Sansevieria Fernwood: 20 Care Tips You Should Know

Sansevieria Fernwood is a hardy and easy-to-care-for plant that will bring vigor and color to your living space! With a distinct appearance and feel, this plant is a must-have for indoor gardeners.

This post will go through the care requirements in detail to help you confidently raise your Sansevieria Fernwood.

We will also provide various options for you to buy one for yourself. Read on to find out more about this Dracaena’s interesting attributes.

What Is Sansevieria Fernwood?

The Sansevieria Fernwood is sometimes known as Fernwood Snake Plant, Mother-in-law’s Tongue, and Dracaena Fernwood. It is a hardy plant famous for its unique stem with a striped pattern.

Belonging to the Asparagaceae family, this perennial with cylindrical leaves and colors that are light and dark green and yellow and white sometimes. Its leaves form from one base, known as the plant body, and grow vertically to its max height. 

Indoors, it appreciates dry conditions near an east or west-facing window.

You may also grow your Sansevieria Fernwood outdoors if you are living in hardiness zones 9-11.

Origin And Family

This Dracaena plant was hybridized by Rogers Weld in a nursery in California. It is a hybrid of Sansevieria Parva and Sansevieria Suffruticosa. Sansevieria plants are native to the plains of Africa, Madagascar, Southern Asia, and America.

Fernwood Snake Plant has been reclassified from Sansevieria to the genus Dracaena in the Asparagaceae family.

Where To Buy

Are you looking to buy a Sansevieria Fernwood? You can find it at a nursery or a home improvement store for very affordable prices.

When shopping for houseplants online, we recommend Etsy– a reliable marketplace where most of our plants came from!

The pricing of Sansevieria Fernwood ranges from $20 for small cuttings to $30 for larger or more mature plants.

Sansevieria Fernwood Plant Size

When grown indoors, the Sansevieria Fernwood grows from 2-6 feet tall. Usually, sansevierias grow at a slow rate and thrive near an east or west-facing window.

Sansevieria Fernwood Care Needs

Your Sansevieria Fernwood will thrive beautifully when it’s properly cared for. It likes to grow in dry soil and bright indirect light.

Mostly, you’ll want to water your Dracaena when the top two inches of the soil are dry. Heavily drench the soil until you see water seeping out from the bottom of the pot. As a dry condition-loving plant, it will be in its best health when provided abundantly with this requirement.

We’re making it easier for you to care for your Sansevieria Fernwood with the extensive list of tips below.

Care Difficulty

In terms of care difficulty, the Mother-in-law’s Tongue is easy-to-care-for. One of the topmost concerns for this beautiful plant is well-draining soil and the amount of light.

Growth Rate

The Dracaena Fernwood grows to a mature height of 2-6 ft as an indoor houseplant. You will also notice faster and bushier growth in the spring and summer.

Based on studies, most Dracaena species, including the Fernwood, grow slowly.

My sansevieria fernwood is flowering for the first time. 🥺 pic.twitter.com/AF9koK2lvS

— 🔪 wolf wearing wolf pants 🗡 (@weirddoggies) February 28, 2022

Potting

In terms of potting and the size of the plant, we recommend using a large-sized terracotta pot or clay pot as it tends to get top-heavy. The important consideration is for your pot to have at least one drainage hole. Fernwood Snake Plant does not like sitting in water. Otherwise, it may succumb to root rot. Damp or soggy soil is a big no-no for this plant.

Repotting

As your plant grows, you might consider changing from your current pot container to a bigger pot on an as-needed basis. Typically, the need to repot occurs every 2-3 years because this plant grows at a slow pace.

When repotting, you can use a new batch of cacti and citrus potting soil, the ideal growing medium for this water-retaining plant.

Soil

The Mother-in-law’s Tongue is an easy-to-care-for plant that needs cacti and citrus potting soil to stay healthy. If you plan to prepare a DIY potting mix, we recommend that you add in some gravel, sand, pumice, and perlite.

Your Dracaena will appreciate the soil being kept dry at all times. Furthermore, drainage and aeration are important requirements for all soil types.

Here are some potting mixes we recommend:

pH

For this Dracaena Fernwood, you’ll need a soil pH of around 6.0-7.5, which is alkaline to neutral. You can buy a pH meter device online to check your soil condition for newbies who are worried about pH.

For high pH, you can add sulfur or aluminum sulfate to improve the acidity level of your plant.

On the other hand, you can add calcitic or dolomitic lime, baking soda, or wood ash to your soil for too low a pH level.

Water

Snake Plants are drought-tolerant and have very little water requirements. Therefore, your Fernwood Snake Plant will want the soil to stay dry between your designated watering schedules. You can feel the soil with your finger and check and see when the top 2 inches of the soil are dry. If this is the case, thoroughly drench it until excess water seeps out from the bottom of the pot.

Overwatering is one of the most common reasons why your plant dies. This has never been more true for this tough plant. Almost indestructible, the only thing that can kill this plant is too much water. When in doubt, it’s usually preferable to underwater than overwatering Fernwood Snake Plant. Use a pot with drainage holes and well-draining soil to make sure that your plant’s roots aren’t getting drowned.

Light

This variety of the Snake Plant is a well-adapting plant that can survive in practically all lighting situations. From full sun to very low light, the Sansevieria Fernwood can adjust accordingly. However, it is most recommended to place it under for 6-8 hours per day in bright indirect sunlight. Keep in mind that you’re trying to recreate its growing conditions in the plains of Africa, Madagascar, South Asia, and America. As plant enthusiasts, we’ve noticed that placing this plant near an east or west-facing window works well.

You’ll know your Sansevieria Fernwood is getting too much light when its leaves are scorched. However, if it doesn’t get enough light, its leaves may droop.

It is not as choosy when it comes to what kind of light it is exposed to. It can even thrive under artificial light. However, avoid putting your Sansevieria Fernwood in direct sunlight, as this could severely damage or even kill it.

Fertilizer

The Mother-in-law’s Tongue’s growing season is in the summer and spring. During this period, fertilize your plant once a month using a general-purpose fertilizer.

In the colder temperature and seasons, when this plant’s development naturally slows, you don’t need to fertilize.

Propagating Sansevieria Fernwood

There are different ways to propagate a Sansevieria Fernwood. For higher chances of success, follow the steps we’ve laid out below for each unique method.

Become to be a #planttito #sansevieriafernwood pic.twitter.com/7vtBGYtreP

— Mr. M (@siMARTINako) July 15, 2020

Division

The process called division is used to propagate Dracaena Fernwood. While this method is used for plants with rhizomes, tubers, bulbs, stolons, and suckers, it can also be used for any houseplants that grow in clumps with stems.

1. Dig up. First, wear gardening gloves in doing this. Next is to take the plant out of its pot. 

2. Separate. You should see where the roots and stems are separated. Gently pull them apart with your fingers. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the roots where the sections connect.

3. Repot. Like the usual repotting, put each section in new pots filled with the same soil they’re used to.

Humidity And Aeration

Sansevieria Fernwood plants are popular perennials that love moderate humidity. Keeping the air humidity levels around 40%-60% will give you the best result.

Aside from water in the roots, your Fernwood plant will also need nourishment from the moisture in the air it breathes. You can keep bowls of water to evaporate or invest in a humidifier that is more consistent in improving humidity for your plant.

Temperature

This popular houseplant will do best in a warm location. The ideal temperature range is between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Houseplants are sensitive to drastic shifts in temperature, so make sure you keep your Dracaena Fernwood away from heat sources and other appliances. In the same way, don’t place your plant in chilly drafts and avoid frost spells during the winter.

Flowers

In a rare occurrence, Fernwood Snake Plant might produce flowers that are insignificant and white. Outdoors, this plant blooms most summers.

Toxic

Keep an eye out if you have small children or animals. The Mother-in-law’s Tongue is dangerous to both pets, such as cats and dogs, and people. The following symptoms can be expected if ingested: nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal issues. However, this plant is considered non-life-threatening.

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Pests, Diseases, And Other Problems

Even with expert care, things can go wrong from time to time. Pests and diseases are inevitable and are part of gardening. As a whole, the Sansevieria Fernwood is a disease and pest-resistant plant.

Deep dive in the following sections for hacks on diagnosing common problems and discover ways you can help your plant return to a healthy condition.

Spider Mites

Unfortunately, spider mite infestations are widespread, and Dracaena Fernwood is particularly vulnerable. You will notice the spider mite damage in the plant’s leaves with tiny yellow or brown patches. If it gets worse, you might also see fine silk webbing.

You can begin by spraying Dracaena Fernwood with water from a sink nozzle or a pressure sprayer. It generally dislodges the spider mites from the plant. In addition, you can use organic pyrethrin spray if the first method won’t work.

Looking for more organic tips? Releasing ladybugs in your indoor garden helps to reduce the spider mite population. In addition, there’s also a beetle known as the “Spider Mite Destroyer,” which may be difficult to acquire, but hey, the name speaks for itself!

Mealybugs

Mealybugs have the potential to infest your Dracaena Fernwood. These parasites are bad because they damage and absorb your plant’s nutrients. In addition, mealybugs have the potential to kill your Dracaena Fernwood.

Rubbing alcohol is your number one weapon against mealybugs. It will kill mealybugs on contact and turn them into a translucent brown color. Dilute the alcohol in water and spray directly on the pesky critters.

Brown Leaf Tips

There will be brown leaf tips on your Fernwood Snake Plant. Usually, your plant is underwatered or is quickly losing moisture. This moisture comes from its leaves through the transpiration process.

Water your sansevieria Fernwood as soon as the topsoil dries out or improve the humidity levels in your indoor growing space.

Another indication of the plant root issue is the brown leaf tips. Therefore, always make sure your plant has a breathable, well-draining growing medium.

My Sansevieria Fernwood has bloomed again!! pic.twitter.com/2zeDLYSzaV

— StarfishSLG (@StarfishSLG) May 24, 2021

Drooping Leaves

Mealybugs and other pests that infest the Sansevieria Fernwood can cause leaves to droop. The problem can also be caused by lack of humidity, sometimes underwatering, and lack of nutrients.

Yellow Leaves

Yellowing leaves on Mother-in-law’s Tongue can be caused by lack of light, too much light, overwatering, underwatering, nutrient deficiency, overfertilization, recent disruption of the roots, changes in temperature, and humidity, presence of pests, and many others.

If you’re confused, don’t worry! Gardening requires trial and error to figure out the ideal conditions for your plants, and even master gardeners are learning new things every day.

It is usually encouraged to prune off yellowing leaves so the plant won’t waste its energy trying to “save” the leaf instead of supplying nutrients to new leaves.

Root Rot

Root rot is a common killer of Dracaena Fernwood. The rotting starts at the roots and quickly spreads to the stem and foliage. Remember, you should only use water when the top two inches of the soil are dry.

Another cause of root rot is poor drainage in the soil. This hardy plant requires cacti and citrus potting soil that stays dry.

Other things you can do to avoid root rot include: drilling holes at the bottom of your pot, choosing high-porosity materials such as terracotta and unglazed ceramic planters, and lengthening the gap between watering schedules.

Similar Plants

Love Fernwood Snake Plant? Here are some other resilient plants you should try:

Sansevieria Zeylanica: – Sturdy and hardy and can withstand a surprising amount of neglect. This plant is most loved by many as it’s very easy to care for, you can forget about it, and it will still thrive.

Sansevieria Whale Fin: – As the name implies, the leaves of this plant are paddle-like and resemble, you guessed it, a whale’s fin. Its unique appearance is cute, though, and it’s something that you want to showcase when you’re showing off your plant collection.{{Sansevieria Sayuri}}: – One of the most versatile plants in this genus. It can tolerate low-light situations where most other plants can’t survive. Furthermore, it is one of the most highly-adaptive plants; it’s almost impossible to kill.

Conclusion

With its unique stem with tiger stripes pattern, the Sansevieria Fernwood is an excellent choice to grow as an indoor plant.

It’s easy to care for. It loves bright indirect light, moderate humidity, warm temps, and dry soil.

Use these incredible tips to grow your own Sansevieria Fernwood if you’re looking for a new addition to your collection or just getting started on indoor gardening.

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