I've had these snake plants (Sansevieria Trifasciata 'Laurentii') for around half a year now, and hadn't had any issues with them until recently.
A few weeks ago I decided to repot them even though I didn't really need to. I was just worried that the soil mixture they were in wasn't well-draining enough because whenever I watered them it took a long time to leak out of the bottom, so I put them in a new potting soil/perlite mixture. When I was repotting them I noticed the roots looked fine and I wondered if there was any point to what I was doing.
Anyway, a week or so after repotting I noticed the leaf in the front of the picture looked really coiled up, twisted and weak, and it wobbled when I touched it. I thought it might just need some time to develop roots, and since then it seems to have developed a better grip on the soil and is a lot stiffer to the touch, but it looks even more twisted, and weak than before.
I looked up what it might be and found out about thrips, and then I noticed the other leaf to the far left looks pretty twisted as well, I just didn't think it was a problem up until now.
Is this thrips, root rot, or something else? Is there any chance I can still save the front-most leaf?
Need help identifying problem with snake plant
With the soil draining better you'll need to water more often.. Root rot is accompianed by a very foul smelling soil, mushy roots and sometimes mushy stalks, so I doubt that is your problem.
Your plants may just be thirsty
Hey, thanks for the advice.
You're right, it can't be root rot then.
But I don't know the leaf is thirsty, I watered the plants recently and all the other leaves in the same conditions don't seem that bad.
Is it normal for snake plant leaves to start wilting by coiling up first? It makes sense to do that, I've just never seen it happen before.
And it's the twisting that's really bothering me. The base of the leaf is looking one way and the top is twisted 90 degrees in another direction.
That sounds like it could be thrips, are your leaves still smooth? If they have rough patches it is thrips and you'll need to remove all of the infected leaves and keep the others clean by wiping them thouroughly down with cotton balls and water. Don't worry too much about having to remove leaves, it's their growing season so you'll have new off shoots popping up in no time.
And yes, even though they are drought tolerant and prefer dryer soil, in nature their roots would grow underground to reach water. In a pot however they don't have that option. My mother in law's tongue (sanseviera) starts to curl up in protest if I wait to water her for a few days longer than normal.
Thanks
I'm checking for rough patches but both the inside and outside of the curled up leaf seem pretty smooth.
One of the larger leaves which is the most twisted has some small brown scratches in one area, but that's about it.
I don't see anything abnormal about your plant from the pic above. When you repotted, were all of the leaves connected at the base?
Hey, sorry about the late reply.
No they weren't, because I picked the leaves a long time ago from another pot I bought online which arrived with a lot of the leaves damaged and broken. They were all planted separately, so they were only connected to each other by their roots really.
I'd bet long that it's related to over-watering and/or an excessively water-retentive soil.
Al
Post a Reply to this Thread
More Beginner Gardening Threads
-
Curling leaves, stunted growth of Impatiens
started by DeniseCT
last post by DeniseCTJan 26, 20261Jan 26, 2026 -
White fuzzy stems
started by joelcoqui
last post by joelcoquiJan 29, 20263Jan 29, 2026 -
What is this alien growth in my bed
started by joelcoqui
last post by joelcoquiOct 15, 20254Oct 15, 2025 -
Jobe\'s Fertilizer Spikes
started by Wally12
last post by Wally12Apr 02, 20262Apr 02, 2026 -
citrus reticulata tangerine somewhat hardy
started by drakekoefoed
last post by drakekoefoedApr 01, 20261Apr 01, 2026
