Instead of making a new topic, I also have a question about watering the Sans. I've only grown the Snake plant, and I water them when the leaves start to soften. Because of the room the Sans are in, they get a lot of sun and the soil dries out pretty fast. I can control the sunlight they get.

But I've read not to water them that often. Shouldn't I be watering them when the leaves start to soften, even though I water about once a week?

Personally, I think what you read is really all dependant on conditions and the time of year and probably rate of growth as well.

All my Sans. (except my cylindrica) get watered every few weeks in winter. The cylindrica I got in December and it hasn't been watered once yet, but the leaves are still nice and stiff so I'm not worried. But when summer and the growing season rolls around, they get watered much more frequently because they're growing, using water and it's much warmer.

One way I do it is I stick my finger in a drainage hole in the bottom to see if all the soil's dry. If it is in summer, I water, if winter I wait another few days or a week then water. If this happens to be once a week, then so be it.

I grow S. gracilis it grows with runners above ground, and with roots hanging down from the nodes along the runners, it makes a fine basket plant, I have hung mine up in the greenhouse to save bench space. (My cat is going nuts, I think she is feeling the after shocks from the earth quake today.) Give if light sun if you want it to flower, I water in the summer every week, and give it 1/4 diluted liquied fertilier after every watering. In the winter, even though I have heat in the greenhouse, I water very little, when they start to wrinkle, flop over, or their groves get very deep only. They can rot very easly and quickly, they have water in their rhizomes, or stolen and leaves. They are able to survive no water for 6 months in the winter, and flower starting Sept. only once on new growth, but never again on the same growth. The old growth does not die for several years, producing offsets for future flowering, growing in the home may be different because of heating or air conditioning which they don't like, they need a time to go dormant in the winter months, commerically they are grown differently. Some are jungle like species, and need more watering and heat, others are desert growers, each just like us may be different and and different needs. I can actually grow some species outside on a table with a plastic roof covering. I don't water these plants in the winter as often, I water by instinct, and looking at the leaves. If cold winter nights are announced, I don't water, if sun is predicted for ten days, I water, watching the weather reports for me is a must do, I also use a little vinegar in my water to soften it, Professionals told me to do this. That is what these forums are supposed to do, give each other tips on growing. Norma

If in house and temps. are above 55F after midnight, all the rules change regarding watering. Your house is their green house and it may be able to have weekly waterings. Depends on how hot you keep your house, how close it is to a window, the soil, how much light it receives, now you know why we can't give you a definite response. Read your plant it will tell you what to do, and you listen, you won't kill it. They really can take a lot of torture, and they ask for very little, we had rats growing in our pots at the Huntington Gardens, they had their nests in the soil, the ate the roots, I thought the plants were goners, not so, we removed the dead leaves on top of the soil, and grew new plants from just the rhizomes. I did one hundred flats of these, we sold the beauties in May, that shows just how fast they come back. Yes, we did lose a few, but the rats and babies were safe from the Hawks, owls, and other animals of prey. Norma

Just because the leaves are still stiff doesn't mean that they are alive. When the leaves turn brown the leaves may be dead but what is called the roots under soil is not. It is holding water that is the reason they survive in Africa and many species can go without rain for 6 mo. if the elephants don't eat them first. Don't ever give up on them, if it is warm water and see what comes up, just take off all of the dead leaves on top of the soil then repot in clean new soil that has 10 organic matter in the mix and no more. Water when the soil dries out just like you do when you are baking a cake. Put down a chop stick 3/4 the way down leave for 5 min, take it out and see if it is damp. Norma

I don't wait until my plant is wrinkled, that is fine for Lithops, When you water make sure it reaches the root ball, not just the sides of the pot. Don't let water stand in the centers of rosettes. Water around the edges not next to the leaves where they enter the soil. Water thoroughly, when those feeders roots dry up because you didn't water well, guess what the leave will wrinklem and those roots will die. This time of the year is transitional for us here in Calif. San Fernando Valley which is very much like So West Coast Africa. Temperature about the same. Most San. do not grow there, they grow mostly in the East Coast Countries (deserts), I won't list them you can look at a map. Some grow under trees so to stay out of the sun, others in clumps of grass bushes, to protect themselves. Some like it dry, other wet and cool. So you need to study your species. I have next to no humidity except when it rains, I grow mostly in a green house to protect them from the cold, too much rain and sun. These are easy plants to grow, many species to choose from. One looks like a Agave, other pencils, others flat,round curved, mine are all different and don't look like 'Mother in Law's Tongue' she actually has a Latin name, she is responsible for many cultivars. Norma