Dorm room plants: Snake plant
As a student, you might not have a mother-in-law yet, but the Snake Plant, or "mother-in-law's tongue" might be the perfect plant for your dorm room anyway. Easy to care for, this plant won't be going anywhere no matter how much you try to ignore it!While it prefers bright sunlight, it will also grow in fairly dark rooms, and won't hog your water. From spring to fall, you only need to water it once the soil becomes dry, and in the winter, it only needs water every 1-2 months!
The one caution I should include is that by watering too much or too often, the plant will easily begin to rot. Still, as long as you can avoid being a stalker, your Snake Plant will thrive. In fact, it's even a good air purifier!














Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2008 @ 4:17PM
Heather said...
True Story: I got married in my last year of college and we lived in a small apartment off campus. Someone gave us a cute little frog-shaped planter with a few different small plants inside it; one was a snake plant. It lived happily on the top of a bookshelf for a time, but eventually I began forgetting to water it and after a time it was forgotten in the craziness of senior year. At the end of the year, we packed up the apartment for a cross-country move. Most things went in a moving van, but a few odds and ends were tossed into the trunk of the car for the 5 day drive. The frog planter was one of them. When I took it down from the shelf, I found all the plants dead (no surprise!) except for the little snake plant, but it was shriveled and dry. I didn't have time to clean it, so it went into the trunk as is. When we got the the west coast, we were surprised to find it still alive. We were even more surprised that after a little water and some time in a sunny window, it made a full recovery. Amazing!
I have a notorious black thumb, mainly because I am always forgetting to water plants. However, snake plants love me. My one remaining house plant is a huge snake plant that was a "first date" gift from my father to my mother over 40 years ago. It thrived on my neglect and produced it's first flowers (yes, they flower!) after I took over it's care. My mom was too diligent in her watering. Mine is looking a bit withered again now, but this article has reminded me to go give it some water, but just a little. :o)
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