A note on names: In scientific circles, Snake Plants are now considered part of the Dracaena genus, and the name Sansevieria has been retired. However, many people still know these plants by their former name, so we’ll sometimes refer to them as Sansevierias. We have an article on the subject here.
Healthy Snake Plant leaves should feel firm and springy under your fingers. If they’re turning mushy, oozing liquid, and sagging over, you have a serious problem on your hands. You’ll need to take drastic action to save your plant, and the exact fix will depend on what caused it. We’ll review the most common reasons why Snake Plants turn soggy.
The most likely explanation is that the soil in your Snake Plant’s pot is too wet. This causes root rot, a vicious disease that can slither up to the leaves and turn the whole plant to mush. It could also be a fungal infection that you carried into your house from another plant. Temperature shock from a drafty or scorching environment is another possibility.
You’ll need to get rid of the rotten tissue, or the disease can keep spreading through your Snake Plant. Cut off all the squishy portions of the leaves using a sanitized blade. You may need to discard most of your Sansevieria’s foliage if the infection is severe enough. See below for our list of the 4 main reasons why Snake Plants go limp.
Reason 1: You’re Watering Too Often
Soggy soil makes for soggy plants. When you give your Snake Plant water faster than it can soak it up, the pot never dries out. That creates an excellent environment for fungi and bacteria. They’ll multiply like crazy, moving into the roots and eventually into the leaves.
That’s when soft spots will start to appear in your Snake Plant’s foliage. These mushy areas usually turn yellow at first, then brown. They’ll show up on the lower parts of the plant and spread upward. This can cause the leaves to flop over because they’re too flabby at the base to stay upright.
Succulents like Sansevierias are easy to overwater because they don’t need hydration very often. That’s why it’s best to avoid watering them on a fixed schedule. Instead, test the upper 2-3 inches of the soil every 5-7 days with your finger, watering if it feels dry.
Of course, by the time your Snake Plant is turning spongy, changing up your watering habits won’t be enough to save it. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Uproot your plant and clean off all the soil.
- Wipe down a set of pruning scissors with rubbing alcohol or a mix of 1 part bleach and 9 parts water. Repeat this process before every cut you make.
- Snip off all the roots that feel slimy, smell nasty, or look black, brown, or gray.
- Cut off all the leaves with soft spots. You can’t show mercy here; if it’s even a little suspicious, remove it.
- Dunk the roots in a mix of 1 part water and 3 parts hydrogen peroxide.
- Put your Snake Plant in a clean, disinfected pot with all-new potting soil.
This will be stressful for your plant, but it’s the only way to save it. Take extra care not to overwater it for the next month or two after you replant it. You should also keep it out of direct sunlight during this time.
To learn the proper way to water your Snake Plant and prevent root rot in the future, read Snake Plant Watering 101: When, How, and How Much to Water Your Plant.
Reason 2: The Soil is Too Dense
Even if you’re careful about watering your Snake Plant, your soil can sometimes betray you. Some potting mixes trap way too much water for a Sansevieria. They take so long to dry out that they give your plant root rot despite your best intentions.
When you’re choosing soil for your Snake Plant, steer clear of:
- Anything that looks like garden soil
- Mixes containing more than 50% peat moss, coconut coir, or any other spongy plant matter
- Soils with lots of fine particles like vermiculite
Pay attention to how long your Snake Plant’s pot stays damp after you water it. If it takes more than 4-5 days to dry out, that’s probably why your plant is melting.
To save your Sansevieria, follow the steps described in the previous section – but when you replant it, make sure to use the right kind of soil. If you’re buying off the shelf, pick a rocky succulent mix. For a homemade blend, try this recipe:
- 40% coarse perlite (rinse it first)
- 30% coconut coir
- 20% conifer bark chips (sold as an orchid potting medium)
- 10% worm castings
Read more about the best soil mixtures for healthy Snake Plants here: What Soil Is Best for Snake Plants?
Reason 3: Fungal Infection
Root rot isn’t the only way your plant can catch an infection that starts turning it to goop. Fungi or bacteria could have infiltrated its leaves through other avenues. For example:
- You brought home an infected plant without realizing it (the most common scenario)
- Microbes from the soil or other plants hitched a ride on your hands
- Spores drifted in through an open window
- Pests like spider mites or aphids carried the disease
- You forgot to sanitize your trimmers before pruning your Snake Plant
- You planted your Sansevieria in soil that wasn’t sterilized
Fungal and bacterial diseases often produce round, wet spots of black or brown tissue. There may be a bigger ring of yellow surrounding them. These infected spots can expand and bleed together until they devour most of your plant.
Humidity and moisture ramp up the spread of these diseases. That’s why we don’t recommend misting a Snake Plant, which can sometimes leave beads of moisture on the leaves. And when you water it, don’t leave liquid pooled in the cupped areas in the middle of its foliage.
But how do you correct an infection that’s already in progress? The first step is always to cut away the infected tissue. As we stressed earlier, you should disinfect your tools before and after each cut.
You may also want to treat your Snake Plant with a fungicide in case any spores have spread but not yet sprouted. Spray the foliage down with a copper-based or sulfur-based formula. For a homemade antifungal spray, you can stir 4 teaspoons of baking soda into a gallon of water. A few drops of gentle liquid soap can help too.
Watch out for threadlike white growths in the soil. This means that your plant has Southern Blight. In that case, pruning and treating the foliage won’t be enough. You’ll also need to clean the roots and completely replace the potting mix as you would in a case of root rot.
Reason 4: Temperature Shock
One reason Snake Plants make great roommates is that they won’t argue with you about the thermostat. Their ideal temperature range is about the same as ours: between 65 and 85 degrees.
The difference is that we don’t start turning to mush if we spend a couple of hours outside our comfort zone. Your Snake Plant might. In environments below 55 degrees or above 90, its cells may begin to die of temperature shock. This creates patches of soft, rotting tissue inside the leaves.
The danger is worse when you thrust your plant into a different temperature all at once. Snake Plants can get used to hotter or colder environments little by little. But sudden changes tend to shock their systems.
If you’re moving your plant to a warmer or cooler area, start it off with an hour or two a day in the new spot. Then gradually increase its exposure.
Watch out for areas where the temperature tends to fluctuate. You might put a Snake Plant there without realizing it’s going to be a lot hotter or colder in a few hours. Examples include:
- Drafty rooms
- Spots near exterior doors
- South-facing or west-facing window sills that get very hot in the afternoon
- Underneath heating vents
- In front of air conditioning units
- Next to fireplaces
Once again, you’ll need to cut out all soft spots from your Snake Plant to keep the rot from spreading. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about killing fungus spores or changing the soil. Once you prune your Snake Plant and get it out of the heat or cold, it should make a full recovery.
Can You Save Your Snake Plant?
A Snake Plant turning squishy and going limp is never a good sign. Sometimes, it points to an infection so advanced that there’s not much hope for the plant. The advice we’ve provided will give you the best possible chance of rescuing it. But you should prepare for the possibility that you’ll need to cut your losses.
However, even if your plant is doomed, its offspring may be able to live on. Sansevierias can clone themselves from small portions of their leaves and roots. If you can salvage some undamaged tissue before you discard your plant, you might be able to regrow it.
There are two methods you can use:
Method 1: Leaf Cuttings
This is the easiest way to propagate a Snake Plant. You just need a few inches of healthy leaf tissue, enough that the cutting can stand up in the soil.
Snip off the parts of the leaf that are still undamaged and let them sit out overnight so that the cuts can seal up. Then plant the leaf in a small pot filled with coarse, well-aerated soil. Place it someplace where it won’t sit in direct sunlight but will get plenty of bright, indirect light. Be sparing with the watering can as you wait for it to grow.
At first, it will seem like not much is happening. But after a month or two, you should see new leaves poking up from the bottom of the cutting. In time, you’ll have a thriving young Snake Plant.
Keep in mind that the new leaves may not have the same variegation as the parent plant. Cultivars like Laurentii or Black Gold lose their distinctive yellow stripes when you regrow them from cuttings.
Method 2: Root Division
Snake Plant roots extend new clusters of foliage from root extensions called rhizomes. (Gardeners often call these new sprouts “pups.”) Do you have a shoot that’s untouched by whatever’s ravaging the rest of the plant? If so, you can cut it off and transplant it.
The technique is the same as taking a cutting, except that you slice through the rhizome instead of the leaf. Try to get as much healthy root mass as you can. Then repot it and care for it as we outlined in Method 1.
Since your new Snake Plant already has a bit of root structure, you won’t have to wait quite as long to see growth. And unlike leaf cuttings, this approach preserves the patterning of the original plant.
Final Thoughts
No matter what’s turning your Snake Plant soft, you’ll need to make some cuts. You have to act decisively and sacrifice the mushy bits to preserve the parts that are still strong. We hope our guide helps you save your Sansevieria and keep it healthy for years to come.