Snake plant in trouble

Ive had this snake plant around 6 months now. I know it likes to be a bit neglected, but I have a tendency to overwater. I've been very diligent about NOT doing that. It was doing great, but ow has these brown leaves and white spots. They look like a mold or dust, but they don't wipe off. This plant is in an East facing window.
Thank you

I have a photo, will post wheni can figure out how.....

If you are posting from a computer (as opposed to an iPad, iPhone, etc) and you have the picture saved on your hard drive, all you need to do is go right under the box where you type your post and you'll see a spot to choose a picture to upload. Click on that, then navigate to wherever you have the picture saved on your computer (most likely the "My Pictures" folder unless you've purposely saved it elsewhere).

I think we will need to see a picture to figure out what's going on. Brown leaves could be caused by a million different things...overwatering, underwatering, fertilizer burn, salt buildup in the soil, sunburn, insect damage, etc. The white spots could just be hard water buildup on the leaves, or it could be something more serious.

Hi.

Just a quick question here: Is the plant's pot sitting in a saucer where it sits in water for days on end until you water sparingly again? That is even worse than overwatering.

Just trying to help.
Sylvain.

So here are the photos. The first one shows the plant is in a pot/saucer that is all one piece. It also shows the brown leaves with the white spots. The second picture also shows the white spots, on leaves that are so far still green. The third picture is of green leaves with cracks or splits in them.

Can you look at the spots with a magnifying glass? The first photo makes me think, fungus but the second photo looks more like insect eggs.

Mealie bugs maybe?

I have insecticidal soap. Should I try that? Could they spread to my other houseplants?

I would cut away all the dead parts, repot in new soil and definitely keep it away from your other plants. I dont know if the soap will help, others will be able to tell you about that. Good Luck
Christine

Should I go with a bigger pot while I'm at it, or do they prefer root bound?

I replanted in a bigger pot with brand new potting soil. I even ran under water and gently removed all the old soil I could between the roots. I cut off the dead parts. The pot is bigger, but if it lives I figure it will get itself snug again in time. Still curious about insecticidal soap. Also moved out of the window but still in a bright room, sideways of east sun.

I'm curious too !!!

Mealies can definitely spread, so if you have other plants nearby I'd inspect them closely to see if they're on them too, always better to catch things early. I'm not sure if insecticidal soap is the best thing for killing them--check the label and see if it lists them. My solution for mealies is to take a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and rub them off that way, that always seems to work. Make sure you check back regularly though to make sure you got them all.

As far as watering, if the new pot is like the old one and has a saucer underneath, make sure you empty the excess water in the saucer promptly after watering, otherwise the plant will have permanent wet feet which it won't like (and that'll kill it a lot faster than mealybugs will). The good news is your plant doesn't look like it's on the brink of death or anything right now so if you take care of the bugs and watch your watering it should get healthy again.

That's really great news ecrane3, thank you. I had never known about emptying saucers before. I'll definitely start doing that with all of them except my African Violet. I've heard they like that, since I don't have that special kind of pot. And I'll check the rest.

I would probably empty the saucer of your African Violets too. If you're using the saucer to bottom water them it's OK to leave it there for a little time so the plant can absorb the water, but I would never leave any plant sitting in a saucer of water for an extended period of time (unless it's a pond/bog plant, those are a different case).

I would put it outside for the summer. This plant can handle a lot of sun.

If you do decide to put it outside make sure you do it gradually otherwise it will fry on the first day. Personally I dont put my house plants out anymore, they get too many bugs outside that they bring inside in the fall.
Christine

Many houseplants can and will burn if suddenly thrust into some sun, but not this one. KG's plant is getting such a small amount of light, the variegation is completely faded. The plant I pictured grew those new babies after being put into some sun. If you want your Sans to actually grow, it can and will. The twin of this plant is in a 5-gallon bucket because it is growing so fast, and made a flower earlier this year. All of my plants go outside for the summer and the only times I've had problems with pests is when plants are inside.

KG, forgot to commend you for your repotting technique described above. The only thing I would add is trimming the roots a bit. Be sure to let it get dry before watering again.

I bottom water my African Violet, and there's never been any water left standing. I do check back to make sure. Thank you all so much for your help!