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My irrational dislike of sanseverias

7/11/2013

 
PictureSanseverias + office settings = soul death.
For some reason, I don't like sanseverias.  I mean, I really dislike them.  To the point where I resent that they're lumped in with the succulents I so dearly love.

Maybe it's because I associate them with office buildings.  Maybe it's because they grace the outside of the law school with which I am associated and I can't help thinking how awesome it would look if there were cool succulent gardens planted there instead of those bleak watery rows of sanseverias.

Truth be told, I don’t even trust people who grow sanseverias.  This is even less rational than my irrational-but-defensible-because-aesthetic-preferences-are-wildly-subjective dislike of sanseverias themselves.  If I’m on eBay trying to decide whether to buy an agave celsii pup or a haworthia truncata seedling or some other little gem and I see that the seller’s other items are mostly sanseverias, I probably won't buy anything from him or her.

I feel guilty, too, for disliking sanseverias.  What did sanseverias ever do to me?  They just sit there plodding out their dull little existences.  It's like disliking twine or gravel or some other bland, innocent object.  Not really worth the effort.  Am I alone in this?

boZannical Zann link
7/11/2013 11:42:18 pm

I love an opinion on a plant! Just posted myself on my dislike of boxwood. :)

I disliked Sansevieria until I realized just how hardy they are for certain situations - like being able to survive a windowless room, with water only every few months. Aside from that, they're pretty benign. Good air cleaners, from what I understand, and at least there are some varieties of leaf pattern! Still, who can blame ya... They are the classic doctor's-office-plant, for sure. And the common names! Snake's tongue, or Mother-in-Law's tongue. Ick.

Laura Balaoro
7/12/2013 12:33:38 am

I never liked Sansevieria because in the country where I came from, they grow wild and that's the place where snakes hide because they blend really well with the color. So, I had this fear of them until I learned that they do have place in the design world as they provide height and structure to a composition. This is the only plant that I can grow indoor in very low light condition with very little attention (water only when I can think of it). Discovering the many species of Sansevieria has changed my fear of them to to love.

Andrew Chee
7/16/2013 01:15:08 pm

"Discovering the many species of Sansevieria has changed my fear of them to love. "
That's exactly what changed my view of them too.. and also the fact that they're great air cleaners. :

Debra Lee Baldwin link
7/12/2013 07:11:05 am

I'll bet the fact that sansevierias don't have plump leaves makes you angry. How dare they call themselves succulents! It's like yuccas, dasylirions, dyckias and hechtias...what's up with that? And what's next? Daffodils? (A case can be made that all flowering bulbs are succulents.)

I don't mind sansevierias, other than the name being tricky to spell and pronounce. That "i" in the middle throws me off. I like plants that are all about foliage, and that do well in low-light conditions.

There are some cool sansevierias, too. Those you show here (S. trifasciata) are common, but have you seen the cylindrical ones that consist of a fan of pointed leaves, each about an inch in diameter and several feet long? They look like they're either bursting out of a pot or plunging into it.

Or those with a short semi-starburst of leaves that send out an offset at the end of a stiff, horizontal umbilical cord? The baby grows aerial roots downward, blindly groping for soil. It's called the "walking sansevieria."

Still others are a lovely pale green, about half the height of the yellow-margined variety and wider, with leaves that swirl lazily. They sunburn easily, but make wonderful indoor potted plants.

An interesting thing about sansevierias is that they like to be crowded in their pots, and once this happens and you want to divide them, you have to saw them apart. I respect a plant that knows what it wants and fights for it.

Coincidentally, I need a source of sansevierias in the San Diego area. Like Laura noted, they're great for adding height to compositions. I have a client who wants an urn full of succulents for a shade garden and I'm wondering where to find S. trifasciata.

Btw, one of my first potted plants was a sansevieria. It refused to die of neglect.

I think you owe the entire genus an apology. Your next post should be: "Why I love sansevierias."

Gardening Succs link
7/12/2013 07:22:31 am

What great food for thought! Okay, Debra, I'm going to do a little research and reassess. Maybe I don't know enough about sansevierias to dislike them. Maybe what I dislike is office buildings, and I've been holding sansevierias (which I've been spelling incorrectly) guilty by association.

Admittedly, I *do* feel the same way about yuccas. Not dyckias, though (maybe because I can pretend "dyke" is the root word?). But I like virtually all kalanchoes, even the non-plump ones. Non-plump crassulas... well, they're suspect, too. So you may be on to something.

I'll keep an open mind, investigate further, and keep you posted. ;)

Linda Fox link
7/24/2013 02:40:30 pm

I completely with Debra on this. The fact that you would dismiss an entire Genius of plants while knowing only one or two of the over 70 species is pretty much like hating a race of people after meeting only one or two who happened to look a little different from what you would expect. I definitely calling you out as a plant racist.
Sanseviera are beautiful, tough, nearly bullet proof unless you way over water them. They can take full sun, part shade or even grow in a dark, moldy bathroom. The best part about them is they bloom just when you think they could do nothing else. The coloration of the various species are phenomenal - bright yellows, pale yellows, dark greens so dark they are almost black. Pale whites that seem to glow as if lighted by the full moon. White stripes, black stripes, cylidrical, flat wide leaves, short skinny leaves, tall wavy leaves. There is so much variety that designers (especially interior designers) can have a field day at the right grower. There is nothing boring about them you just have to open your eyes & get to know them - kinda like blues - it all sounds sad and wretched until you really start listening to the finer points of the music. You've inspired me to post about them on my blog - as soon as the landscaping slows down.

Cindy Davison~The Succulent Perch
7/13/2013 09:42:01 am

Katie, I'm probably the most trust worthy individual you'll ever come across...and, I'll admit it, with pride, that I grow sansevieria...just one...the 'coolest' of all...Sansevieria Cylindrica. I think your dislike was incorrectly projected onto Sansevieria's, when in fact you have a dislike for sterile office spaces. Perhaps the cream and silvery- gray of Sansevieria 'Bantel's Sensation' can be the topic of your next post..."How Could I Have Shunned Something So Sensational"


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