Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
maryl_gw

Newbie asks a stupid question-have pity please

Wanting something with strong upright spikey variegated growth in my garden I settled on Sansevieria Lurentii a couple of years ago. I bring mine in over winter into a less then adequate lighting situation and they don't bat an eyelash. Now I see that there is a forum dedicated to this plant. As a Plantaholic what am I missing? Are there catalogs that have an array of different cultivars? Are all Mother in law tongues as easy to grow as mine? Your enthusiasm for this plant is welcomed.

Comments (10)

  • Cena
    19 years ago

    There was certainly nothing stupid about that question! Welcome, Maryl.

    You have to go over to the Gallery section and look at some of the awesome collections folks have posted there. A few internet sellers have great Sansevierias, but for the most part, there is no combined, concerted effort to market or appreciate these plants. You sorta fall into love with them the more you see the different varieties. Then you seek out sources for your 'addiction'.

    I found a great source in my local Cactus & Succulent Society. Which is where I buy most of mine. I started with a pup off of my grandmothers plant, and now I have sixteen different varieties.

    Nearly all of them are easy growers, the hahnii varieties being a bit trickier. You can see a great photo of a S. hahnii in the upper corner of the start page. These are also known as 'birdnest' types. They are smaller in stature and more sensitive to water than many other varieties.

    You can go to your local library and request they bring in a copy of B. Juan Chahanian's "The Sansevieria Trifasciata Varieties". Great color pictures. There is another wonderful book by Hermoine Stover, can't remember the name, nor do I own it. Its been out of print for awhile. Found a copy in my local C&S library and enjoyed checking it out for a month. I'm not sure if libraries do that anymore, but when I was a young girl in a small town, I could request that our local library bring in from bigger libraries, copies of books I wished to read. As long as I had the author and title, pretty soon a copy would be there for me to check out.

    Our discussion pages go back for 10 pages, with 30 posts per page. You can read all about questions, issues, and progress reports as well as see all the photos we've taken in the last year on the Gallery pages.

    This forum runs a little slow compared to other GW forums, but there are some awesomely knowlegeable people who stop in here. Welcome, make yourself at home, pull up a chair an pour a cuppa.

  • kniphofia
    19 years ago

    Welcome to the forum Maryl! As Cena says there's no such thing as a stupid question, and you're like most sans beginners who say 'you mean there are more varieties?'!

    These are wonderful, undemanding, unappreciated plants. We are always on the lookout for sources for them as not many people offer them.

    I hope you enjoy reading through the past posts and checking out the gallery.

  • ponion
    19 years ago

    Hi Mary, Welcome to this facinating variety of plants. If you scroll down a few posts to Downloading Hermine's Book, you will find a wealth of info on the various varities. I too am a lover of sans.
    Gwen

  • Maryl (Okla. Zone 7a)
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    Thank you all for your generosity in welcoming me. I will certainly take the time to look at all the wealth of information stored on this forum. My "passion" is primarily directed towards roses, so imagine my surprise and delight when such an undemanding plant took to me and I to it. Thanks Cena for telling me about the books. I'm a bookworm, so may try and buy the one you say has so many pictures in it.....Maryl

  • palmfan
    19 years ago

    I, too, love Sans plants!I carried a leaf of a 'Hahni' from Indonesia many years ago, and still have its offspring! Its "offspring" arose as a tiny pup on the side of a dried up leaf. I almost chucked the tiny, shriveled pup, but put it in water instead, and it was firm the next day. It is now a lovely plant with two growing heads. I am hooked on these plants! I discovered that they really look their best with bright light, but tolerate low light for years! Happy growing!

  • tisha_
    19 years ago

    Hey! A fellow Okie! :-) Welcome to GardenWeb!

  • ginamarina
    19 years ago

    I don't feel so alone now! My Mom is addicted to snake plants. The problem is that she has only two varieties that I can see - and LOTS of them! I'd like to find her something different, more exotic, so to speak. Otherwise she loves just getting *more* =) Sans are dangerous when someone learns that you can cultivate 25 little plants by cutting up one leaf! =)

    She prefers the kind that aren't the birdsnest varieties. We all have those too, but she likes the big tall ones that surround the living room, some held steady with tomato cages. Could anyone tell me some other varieties?

    She has what I consider the "basic" one, green leaves, slightly variegated colors of green, in Home Depot and Walmart... And the one with the pale yellow-green edges that seems to be fairly common to see in the stores. I don't know that she has any other type, unless there are just subtle differences between them.

    When she joked that she'd like a snake plant for her birthday, I thought I could maybe find a treasure. Any help would be wonderful!

    Gina

  • dufflebag2002
    19 years ago

    Welcome to the forum MaryL I strarted off with a cutting of a round type Sans. cylindrica v. patula and ended with about 190 plants which included all of my variegated varieties, hybrids, cultivars,
    Synom. plants, there are many hybrids. Mail ordering them in is quiet expenseive due to handling and mailing costs.
    Ebay is ridiculas, and you never know what you are going to get. Join a club, would be glad to look up in my club index and see it there is one in Okla.

  • Maryl (Okla. Zone 7a)
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Someone posted a picture of Sanseveria T. Moonshine and I fell in love this winter. Those silver green leaves really appealed to me. Cena tried to help me out, but it was just too cold to ship at that time of the year. Low and behold about 2 weeks ago I bumbled into about 4 large pots for sale at ACE hardware in Broken Arrow. I can't tell you how happy I am to have one pot. Teaches you to keep a sharp eye out in spring no matter where you are or how trivial you imagine their selection to be.

  • biwako_of_abi
    18 years ago

    Welcome, Maryl, and since you are a bookworm, as many of us are, you might also enjoy GW's Reader's Paradise forum.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Readers' Paradise forum

Sponsored
Daniel Russo Home
Average rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars13 Reviews
Premier Interior Design Team Transforming Spaces in Franklin County