months since planting the 6 cuttings, they have all shown to be successful and have grown at least one pup (off-shoot) each.
I’m going to depot the snake plant to see what type of growth has happened and what the pups look like.
To remove the cuttings from the pot follow these steps:
- Tip the pot onto its side.
- Roll the pot back and forth giving the sides a gentle squeeze to loosen up the potting mix and roots.
- Gently pull the leaves of the snake plant to pull it from the pot.
Also, be careful when pulling the snake plants apart as their root growth could have intertwined, and you don’t want to risk damaging the plants’ roots.
The below image shows the progression of one of the shorter cuttings (less than 10 centimetres / 4 inches long). It has grown some roots and put out one pup.
The below images shows the growth of one of the larger snake plant leaf cuttings. It has grown 4 pups altogether. I don’t know if the reason it has had better results than the shorter cutting (shown above) was because of just luck or because it was a longer cutting (over 20 centimetres/8 inches).
Snake Plant Propagation Before and After
For this blog post, I got the three cuttings on the left-hand side of the below image and was able to propagate them successfully as shown on the right-hand side of the image.
I cut the bottoms of the longer snake plant leaves and ended up with 6 successful cuttings planted in the pot.
Reasons Your Snake Plant Failed to Propagate
Snake plants are very tough and are affected by only a few pests. Some of the reasons that your cuttings do fail are:
- You are overwatering the plant. Snake plants don’t need much watering once established. If they are being overwatered they will appear droopy or saggy. To avoid this check the top 5 centimetres (2 inches of the soil before watering). If it is wet don’t water the plant again until it is dried out.
- Snake cuttings not growing roots. This may be a patience problem. It can take a long time (sometimes over 2-3 months for any sign of root growth to appear. Make sure you are being patient and wait long enough before saying it doesn’t work.
FAQs
Are Snake Plants Easy to Propagate?
Snake plants are very easy to propagate. They do take a long time though, and in my experience, it took 4 months for my snake plant cuttings to grow new pups and roots.
Is It Easier to Propagate Snake Plants in Water or Soil?
It is easier to propagate a snake plant in soil than in water. That is because when you root a cutting in water, you will eventually need to transfer it to soil. There is a risk that the plant will fail when transferred to different mediums.
How Long Does It Take for Snake Plant Cutting to Propagate?
To propagate a snake plant in soil and for it to grow a pup in my experience takes just under 4 months.
Can You Take Cuttings from a Snake Plant?
Yes, you can take cuttings from a snake plant. Use any object that is sharp (knife, secateurs) and cut at the bottom of the snake plant leaf.
Do You Need to Use a Rooting Hormone when Propagating a Snake Plant Cutting?
You don’t need to use a rooting hormone when propagating snake plant cuttings. I didn’t use it and all of my cuttings grew fine.
Using a rooting hormone may speed up their growth though.
Do Snake Plants Grow Babies?
As snake plants grow they will put out pups to expand their growth sideways. If you don’t want your snake plant to get any bigger and cover a larger area you can remove these pups, otherwise, leave them be and watch your snake plant spread around.