Sansevieria Jade Pagoda Beginners Guide
Hardy and drought-tolerant, the Sansevieria Jade Pagoda is a beautiful specimen from the snake plant family. Perfect for busy individuals who love low-maintenance houseplants.
TL;DR
Sansevieria Jade Pagoda:
- broad, vibrant leaves with yellow trimming formed in a rosette shape
- part of the dwarf variety of snake plants, with foliage, only growing to 10 inches (25 cms) in length
- low-maintenance and easy to propagate through the separation of rhizomes
Sansevieria Jade Pagoda Care Summary
| Description | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Watering | Only water when soil is dry |
| Lighting | A position that receives plenty of bright indirect light |
| Temperature | 60-85° Fahrenheit (15-29° Celsius) |
| Humidity | Low–Med Humidity |
| Feeding | All-purpose houseplant fertilizer at the beginning of Spring |
| Soil | Loamy well-draining soil |
Images of Sansevieria Jade Pagoda
Getting to Know Sansevieria Jade Pagoda
If you are lucky enough to have the Jade Pagoda in your snake plant collection, we recommend familiarizing yourself with the conditions they grow in their place of origin.
Once we appreciate their natural habitat, we can bring this knowledge into our homes to allow them to thrive.
Name
Scientific Name: Sansevieria Trifasciata Jade Pagoda
Common Name(s): Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, Bird’s Nest Plant
Origin
The Sansevieria Jade Pagoda can be found in localized parts of the continent of Africa.
Like other more common snake plants, they grow in dry, arid areas of Africa where rainfall is unpredictable. For this reason, the Jade Pagoda has adapted and created water reserves in its leaves, making them drought resistant.
They live in sandy and rocky terrain and can endure plenty of direct sunlight. However, their sunlight tolerances change when grown indoors – more on that later.
Appearance
One of the main attractions of the Sansevieria Jade Pagoda is the beautiful contrasting colors on the foliage. Similar to the Black Gold or Black Limon, the Jade Pagoda features a lovely yellow trim around the exterior. The interior colors of the leaf are a solid deep dark green color, which makes for a beautiful disparity between the two colors.
As we mentioned earlier, the Jade Pagoda belongs to the dwarf range of the species, reaching approximately 10 inches (25 centimeters) in length at maturity. They tend to grow close to the ground in a rosette formation, filling out the low-lying areas.
As with other snake plants, the Jade Pagoda does produce flowers. However, it is only when conditions are perfect; even then, it is not guaranteed.
When they do flower, thin stalks will shoot up from the base of the plant, and long dainty flowers will spawn along the stem. The flowers will range from cream to light green and look like fireworks in suspended animation.
You can read more on snake plant flowers (including pictures) HERE.
Sansevieria Jade Pagoda Care Instructions
This section will build upon the care summary at the beginning of the guide. We’ll explore why the Sansevieria Jade Pagoda requires these specific care requirements and provide links to more detailed resources.
Water Requirements
Allow the soil to dry before adding more water to your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda.
The tricky part is knowing when the soil is dry.
Using a finger soil moisture test is the budget-friendly and convenient way to tell when the soil is dry.
Alternatively, if you don’t like to get your hands dirty, you can purchase a soil moisture meter from your nursery or online at Amazon.
Many resources report snake plants to thrive on neglect. However, that doesn’t mean you can forget about them. They still require regular water top-ups. But, the frequency changes each season.
For guidance on seasonal water frequency, check out our article HERE.
Lighting Requirements
Provide your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda with plenty of bright indirect sunlight.
Indoor Jade Pagoda snake plants can tolerate sunlight. However, only in short doses. Midday and afternoon sun is too intense for indoor snake plants and will quickly dehydrate the leaves, causing leaf burn.
When grown outdoors, the Sansevieria Jade Pagoda becomes hardened to the weather elements and has higher tolerances for direct sunlight.
Read more HERE for tips on lighting conditions for snake plants.
Temperature Requirements
Most snake plants originate from African climates, so your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda will do well in warm weather.
The recommended indoor temperature for Sansevieria Jade Pagoda is between 60-85° Fahrenheit (15-29° Celsius).
We caution all snake plant owners to be careful of extreme temperatures. Water expands when frozen. This means the water reserves in the leaves can freeze, causing irreparable damage to the leaf cells.
Even though they are hardy, Sansevieria Jade Pagoda is susceptible to freezing temperatures. If your area experiences frost in winter, we recommend bringing them indoors to protect them from frost damage.
At the same time, scorching weather will risk your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda’s severely dehydrated.
Humidity Requirements
Keep your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda in between 30 and 50% relative humidity.
Humidity can be challenging to control. However, it is essential for regulating your snake plant’s internal processes, like transpiration—rapid swings in relative humidity.
Not enough moisture in the air (low humidity) accelerates the transpiration process, quickly dehydrates your plant, and causes water stress.
At the other extreme, too much moisture (high humidity) will prevent transpiration, and your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda will suffocate.
We have written an in-depth article discussing how humidity affects snake plants.
Soil & Fertilizer Requirements
The properties of the soil you use for your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda can have profound effects on the health of your snake plant.
Choosing the best soil for your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda can significantly impact your plant parent experience. Quality soil will reduce the frequency of your watering, facilitate the uptake of nutrients by your snake plant, and reduce its susceptibility to pests and disease.
To be effective, your snake plant soil must be:
- well-draining,
- a sandy loam consistency (light and airy), and
- contain some organic materials with water absorption properties.
We have devised a recipe for the perfect snake plant potting mix. You can also watch our video on making snake plant soil below.
Pest and Diseases
If there is one disease that you should familiarise yourself with for your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda, it is root rot.
Root rot is a fungal disease that can develop when your snake plant has been sitting in waterlogged soil from being overwatered. The process of eliminating root rot is straightforward. However, it is onerous. You can read our step-by-step guide for removing root rot in snake plants HERE.
Some leaf-borne fungal diseases, such as mildew and leaf spot, can infect your snake plant. We explore these diseases and (more importantly) treatments HERE.
Snake plants are most susceptible to sap-sucking insects like mealybugs, spider mites, and thrips. These pests have the equipment to penetrate the tough outer layer of the foliage and access the nutrient-rich sap.
The best way to detect any signs of pests (or disease, for that matter) is to regularly inspect your potted plants and manually remove any problems you see. The key is not letting their population get out of hand, becoming an infestation.
You can read more about symptoms of pest infestation HERE.
Pot Size
Like other snake plants, Sansevieria Jade Pagoda requires a tight root system to support its large leaves.
When placed in a container too large for their root system, they will refocus their energy on developing the roots rather than growing new leaves. While they are still growing (under the soil), they will appear to be experiencing stunted growth.
Your snake plant pot should also have adequate drainage with plenty of drainage holes. As we pointed out earlier, constantly moist soil rots your Jade Pagoda root system.
Sansevieria Jade Pagoda Propagation Techniques
To preserve the stunning variegated patterns and colors, we recommend only propagating your Jade Pagoda using the propagation method by plant division or by splitting snake plant pups.
Propagating your Sansevieria Jade Pagoda with a cutting in water or soil risks the new plant reverting to a regular pattern on the foliage, similar to the Sansevieria Trifasciata.
To propagate by plant division, follow these steps:
- Remove the root ball – lift the mother snake plant root ball out of its container.
- Clean and prepare the root ball – rinse your snake plant’s roots under warm water to clear the soil away.
- Identify the rhizome – find the rhizome attached to the baby Jade Pagoda snake pup. Cut the rhizome as close to the main root ball of the mother plant as possible. You want to retain as many thin roots as possible with the rhizome.
- Re-pot your Plants – re-pot your mother snake plant into the original pot with some fresh potting mix. At the same time, fill your propagation containers a third up with a good-quality potting mix (discussed above). Place each pup into the pot and backfill with quality potting mix until the soil level covers the white parts of the rhizome and pups. Give all your plants good watering and ensure all excess water drains out.
You can find step-by-step instructions HERE if you prefer to propagate using cuttings.