Potting a Snake Plant While My Dog Has a Pool Party

We doing a swim? Yeah, I mean it. Let's go swim. It's a good day for swimming. Hey, what's up, garden friends? Jeff here. How's everybody doing? Hope you're doing well. I'm great. It's a lovely day in the garden. I picked up a new plant and it needs a new pot. That's not gonna work. I just left this sitting in the sun. I'm very smart. Look at this Sansevieria. Isn't that just a beautiful plant? It's a stunner. Very nice. This was $12.99 from Sam's Club. What a good deal. I don't always talk about the prices because usually I only buy a plant if it's already a really great, phenomenal price and I get so excited about a good deal. Were you waiting for me to get more permission? You were just in there. Go on, go swim. You can do it. Can you jump? Yeah, nice jump. He's having a good time. Anyways, great deal. Awesome plant. I love Sansevierias, which we are now calling Dracaenas because, well, that's what they've been reclassified as. I'm gonna call it Sansevieria. That's what they're calling it too. It just says super durable. That's all. Doesn't really say anything about the type. I think it's that, what is it? It's a Trifasciata Moonlight, which is one that I typically only would see in a smaller, like, such-and-container something like that. And it'd be, you know, like $12.99 to 30 bucks, just depending on where it was from and how big it was. So that's it. Just a brag on a good deal. I need to put this into a mix. That's not just gonna kill it. It's not gonna live in that. What do they have to say about it? Bright, tolerates low light. That's true. Keep it above 50. Sure, really keep it above freezing. And if it's below 65, be very careful about watering it. They don't like wet roots period, especially in cooler temperatures. Every two weeks for watering, uh, yeah. That's probably fine, as long as it doesn't sit in the water and it's getting plenty of light. If it's in low light, I'd say like once a month. Not a lot of detail there. I do like that it does say bright and then tolerates low light instead of just saying, oh, this is a plant for low light. People don't always know what that means. Sometimes something says low light and they think it means you can like shove it in a closet or a bathroom with no windows or any light source at all. And now if there was a plant you could get away with that, that's probably gonna be one of your Trifasciata types of sansevierias, the fernwoods. Fernwood micado is also one that can usually tolerate that just fine. For a very long time, I had a sansevieria fall behind my plant shelves. Once, this was a few years ago. And I couldn't find it. I thought a squirrel had come in and just run away with it. So I keep my plants in my garage. And there's doors open, squirrels run in and out with all the plants and everything. You know, stuff happens. Well, I found it a year later on the ground and it looked pretty much fine. Not perfect, but it looked pretty okay. You need permission again? You can do it. Go on, go jump. Do your thing. I'm not going with you. Oh, we're getting wet now. You shake off. There we go. That's good. Good shake off. You shake off so you can get back in. That's what I thought. Pardon the ADD, but that's just what happens when we're outside having fun with the dog. With the dog and the plants, I have that sansevieria right here. So this is a few years later, but you know, it was fine. Spent a year, no light, laying on the ground of the garage, no water. And it even flowered for me this year. Really tough. Okay, there he goes. Back at it again. It's a great day to be a turbo. So anyways, for this plant to have its best shot at a long life, I want to get it out of this mix that's in right here. These ones that come from the big box stores, they tend to be in a cocoa mix, coconut, which is fine if you're growing them in a really warm environment, like, you know, in a greenhouse. Not ideal for growing indoors. So it just holds onto moisture for way too long. That's not to say that you couldn't keep it in this mix. I've kept them in these mixes on 20 vacations. The plant was okay. They just had to remember to really, really, really watch out for watering. That's what does them in. It just kills them if you water them too much or if they ever sit in water and you don't have really warm conditions for them. Another thing that I see in savannas is they don't necessarily like to be repotted. They can get really floppy if you overdo it. I would imagine this one's going to lose a lot of its structure when I move it into a new container because I'm going to be pulling a lot of this apart and basically re-rooting this entire thing, which is unfortunate. But I think for the long run, it's going to make for a much easier to care for plant. Especially for me. I like to water my plants frequently. So having them in something like this, that just, that doesn't work. That doesn't work for me at all. All right. Get the rest of that soil out of that root ball. Notice how there's no continuous release in here? Yeah, I mean, that's probably good. Well, it looks like there is a little bit. I don't think I'll be using that when I pot it up. It's the thing when you get them in shape like this, sometimes it's as if you're basically starting them over like you would with cuttings. It's unfortunate to have to do this, but it's necessary. There we go. That's what I thought. Usually a little tickle and most of that stuff comes right out. It didn't look like it lost too many roots with it, but I could definitely put this into a smaller pot. Yeah, there weren't a lot of roots down there. There were a few, but not that many. So this is what we have here. It's a pretty decent looking plant. Everything seems nice and healthy. Lost a few roots, but not too many. Now I'm wondering if maybe I should actually scoot this into something smaller, perhaps. I think that that'd be fine. Now, these are the pots that I have. They tend to not want to be over-potted. What I mean is they do not want to be over-potted. They like a more tight root system. And I think that either one of these would probably work just fine. Yeah. Yeah, that'll work. Nice, a nice confined root space. That's what these plants prefer. So much smaller. All right, only downside to using a container like this is that it's whiter in the middle than it is at the top. So when it comes time to re-pot the plant, that's gonna pose a problem. It'll make it a lot harder to get the plant out. So I usually prefer to use these types of pots more of a cash pot. And then to use something like this for this everyday type of planting. I just prefer something that's whiter on top. Yeah, I do think that looks nice, though. That is it, that's a good fit. Huh. Well, shoot, I know what I want to do and it's contradicting what I should do. Have to make a decision here. I'll probably just hold off on putting anything in this pot for right now. Even though I think that that looks really nice. Yeah, that looks good, but not a great idea. Yeah, I can always throw different sands of air in there another time. There he goes again. Yeah, this one's a better fit. The downside to a container like this, those sands of air is that, well, it's really tall. And that can sometimes spell trouble. Just because it's gonna retain more moisture down below the root mass, but it's not that big. And it's certainly a better fit than the pot that it was in. It's a much better fit. This can be a trick to get out, no. No, see how this goes right to the edge of the container? That's what you want with these. You want them to go right to the edge of their pot. They like to touch the sides of their container. They like to be able to feel if there's some sort of restriction around the roots. I think I should have enough soil right here to just fill this back in. Might need to put a little bit more down low. I think that's pretty good. The soil that I'm using here is a very light, fluffy soil that has very sharp drainage. Sharp drainage just means that it drains quickly. It won't hold onto water for too terribly long. You can just use a succulent mix. You can use an all-purpose potting mix if you want to, but I would, I mean, for me, I would usually add perlite to that mix just to be safe. I think this is gonna make for a much happier and healthier plant. And the plant looks perfectly happy and healthy, doesn't it? Then he's off. Off and at it again. It's just easier for me to use a mix. Yeah, that's gonna dry quickly because I have to protect the plants from me. And I know that I'm gonna want to water these plants probably more frequently than once a month, at least for part of the year, that is. Lay that down fairly low so I can top dress it with some gravel. That's another reason I like to move things into a sharper draining soil so that when I have them in the house, I can top dress them and have it be okay. So if you top dress your soil, that can make it hold onto moisture. I don't want this to hold onto moisture. I want it to drain freely and dry quickly. Yeah, that's gonna make for a much happier plant, at least in my care. I don't want to make it seem like that plant was just gonna die. I didn't rescue the plant. That's a common thing people say. And hey, all power to you if you think you're rescuing the plant. But I'm not on board with the mentality that the growers are purposely putting these things in a mix that's gonna kill them. That doesn't make sense. I understand it from the perspective of, well, the more the plants die, the more people come back and keep buying plants. Sure, from that perspective, I get it. But from a production standpoint, with being able to produce lots of plants, that doesn't make any sense. It's just that the way Costa Farms and a lot of the big growers grow things is set up for their environment. And it works for their environment, a very warm, humid environment down South, down in Florida, where having all that dense mix around there, it doesn't matter. When you have heat, you have active growth, lots and lots of active growth, and those roots are more active and pull that water up. And it's just not as big of a deal. But in the house, nah, that wouldn't work out very well for this guy. Maybe I should do moth on top of it. I threw a plastic pot in the pool for him. He's a retriever. He needed to fulfill his urge and go retrieve. Like how I managed to get dirt all over the table, even though I used my potting tray? Seems about right. That's accurate for me. I'm not gonna fertilize this right away. I may water it in with a root stimulator, but that's it. I'll let it just kinda chill. That's the thing about Sansevierias, there's just not a lot to say with them. I do like to fertilize mine frequently during the growing season. I will usually use a half-strength fertilizer, but really when I hit them with the full-strength, they're generally fine with it. That's about every two weeks or so. And that's probably April through October, something like that. And I do tend to give mine a lot of light. Oh, look what he brought me. You wanna go get it again? Here you go. You gonna do it? You're free, go on, go get it. That's why I threw it. Go on, jump. There we go. He's happy. Had a great time. I forgot what I was saying. I'm distracted by the cuteness, sorry. Uh-oh, it sank. Oh, that's right. He can go under. That makes me nervous. I really wish he wouldn't do that. But he's never out here swimming by himself. Dogs, sometimes they'll go under, and they won't come back up. I would prefer he doesn't swim underwater. Yeah, I'm not gonna be fertilizing it right away. Gonna give it some time. Give them plenty of light. I know we think of them as a low-light plant, but really, it's just not the case. They can take really bright light. They can even take some direct light. The more variegation the plant has on it, the more cautious you wanna be with any direct light, at least for prolonged periods, especially once you've passed morning hours. But typically, I will let my Sansevieria get light until, well, really all day if it's not directly on them. If it's directly on them, then for a few hours in the morning, filtered throughout the rest of the day, this is going to be in a southeast-facing window, right up against that window. It's a lighter-color leaf, not a lot of pigment in their dark chlorophyll that is, so you wanna be careful to not scorch it. You will get a lot more growth out of your Sansevierias if you go ahead and give them really, really, really bright light. It doesn't need to be direct, but usually it can be for a short period of time, and water them more frequently, assuming you have the warmth for that. Just average household temperatures, maybe not more frequently. If it's in a soil that drains really well, then you can water them more frequently, and then you'll have a much faster-growing plant. That's all. Finish off, watch Turbo retrieve his flower pot. There you go, good boy. It's a distraction, but it's a cute distraction. What are some things you do with your Sansevierias? I thought this was a great deal. Sam's doesn't usually have a lot of plants. That's a newer thing. I think they're doing a trend keeping with Costco, because Costco, they're known for having a lot of good houseplants for people. So I was excited to see that. And yeah, it wasn't established into its container, not by any means. There wasn't a lot going on root-wise, but it worked out just fine, because I like it better in this container anyways. Don't you? I think that looks a lot nicer. Thanks for hanging out. Tips, tricks, suggestions, always appreciated. What are some of your favorite varieties with the Sansevierias to grow? I really do like that Moonlight, which I'm pretty sure this is a Moonlight, or something similar. The lighting's really weird today. But just, you know, various tri-fashion habitats. The whale fins are fine. The Fernwood and Fernwood Mikado, really, that's probably one of my all-time favorites, because it's so sturdy and has such a unique texture. I think I'm gonna paint this pot, which is something I would probably want to do before having planted this up, but that's okay. Just throw a plastic bag over the plant and spray paint it. Looks better in a darker color, I think. Where is the sun? Why is everything wet so oddly? The umbrella's not covering the sun. I know it looks like it is, but it's not. See, I'm right here under the umbrella. I'm in the sun. So I don't, I don't know. Sorry about the weird lighting. Oh, thank you. Thank you, turbo. Go get it. And just comment down below. Say hi, I love talking to everybody. And of course, as always, and most importantly, everybody, are you gonna do it? Jump, go on. Do your thing. Keep on growing. Bye-bye.