Houseplant collector reveals the 'secret to success' for propagating snake plants

One of the best things about indoor plants – and plants in general – is that you can grow numerous plants from one that you already own.

But like caring for your plants, propagation can take some trial and error to get right, as plant enthusiast Krystal has found.

The houseplant collector shared her "secrets to success" for propagating snake plants in a video on her TikTok channel, which she admits took four years to perfect.

Watch the video above.

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In the video Krystal reveals that the key is to use different mediums for different parts of the snake plant.

"You know the secret to propagating houseplants? Yes, top cuttings did great in water, middle and bottom cuttings not so much," the text on her video read.

A top cutting usually involves cutting into the leaf by making an upside-down 'V' at the into the middle of the leaf.

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Middle and bottom cuttings meanwhile are just a couple of inches taken from those parts of the leaf, and also cut by making a pointed tip, like an arrowhead.

Instead of placing middle and bottom cuttings in a cup or jar with some water, Krystal tried growing these in a dish filled with perlite. After three months, the snake plant cuttings had grown sufficient roots to be planted in potting mix.

"After cutting I let all tips dry overnight. They calloused and then I put top cuttings in a container of just water and kept it filled just enough to cover the cut line. I changed water weekly or just topped off the water if water was still looking clear," she explained in the video caption.

"Ones in perlite, I kept perlite damp at all times. All stayed near a window and voila, roots! I potted them all up once they had roots a few inches long."

Snake plants, which are also called Sanseverias and mother in law's tongue, are an easy plant for beginners to grow as they don't require watering often and like to dry out fully between watering.

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If propagating via cuttings isn't your thing, you can also grow more snake plants by dividing the one you have.

This is done by removing the entire plant from the pot and dividing using scissors or shears.

Then after giving the cut time to callous over, simply plant each piece into a pot.