Why does my snake plant have wrinkled or shrivelled leaves?
On a snake plant the leaves lose their stiff, upright, plump look. They develop long creases running up the blade, look thinner, may lean or curl inwards, and feel flexible rather than rigid when you squeeze one. On a succulent like this the creasing starts at the lowest leaves and works up.
The most likely cause is that the plant has run down its water store. The leaves are the reservoir, and the plant is built to go for weeks between drinks, about 14 days in the growing season and about 28 in winter. A snake plant left far beyond that, or one whose pot has been missed through a long absence, starts drawing on the leaves, and they crease as they empty.
To confirm it in a minute, push a finger down the full depth of the pot. If the compost is dry all the way through and the pot is light, it is thirst. Watch what happens when water goes on. If it runs straight through and out of the bottom without soaking in, the compost has shrunk from the side of the pot, which shows how dry it has been.
The opposite cause is worth ruling out. A plant with rotten roots cannot drink, so it wrinkles in wet compost, which looks identical from above. If the compost is damp and the pot is heavy, or the base of the leaves is soft, treat it as rot instead.
Slight creasing on the lowest leaves a few weeks after the last watering, on a plant that is otherwise firm and a good colour, is the plant's own gauge. It is telling you it is ready for water, not that it is in trouble.
A leaf that was only thirsty plumps up again over a few days once the compost has taken water. A plant with rotten roots does not recover until they have been cut back and regrown.
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
Soak thoroughly and allow to drain; leaves plump up within days.
Read on
- Wrinkled or shrivelled leaves
- 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.