Sansevieria - A Natural Air Purifier
Sansevieria (Mother In Laws Tongue) - A Natural Air Purifier
Sansevieria has a raft of common names that are descriptive of its looks. One of its most well known common names is Mother in Law's Tongue due to the leaves resembling a pointed tongue! (So it might not be an ideal gift for the Mother in Law!). It is also known as The Snake Plant, Snakes Tongue and Devil's Tongue. It is grown for its striking foliage and architectural looks, but is one of the easiest houseplants to grow, so it is ideal if you are new to growing plants indoors, are in student accommodation, are away a lot or just love succulent plants. However, what is less known are the health benefits of Sansevierias - it is one of the best houseplants you can have to remove harmful pollutants from the air.
Health Benefits of Sansevieria
Sansevieria are great air purifiers. NASA studies proved they removed a number of harmful pollutants from the air including benzene, formaldehyde, trichlorethylene, xylene and toluene. They clean the air at night so make a great plant for the bedroom removing harmful particles and removing carbon dioxide from the air. (Sansevieria biology operates differently from the majority of houseplants as normally plants remove carbon dioxide during the day). They are toxic if eaten so place them out of reach of children or animals if they are likely to try to ingest them.
Dr. Wolverton, the scientist behind the NASA study recommends at least two decent sized plants per 100 square feet. Although the more you have the better the result. You don't have to have loads of Sansevieria though as there are a number of houseplants that can purify the air. A list of the top 10 best air purifying plants can be found here.
How to Care for Sansevieria
There are a number of different varieties of Sansevieria available. They have sword like leaves that form clusters of dense rosettes. The most common variety is Sansevieria laurentii which has yellow edges to its leaves, as seen in the second and third pictures at the top of this page. Sansevieria need very little care in the home, the only thing likely to kill them is too much water!
Sansevieria like to be slightly pot bound, so don't repot them when you buy them or unless you have to. The plant should look a snug fit in its pot, with the foliage reaching the edge of the pot, so you can't see the soil. They will last in the same pot for years without you having to do anything, you only really need to repot them when the growth cracks the pot! They like a well drained soil so if you do pot them up into a bigger pot use a cacti and succulent compost.
Sansevieria are most happy at room temperatures, so 15 - 24 degrees is ideal. They are tolerant of a range of light conditions from bright light to shade. Water moderately from spring to autumn. Less is more with Sansevieria as they hold a lot of moisture in their leaves. Too much water is one of the few reasons that a Sansevieria will fail as the stems will rot. Don't water into the centre of the plant. In winter only water once or twice at most.
In terms of feeding they need very little. Feed once a year in spring or summer with a Cacti and Succulent fertiliser and if you forget one year they will be fine.
And that is all there is to it. Less is definitely more when caring for Sansevieria. Few houseplants are this easy to grow and give so much back.
