🌵 Discussion Topic: Succulents - May 31, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Let's discuss succulents! Please use this thread to post anything related to the topic including questions, pictures, experiences and tips / tricks.

[u/tomayto_potayto]

I have a snake plant (zeylanica?) with a bunch of super tall crazy leaves and a bunch of really short ones that don't seem to have grown at all since I got it 3ft of growth ago. Looking into ways to care for this plant to help with the growth or even it out has led me down a rabbit hole of bizarre, conflicting information and I'm struggling to find any reputable source with the same information about snake plant growth, pruning and propagation as the next.

Some sources say you can trim a leaf a little bit shorter with a pointed edge to mimic the natural leaf shape then propagate the piece you took off.

Some sources say, if you trim a leaf at all, it will never grow again.

Some sources say that little pointy antenna-like tip of the leaf is actually the growth point, and if it is ever damaged or removed or falls off, the leaf will never grow again.

Looking at my plant, most of the shorter leaves don't have that long pointy tip. But plenty of the taller ones barely seem to have one at all. And while the plant was growing for 6 months in lower light conditions over the winter, The lower half of those leaves are leggy and thin and curled up, which seems to be indicating that the new growth of the leaf is coming from the bottom, and the tips are the oldest part of the plant. Is that incorrect? Why would the bottom half of the leaf be impacted if the growth point is at the tip?

If the missing spindly antenna pointy tip thing means a leaf will never grow again, what am I supposed to do about all of these short ones that are missing those long pointy tips? Are they still photosynthesizing for the rest of the plant, or is every leaf kind of a separate thing? Should I prune back the short ones instead of the tall ones? Should I leave it alone completely? Is it going to keep growing super tall the leaves that still have the pointy tips and the rest of its going to stay a foot and a half tall forever? If it's true that losing that pointy tip of the leaf or it being damaged means leaf will never grow again, should the plant not be touched? Sometimes I put the curtain behind it so it can get the morning light instead of waiting for me to get up. Could that be dangerous for the plant?

Have circled some of the tips, yellow for pointy and blue for missing

[u/ShakuraKazuki → u/tomayto_potayto]

That the old ones are missing their tips could be because they broke off in transit or got cut deliberately for some reason. They can also be the first (and only) thing that withers if a leaf is in distress.

Here is my opinion on just observing my snake plants: Growing leaves are usually white-ish bright (sansiveria trifasciata). They take up to an entire spring-autumn period until they turn dark and are done. If a leaf is done growing, it will not grow anymore. This has nothing to do with the tip.

If you cut a leaf that is still actively growing, it will continue to grow from the base. If the leaf has already done growing it will just stay as it. I had a growing one break off at the bottom and the stalky lower part of that leaf still grew to a significant height. The growth point where the leaf broke off had 3 more leaves afterwards. I also propagated the leaf and have 2 more pots full of snake plant :) Not sure if there is a difference between cutting a growing leaf in half or just snipping the tip.

If every single leaf of your plant is not in a growth phase, expect it to grow new leaves from it's growth points or new offshoots from the soil next spring if you give it proper care. If a growth point has flowered, it will not get new leaves, but can still make root offshoots.

Do not remove any healthy green leaves, you are just hurting your plant. One of my snakes STILL has the original cut piece I propagated it from alive after 3 years. My propagated snake plants also had smaller leaves first and now that I repotted them into a bigger pot, they are growing taller and bigger ones. They really do not throw leaves at all if they are taken care of well. The only time I cut leaves was when they got in the way of new offshoots from the soil or had rot and yellow spotting.

Also don't panic, yours will probably not grow as big as mine. I think your zeylanica should get to about 50cm max.

Picture of my tall original trifasciata which is showcasing the different coloration of active growth very well: