How To Dry Out An Overwatered Snake Plant? Step By Step Guide

by Lee Safin

Katherine Connor Martin, the company’s head of U.S. dictionaries, said once

Everything is a poison when it’s been over used

Water is an essential ingredient suppliment for everyone. Even for the trees. But as she said, everything is a poison when it’s been over used. So, over watering a plant is nothing but killing it forcefully.

Are you fearing your snake plant will die because you have overwatered it?

Many houseplant owners make this common mistake, which ultimately causes root rot and even oxygen deprivation.

So, how to dry out an overwatered snake plant?

To dry out an overwatered snake plant you have to wrinkle the dry leaves at first. after that wrap them in a newspaper to soak the water. Cut the rotting roots and plant them in a new pot. We have mentioned the process in details below.

When you overwater a snake plant, your first job is to stop watering it immediately. Place the plant in a partial or complete shade in the afternoon. Because the overwatered snake plant is facing the issue to ship the water to the top leaves. Give enough time for the plant to recover and place it back where it was.

How To Dry Out An Overwatered Snake Plant? Step By Step Guide
How To Dry Out An Overwatered Snake Plant? Step By Step Guide

How To Dry Out An Overwatered Snake Plant?

Whether you can dry out an overwater snake plant or not depends on how much time it was in that condition.

If there is excessive damage to the plant root, you need to cut off the leaves and replant the snake plants on a different pot with new soil.

However, if the duration is short, you can dry out your overwatered snake plant by following the below steps:

Step 1 – Make a Wrinkle on The Leaves

Wrinkled Snake Plant Leaves Turning Yellow
Wrinkled Snake Plant Leaves Turning Yellow

Take out the plant from the pot and keep it in an old newspaper. Be cautious while lifting out the root ball from the container.

If the snake plant and its root ball are relatively large, you can make a wrinkle by wrapping up newspapers around it. Also, place some newspapers at the base of the root.

This will help to absorb the water from all sides and from the base too.

Step 2 – Wrap up With Newspapers

Wrap Up The Wrinkled Leaves Of The Snake Plant To Dry Out Over Watered Snake Plant
Wrap Up The Wrinkled Leaves Of The Snake Plant To Dry Out Over Watered Snake Plant

Newspapers are soft, and they can absorb moisture easily from most objects. As per root’s ball size and how much water inside it, you need to continue wrapping up newspapers around.

You may need a lot of newspapers based on the soil moisture level and its ball size. The process may take one or even two to complete.

So, keep doing it until you think all water from the root ball and its surrounds are removed.

Step 3 – Cut The Rotting Roots

Cut The Rotting Snake Plant Roots
Cut The Rotting Snake Plant Roots

Once you think the root ball has become dry enough, shake off some of the soil that has accumulated around the roots.

If you notice any rotting roots, cut them off immediately. Then, keep the plant root in that condition overnight.

To cut the rotting roots we recommend the best cutting tool.

VIVOSUN 1-Pack Gardening Hand Pruner Pruning Shear With Titanium Coated Curved Precision Blades
VIVOSUN 1-Pack Gardening Hand Pruner Pruning Shear With Titanium Coated Curved Precision Blades

Step 4 – Take a New Pot

Plant Snake Plant In A New Pot
Plant Snake Plant In A New Pot

On the following day, take a new pot and fill it with fresh and fertile soil. Then, plant the snake plant on the container and make sure the soil is dry.

Make a solution by adding water and one tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide for every one litre of water. Spray the solution on the plant root appropriately because it will help it to recover quickly.

How Do You Know That Your Snake Plant Is Overwatered?

By observing your snake plant health condition, you can find out whether you have overwatered your plant or not.

Do you think snake plants only have an overwatering issue?

No! There are many problems snake plants face throughout their course of life.

So, just because you see your snake plant health is not good doesn’t necessarily mean you have overwatered it.

You must be thinking then how will I know about it. Right? Here are a few signs of overwatered plants.

No Signs
1 Waterlogged or slushy leaves
2 Root rot
3 Brown or yellow leaves or brown marks
4 Brown tips
5 Droopy leaves
6 Excessively soft leaves
7 Leaves falling
8 Mold  or fungus on soil
9 Too wet soil

Can You Save Plants That’s Been Overwatered?

Yes! you can save snake plants that’s been overwatered. To save an overwatered snake plant you have to wrinkle the dry leaves at first. after that wrap them in a newspaper to soak the water. Cut the rotting roots and plant them in a new pot.

Whether you can save plants that have been overwatered or not depends on the particular plant’s condition. That’s why you need to inspect the current conditions of the plant.

We have already included different types of signs you will notice when your plants are affected by overwatering.

If you see any of the above-mentioned indications, you should take immediate actions. The faster you are, the more chance it has to recover.

Most of the time, you can save overwatered until plants root are not completely damaged and other parts of the plants are not fully affected.

What Happens When You Over Water A Snake Plant?

What Happens When You Over Water A Snake Plant
What Happens When You Over Water A Snake Plant

How you define overwatering a plant? Overwatering doesn’t always mean you water the snake plant too much. It is more related to keep the plant soil excessively wet for a prolonged time.

Another approach is not letting the plant enough time to extract water from the soil. You should water the plant again until it becomes appropriately dry.

The most common issue you will face for overwatering your snake is root rot. Unless you keep the root system healthy, other maintenance may not be much effective.

Your snake plant will smell pretty bad when it is affected by root rot. You will also notice other problems, which we have included earlier. At worst, the snake plant will die if you keep it too long in this condition.

How To Save An Overwatered Snake Plant?

To save an overwatered snake plant you have to cut off some fresh leaves, heal the wounds in indirect light and plant the leaves in a new pot. With the 3 simple steps, you can save an overwatered snake plant.

Below we showed the steps.

Whether you can save your overwater snake plant or not mainly depends on the duration of the overwater and how much damage occurs.

If only some leaves are affected, and the snake plant root is still in healthy condition, you can save it. For that, follow the

Additionally, if the root is affected heavily and damaged the plant, you have no other option to propagate it to save it. Here is the solution:

Step 1 – Cut off Some Fresh Leaves

Cut Off Some Fresh Snake Plant Leaves
Cut Off Some Fresh Snake Plant Leaves

First of all, you need to cut off some fresh leaves from the snake plant for the propagation process.

Other leaves can also be used for this process. By following this, you can save more plant.  Collect leaves from the top level as the rotted root has less chance to affect them than the lower part.

Step 2 – Heal Wounds in Indirect Light

Then, you should keep your cuts aside until the wounds heal in indirect light. When you notice corky scabs are developing on them, it is sure the process is occurring.

EZORKAS 9 Dimmable Levels Grow Light With 3 Modes Timing Function For Indoor Plants
EZORKAS 9 Dimmable Levels Grow Light With 3 Modes Timing Function For Indoor Plants

But, this process usually takes a few days to become fully effective. Some people use sulfur powder to dink the cuttings on it to fasten the propagation process. But it is not necessary.

Step 3 – Plant The Cuttings on The Old Pot

How To Save An Overwatered Snake Plant
How To Save An Overwatered Snake Plant

You can plant the cuttings on the old pot when the cuttings become fully dry. But make sure the soil is not wet and has the necessary fertilizers to ensure the proper growth of the snake plant.

Each cutting should have a 3-4 inches size. If you prefer to grow several little snake plants, then put multiple cutting in a single container. But, if you want to grow only a single snake plant to make it appear like arborescent, then plant only one stem.

No matter which type of cuttings you choose, make sure to put them 1-2 inches deep into the soil.

The pot you choose should be medium size and has decent drainage capacity. After planting the cuttings properly, water them a little bit. Choose a place where indirect light can come.

What Are The Mistakes Snake Plant Owners Make In Watering?

Most of the time people make some major mistakes while watering snake pants. We found the solution to the issue. Below we mentioned a chart where you can get the solutions.

Mistakes The Best Way to Avoid!
Watering irregularly Follow a proper schedule to water your snake plants regularly.
Overwatering at one time Calculate the amount of water your plant needs and always follow it.
Overwatered soil Ensure that the drainage system is working properly.

Read More – Why My Snake Plant is Growing Outwards?

How To Water Your Snake Plant?

How To Water Your Snake Plant
How To Water Your Snake Plant

Simplicity is the main goal while watering your snake plant. Don’t pour too much water on the plant because it is necessary to make it too wet.

So, how many times you should water your snake plant each week?

Most experts recommend doing it only once per week. But you must follow the watering schedule tightly so your plant doesn’t miss it.

But if you are living in too dry conditions, you can do it two times per weeks. However, the watering amount should be lower than one time.

Here are some bonus tips for watering plants:

  • Tap water is not suitable for snake plants as it may contain a bigger percentage of iron or fluoride.
  • Purified or filtered water is a better option as it purifies water from many harmful substances.
  • Keep a little more water when changing your plant soil but don’t overdo it.

Conclusion

So, how to dry out an overwatered snake plant? However, we are sure you also got the answer, How Do You Know That Your Snake Plant Is Overwatered?

You already know that you can save an overwatered snake plant, and how to save an overwatered snake plant?

Hopefully, we got you covered everything on this topic. Thanks for reading!

Read More – Why My Snake Plant is Growing Outwards?

Last update on 2023-01-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Lee Safin

Lee Safin was born near Sacramento, California on a prune growing farm. His parents were immigrants from Russia who had fled the Bolshevik Revolution. They were determined to give their children a better life than they had known. Education was the key for Lee and his siblings, so they could make their own way in the world. Lee attended five universities, where he studied plant sciences and soil technologies. He also has many years of experience in the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a commercial fertilizer formulator.

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