My mother-in-law’s tongue is dead

I know the title of this post sounds a bit morbid, especially on Valentine’s Day, but I couldn’t help myself. I just love the name “mother-in-law’s tongue,” and, well, mine is dead.

I’m not talking about my real mother-in-law, whom I love dearly and who fortunately is very much alive, or any of her body parts. Rather, I’m talking about my Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Hahnii’. This is a shorter and more compact version of the popular mother-in-law’s tongue.

Mine lived on the front porch where it did really well. Until winter came. While in absolutely terms this winter has been fairly mild—the low recorded at our house was only 28°F—Sansevieria trifasciata apparently can’t even handle that.

In fact, I can say with 100% certainty that 28°F is too cold for it. The fact that it’s typically kept as a houseplant should have been a dead giveaway.

This is what my plant looks like now:

130214_Sansevieria-trifasciata-Hahnii_04

Not so pretty anymore.

This won’t stop me from trying again, but I will definitely bring the next one inside when it gets below 40°F.

P.S. For some reason I thought Sansevieria trifasciata was native to tropical Central America but it’s actually from tropical West Africa.

Comments

  1. Bummer buddy! Yes these guys don't like the cold weather for sure. That is so sad though. Check out Walmart, I got two giant ones there!

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    1. Candy, will check the next time I'm near one. I do like the ones with golden variegation. Boring to some, exciting to me.

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  2. I always have mixed feelings when a plant dies. On the one hand I'm sad (usually), but there's a small part of me that says "yay, that frees up a pot for something else". :)

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    1. After I get over the initial disappointment and frustration, I usually arrive at the same conclusion. More room for something else!

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  3. Didn't know they were that tender before! You learn something new everyday :)

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    1. Me neither, but from what I read, they begin to be unhappy when temperatures drop below 40°F.

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  4. At least you have some replacements up here waiting for your tender care!

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  5. If you want a large plant at a good price, the woodland community college plant sales in April offer these propagated by students. Last I looked they had quite a few in 8 or 10 inch pots.

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    1. Please keep me posted on the sale. I'd love to go. And I'll post a blurb about it here.

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