Recently, two keywords about snake plant and misting are becoming popular. There are many opinions around about whether or not to mist the snake plant. Should I mist my snake plant?
Misting is one of the methods to help maintain and balance moisture for plants for a temporary period. Many gardeners regularly apply mist to many plants to maintain moisture.
However, for the snake plant, a plant that likes to be dry and airy, misting can be an effective method. How to maintain the necessary moisture for this plant. All your questions will be in this article.
Should I Mist My Snake Plant? Is This Necessary?
The snake plant does not need misting to maintain moisture and stimulate its growth.
This plant has succulent leaves and a stiff stem resembling a cactus. Therefore, it prefers dryness and does not require high humidity. Misting a few times a day will increase humidity, which can lead to fungal diseases and leaf rot.
Snake plants will grow and develop best in humidity between 40 and 50%. The leaves of the snake plant are succulent, so it can store a lot of water in each cell and use it as needed.
If you regularly mist this plant, the humidity in the room will rise to about 60%, so the snake plant will take longer to transpire. The high humidity, the leaves are always wet, creating favorable conditions for the growth and development of fungi.
Spores from fungi and pests will multiply and attack the leaves causing the leaves to appear white spots, brown spots, and holes and turn yellow or brown. From there, the entire tree will be at risk of being attacked by fungi and insects when it is no longer able to prevent insects.
It is a fact that people often have a habit of misting most ornamental plants in the room or office. So the snake plant is also misted every day. However, you need to immediately stop misting these plants as they are very susceptible to root rot and fungal attack.
Misting cannot provide adequate moisture for snake plants. It only has a temporary cooling effect and helps to soothe the surface of the leaves when the humidity is too low. Watering is still an effective method to provide water and maintain leaf vitality.
What Humidity Is Ideal For Snake Plants?
For each plant species, the ideal humidity for growth and development is completely different. Many plants only grow during high or low humidity. This also depends on the evaporation capacity as well as the number of leaves of each plant.
The snake plant is native to hot, dry areas with little water, so an average humidity of 40% to 50% is the most ideal humidity for this plant. Snake plant only focuses on growing succulent leaves, so each leaf already contains a large amount of water.
If you maintain the humidity too high for a long time, the water droplets on the leaves due to misting will take a long time to dry and always make the surface of the leaves wet. Wet surfaces are easy to break down the cell structure and make the plant’s ability to resist pests and diseases weaker.
Maintaining a room temperature between 60 and 80 degrees F with an average humidity of 40% will be an ideal living condition for the snake plant. To determine the humidity in the room, you can use a hygrometer. You just need to put the hygrometer in the room, it will accurately display the humidity in your room.
However, the humidity between rooms in the house can also vary. Therefore, you need to check the actual humidity in the place where the snake plant is located.
What Are The Signs That A Snake Plant Needs More Moisture?
If the humidity is too low, the leaves will be affected first and give early warning signals. Too low humidity means that the snake plant also lacks water to maintain moisture for the leaves.
Some common phenomena are yellow or brown leaves, leaf edges turning brown, and leaves curling and curling. Leaves may also curl and wilt before falling. The reason is that the cells use up the stored water that is not supplied, leading to curling and shrinking to reduce the area of ​​​​water use.
So, any time you see your snake plant with yellow leaves, brown edges, and dry and curled edges, check the humidity in your room right away. When you find a plant that lacks moisture, you need to water it first, then mist it a few times to soothe the leaves and provide temporary moisture.
Read more: Can You Plant Two Snake Plants Together? (Basic Rules)
How To Maintain Ideal Humidity For Snake Plants?
Maintaining the ideal humidity for a snake plant is a simple matter. You just need to use a hygrometer to know the exact humidity in the room. From there, you can change the humidity to too high or low in the room.
Use a dehumidifier
If you live in an area with high humidity or constant rainy weather that results in high humidity in the air, you should use a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier will work to draw excess moisture out of your room and always maintain the ideal humidity between 40-50%.
Keep away from heat source
Heat sources such as fireplaces, stoves, vents, windows, or balcony areas are all factors that can affect the humidity in your room. You need to determine a location that is dry, airy and humidity always maintains a stable state in your home.
Place next to a small fish tank
A small aquarium in the room can be of great benefit in maintaining moisture for a snake plant. Small aquariums are like small lakes in nature, it has the effect of regulating the temperature and humidity of the surrounding area. Natural steam from a small aquarium will help maintain a steady moisture level for this plant.
Gather plants closer together
You have groups of indoor plants in a particular area. It will also help change the humidity in the room as each plant releases a small amount of moisture into the air. From there, it can reduce the situation of too low humidity for your room.
Using mini greenhouse
If you can’t find any ideal location that meets the criteria for a snake plant, you can use a mini greenhouse. Mini greenhouses with stable conditions of temperature, light, humidity, and air circulation will play an important role in the growth of this plant.
The Last Word
The snake plant is succulent and native to arid and water-deficient areas. Therefore, it can adapt to dry and open climates.
Misting is not an ideal method of maintaining moisture for this plant. In particular, if you mist too much, the surface of the leaves is wet, and fungi and insects will attack more easily.
Too much humidity makes evaporation difficult, fungi and insects easily attack because the leaves soften and lose the hard shell to protect. So you just need to maintain ideal humidity between 40% and 50% in your room.