Question
snake plant
Hi Ms Melissa,
I found some brown spots on the leaves on my snake plant. While they can be scrapped off, soon they will reappear. Could they be scars arising from bona fide plant injuries? Also, I found the lower leaves to be quite palish. Is it due to lack of sunlight? I'm growing it under the normal fluorescent light at home.
AnswerDear Alfredo, If the spots are raised, then you have scale, which is an unmoving insect protected by a hard shell covering. To cure it you need to spray it with a light petroleum or mineral based oil (called dormant or summer oil, summer oil is lighter and I would use that one if available). You will have to spray it several times to clear off all the scale. If the spots are sunken, then it could be from old plant injuries (note: cats like to chew on them), or it could be from too much water. The light colored leaves on the bottom is pretty natural, but you can get them greener with more light. The base of the leaf will almost always stay light green however. I do think this is probably from scale, as it did seem like one or two spots in this photo definitely appear to be raised. One more note, sansievera leaves do tend to look a bit more ragged than other plants, especially the older leaves. Also, try to never repot them, because the blooms are incredible. I have never seen the smaller rosette snake plants in bloom, but the longer leafed ones can bloom like crazy. I used to have one that was so crowded that each year it would send up dozens of fragrant blooming spikes. Good luck, Melissa
