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Have you ever wondered if you can propagate snake plants in water instead of soil? I was wondering about that too and decided to experiment to see how well it would work. I was also interested in learning how well snake plants would grow in water compared to those grown in soil.
Well, it turns out that you can propagate snake plants in water. It will take about three months for them to form roots, which is comparable to how long they take to be rooted in soil, although there are some major differences in their growth rate once they have formed roots.
Propagating Snake Plants in Soil vs Water
Some plants are known for being nearly indestructible, and snake plants often top that list. Several months ago I shared a post about how I revived a neglected snake plant that had been forgotten for so long that it was nearly on the brink of death. Yet with some care and patience, I brought it back to life.
For years I’ve propagated various houseplants in water with great success. However, when it comes to succulents like this snake plant, the usual advice is to allow the cuttings to form a callous before planting them directly into the soil. That’s been the conventional wisdom I’ve followed.
But recently, I discovered that some people have been propagating snake plants in water—and they swear by it, even preferring it to the traditional soil method.
So when I was repotting this snake plant, I decided to conduct a little test. I wanted to test for two things. The first was to see if I could propagate snake plants in water, and the second was to see if it was better to propagate snake plants in water or whether it was better to do it in soil as I usually do.
I set aside some leaves/leaf cuttings for this experiment and let them form a callous for 3 days before starting.
Several leaf cuttings were placed in soil, while others found a home in a jar of water on my kitchen windowsill.
I kept an eye on them for the next 9 months to see what would happen.
How Long Does it Take to Propagate Snake Plants in Soil?
During that time, the leaves planted in the soil were watered only when the soil was bone dry – about once a month.
For the first three months, there was no visible growth that I could detect, but after that period, I started to notice growth.
From this experiment, I can safely say that snake plant leaves propagated in soil need at least three months to develop roots and become established before putting their energy into growing new leaves.
This time period for root development also seemed to correspond to that of the leaves in water.
Can I Propagate Snake Plants in Water – And How Long Does it Take?
Of the leaves placed in water, two rotted and had to be removed from the water. The other snake plant leaves remained healthy but didn’t appear to develop roots until after three months had passed.
From this simple test, I learned that I can indeed propagate snake plants in water! They needed at least three full months before any roots started to grow. This time period mirrored that of the leaves propagated in soil.
Propagating Snake Plants in Soil or Water Which is Better?
I kept the experiment going for six more months, for a total of about nine months. During this time both the leaves in the soil and the ones in water stayed healthy.
The ones in the water grew plenty of roots. The leaves also seemed to stay healthy as new sprouts slowly developed from the base of each leaf.
The leaves in the soil did likewise. The snake plant leaves grown in the soil looked healthier and grew taller than the ones grown in water.
| Propogation Method | Height of Plant (In inches) | Average Height |
| Soil | 13.5, 13.5, 13, 9.5 | 12.38 |
| Water | 11.5, 7.75, 7, 5, 4.5, 2, No Growth (Only Root Formation | 6.29 |
According to these measurements, the snake plants propagated in soil grew to twice the height of those propagated and grown in water.
Overall, I proved to myself that I can propagate snake plants in water and I can see it being useful for times when, perhaps, I want to start some new snake plants but don’t have any pots or potting soil available. (I always have jars available!)
Although it’s good to know that I can propagate these succulents in water, the soil method produced a healthier plant than the ones grown in water. The plants grown in water were stunted compared to the ones grown in soil and were half the height of those grown in soil!
It may be that the leaves in the water needed some fertilizer to grow as well as the leaves grown in the soil.
If I ever repeat this experiment, I would try using diluted hydroponics fertilizer in the water to see if it would improve their growth.
If you are interested in growing one of these plants in your home, you don’t have to go through the time and effort that I went through to propagate these snake plants. You can buy some that are already grown and established, like this one from Amazon.
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