Why does my snake plant have a soft or mushy base to the stem?
On a snake plant this shows as a fan of leaves that leans, flops or lifts away from the compost, with the base of the leaves where they meet the pot soft, wet and brown or translucent, and sometimes a sour smell. By the time the leaves show it, the rhizome underneath is usually already gone.
The most likely cause is overwatering, especially in the cold. This is a plant that stores water in thick leaves and in a rhizome under the surface, and it is happy to be watered about every 14 days in the growing season and every 28 or so in winter. Water it on a summer rhythm in a cold winter room and the compost holds water for weeks, because cool wet compost holds less air, and the rhizome is the first part to go soft.
To confirm it in a minute, press the base of a leaf just above the compost. Firm is healthy, and a base that gives under your finger and may weep is rot. Then push a finger down the full depth of the pot and lift it. Wet at the bottom and heavy days after watering confirms it. If you can slide the plant out, healthy roots and rhizome are pale and firm, and rotten ones are brown or black, soft and sour smelling.
Two other causes are worth ruling out. Water sitting in the crown rots the plant from the centre of the fan rather than from the roots, and the Missouri Botanical Garden says to keep water off the centre of the rosette. A decorative pot with no drainage hole, or a saucer that has held water since the last watering, also leaves the bottom third sodden.
The plant cannot repair soft tissue, so the recovery you can expect is from the firm fans that remain, which the entry says can be divided from the rhizome and potted separately. They settle over a few weeks in the growing season. In winter they do next to nothing, and it may be spring before you see a new leaf.
What this plant wants
| Light | Low light |
|---|---|
| Water, growing season | Every 14 days |
| Water, winter | Every 28 days |
| Humidity | Low |
| Temperature | 10 to 32 °C |
| Grows in winter | No |
The fix
Stop watering, unpot, remove rotted sections and repot in dry gritty mix.
Read on
- A soft or mushy base to the stem
- The same sign on any plant, with the causes in the order they are likely.
- Snake plant care
- Light, water, feeding, repotting and the rest of the entry.
- Check it in the diagnoser
- Opens with the plant, the part and the sign already chosen.
Checked against
The figures and the advice on this page were checked against the sources below, and where they disagree the page says so.