9 Reasons Behind Snake Plant Leaves Splitting and Solutions

Yes, snake plants are commonly seen in homes, and I have them as well. One day, I noticed that the leaves of my snake plant were splitting. At first, this disappointed me, but I later learned that several factors could be responsible for the problem.

Don’t worry; I’ve explained the main causes behind snake plant leaves splitting and ways to resolve the issue so your snake plant can have lush and healthy leaves again.

If you encounter any problems while growing a snake plant, feel free to ask me in the comment section below.

Reasons for Snake Plant Leaves Splitting and Solutions

Here are some main causes for snake plant leaves splitting and solutions that will solve your problems:

Overwatering watering a snake plant:

• Anything too much is not good including watering the snake plant because it’s a succulent that can’t tolerate overly wet soil.
• The succulent used to thrive in dry, arid conditions as they store water in fleshy leaves making it to survive in environments with infrequent rainfall. 
• When watering the plant excessively it will build up tissue causing the leaf tissue to stretch and crack. 
• As time passes these cracks use to become more visible. 
• The overwatering done on the snake plant will extend to root rot, drawing in pest infestation and parasites, low intake of nutrients, and stunted growth.

Ways to Solve the Problem:

• To avoid overwatering, maintain a balanced watering schedule in which water the soil until it get moist but not saturated. 
• Make sure the soil is dry up to at least one inch below the surface. 
• The key rule to water the snake plant is to water them every few weeks in the summer. 
• Water the snake plant once a month during the dormant period in the winter. 
• To avoid overwatering paying attention to the soil moisture is the best method. 
• While potting the snake plant use well-draining soil and plant them in a pot with adequate drainage holes so that the excess water gets drained easily. 

Underwatering:

• Although snake plants used to love dry environments but sometimes get stress from server underwatering. 
• The underwatering will cause cracking, curling, drooping, and wrinkling leaves.
• The plant when underwater makes the leaves yellow or brown and crispy at which it might be too late to save the lush glory of the snake plant leaves. 

Ways to Solve the Problem:

• A proper watering schedule is needed to follow that will help the snake plant to avoid underwatering. 
• If the top one to two inches of the soil gets dry it’s the perfect time to water the snake plant. 

Physical Damage:

• The snake plant leaves splitting can also be due to physical damage. 
• The snake plants do have thick, fleshy leaves which are resilient but when you handle them roughly will cause damage to the plant. 
• The plant can be prone to mishandling resulting them to have physical trauma. 
• To protect the plant from mishandling when you move the plant to several locations in search of finding the perfect spot to rest might be possible to hold the plant by the leaves or knock the plant against the wall.
• Avoid keeping the plant in areas of high traffic or close to doors where they have more physical damage. 

Ways to Solve the Problem:

• Gently handle the snake plant to hold the pot rather than holding the plant itself and don’t change the location of the plant too often which causes stress.
• Avoid keeping the plant in the high-traffic location of the home, keep the plant away from walkways and doorways. Doing this will reduce the chance of the plant being bumped into or knocked over, preventing physical damage to the leaves. 

Pets:

• Yes, pets pose a risk to the plants as they will play with the leaves of potted plants due to their unique smells and textures.
• The plant does have a cooling effect due to which the little dog or cat will enjoy scratching the leaves. 
• Often time the pet uses to bite or eat the plant. 
• When the snake plant is ingesting could be troublesome for the pets because they are toxic. 

Ways to Solve the Problem:

• To save snake plants from pets keep them out of the pet’s reach such as placing them on a higher shelf. 
• If you surround the pot with a barrier will keep the snake plant away from the pet. 
• When you are moving the snake plant to a different location in the home, make sure to choose a room that has an ideal environment for the snake plant to thrive healthy. 

Inconsistent Humidity:

• The snake plants are native to regions of Africa due to which they are adapted to arid or semi-arid environments that make them tolerate a range of humidity conditions. 
• If the snake plant struggles with extremely low humidity or rapid fluctuation does results in snake plant leaves splitting. 
• The snake plant loves to grow in stable conditions any rapid changes in humidity levels cause stress to the leaves when they lose or gain water quickly hence cracking on leaves. 
• The excessive dry humidity leads to dehydration making the snake plant struggle to retain moisture.
• Humidity changes in snake plant leaves will become dry and brittle leading to the snake plant leaves splitting. 

Ways  to Solve the Problem:

• The cracked leaves are caused by humidity.
• The snake plants get to adapt to the conditions of homes and offices. 
• Providing the plant with moderate humidity levels in the home will keep it healthy. 
• To help prevent cracks due to humidity issues, just avoid moving the snake plant from a high-humidity area to a low-humidity area. 
• During extreme low humidity such as during winter indoor heating will dry the air so place a tray of water near to the plant. 
• You can also group together plants to create a more humid microclimate. 

Boron Deficiency:

• In case the oh levels of the soil are too acidic or alkaline or the soil lacks nutrients in preventing boron from reaching the plant. 
• To grow snake plants boron is essential and is responsible for the structural integrity of the plant. 
• When the plant doesn’t get enough micronutrients it will lead to weak and brittle leaves that further result in breaking or snake plant leaves splitting. 

Ways to Solve the Problem:

• To complete and balance fertilizer should include micronutrient that helps in preventing nutritional deficiencies in the snake plant. 
• Make sure to repot the snake plant in fresh nutrient-rich soil which helps in promoting healthy growth and maintaining vitality. 

Extreme Temperatures:

• The snake plants are resilient in a variety of conditions such as drastic temperature change that causes the plant stress. 
• In case the leaves are getting to experience sudden changes in temperature due to which cells expand or contract resulting in stress on the leaf issue that further causes cracks on them. 
• The snake plants when exposed to frost are harmful to the snake plant leaves and result in signs of wilting, browning, or developing splits and cracks.
• If the plant extends to extremely high temperatures will result in leaf brittleness. 

Ways to Solve the Problem:

• Make sure the room temperature is between a range of 60–80°F.
• You need to keep the air conditioner vent or a heating unit away from the snake plants. 
• Make sure to protect the snake plant when the weather gets too hot, if you move the pot to a cooler or mare-shaded spot. 
• During winter keep the plant is kept in a well-insulated room and away from the draft of doorways or open windows. 

Pest Infestations:

• Talking about pests, the snake plant is pest-resistant but still can be susceptible to a few pests.
• The two most common parasites are mealybugs and spider mites but aphids can also create issues in snake plants.
• Here pests feed on the sap of the snake plant leaves leading to weakening leaf tissue and with time it will split.

Ways to Solve The Problem:

• The pests on the snake plant are simpler to avoid and make them vanish.
• To get rid of snake plants, trim infested parts to make it stop spreading to other regions of the plants.
• You need to spray the snake plant with neem oil to kill off the pests.
• When you apply it regularly it will act as a preventative measure.

Sunburn:

• The snake plant likes to grow in bright, indirect light, but exposed to full sun will develop splitting leaves.
• The intense direct sunlight is used to accelerate evaporation, which leads to moisture loss, resulting in leaves getting brittle.
• Direct sunlight does cause sunburn or scorch resulting in discolouration and turning brown or yellow. 
• The leaves get a combination of heat stress and dehydration that weakens leaf structure all of which contributes to snake plants splitting leaves.

Way to  Solve The Problem:

• It is really bad but when the snake plant leaves are scorched there damage is irreversible.
• Although it can continue to grow and produce new leaves. 
• If you follow the steps it will prevent further sunburn conditions.
• Make sure the plant is protected from intense sunlight. 
• Avoid placing the snake plant in south or west-facing windows which are used to get afternoon sun.
• To protect the plant you can use sheer curtains that will provide dappled light and will dilute the sun’s intensity.

Conclusion:

Snake plants splitting leaves is a common problem that can be avoided with proper care. all the above-mentioned tips will be able to keep the snake plant healthy and happy.