15 Reasons Why Snake Plants Are The Best Indoor Plants

Snake plants, also known as Sansevieria, are native to West Africa where they grow as evergreen perennial plants. Their strong fibers help the leaves grow vertically even at great heights, and they can reach 6ft in optimal conditions. Snake plants owe one of their names, viper’s bowstring hemp, to their fibers, that were used to make bowstrings.

There are many types of snake plant and most of them also make good houseplants. The leaves are wide and often sharp-edged, and they have unique brown or cream patterns on them. Most if not all are toxic to humans and pets, but snake plants have benefits also.

Sake Plant Health Benefits

1. Toxin removal

NASA considered snake plants as potential natural methods to purify the air on space stations and tested it against 5 harmful substances. Of those, Sansevieria cleared four in lab conditions. Although NASA decided the purification it does is not enough for what they needed, snake plants can contribute to cleaning the air in your house.

2. Anti-allergen

For the same reasons, snake plants are great at making your house less irritating. It filters out formaldehyde, which can be an allergen. Take a look at these other plants that clean the air that you can keep in your house!

3. Oxygen factory

Snake plants grow in extreme heat and draoght, so they developed a unique breathing system. Their pores open at night instead of during the day. As a result, they produce oxygen all 24 hours a day. It may not be enough to never air out your house again, but it does help a little.

4. Dust filter

Its large, wide leaves trap dust and collect it in the center of the leaf bundle. If you live in a big city and your house is very dusty, a snake plant or two might help you keep the air a bit cleaner.

5. CO2 cleaner

The constant release of oxygen comes with other benefits of a snake plant: it constantly consumes CO2. Again, not enough to create a closed ecosystem in your house but every drop is important.

Snake Plant Benefits For Aspect And Care

6. Fits anywhere

Sansevieria is happy anywhere. It is very tolerant of heat and dryness, but it can also take high humidity environments. I’ve heard of people keeping it in the bathroom and it thrived. So wherever you have a bit of space, put a snake plant and it will happily grow. It is also adaptable in size. it can grow into some of the larger indoor plants or stay small, depending on the pot provided.

7. Easy to care for

Another one of the snake plant benefits is that it is what is called a “closet plant”. You can forget about it for weeks and it grows just fine on its own. It makes a great plant for beginner indoor gardeners.

8. Looks great

With very little effort you have a plant that grows straight up, is always green, and has intricate patterns on its leaves. Sansevieria is the type of plant that looks well on your office desk or in your hallway or bathroom even if you haven’t touched it in a while.

9. Pest resistant

Because the snake plant needs very little water and its leaves rarely fall off, it is pretty much impossible for it to develop pesky pests like fungus gnats. It is susceptible to spider mites and mealybugs, but only if it catches them from another plant. Most bugs will keep away from it.

10. Hard to kill

Snake plants are very hard to kill houseplants. Indifference or forgetfulness are the common causes why houseplants die off, but snake plant thrives on it. It is also very resilient and bounces back from almost anything you can put it through. As long as the root is fine, so will the plant.

Picture Source

Snake Plant Benefits For You

11. Lucky

Many people consider snake plants to bring luck and prosperity to the household where it lives. Apparently, it fights away negative energies such as bad luck and ill intentions due to its sharp edges. And why not, a little extra protection can’t be bad.

12. Responsibility

Sansevieria is a great plant to get a teenager to help them learn responsibility. It will be happy with care and attention but will live without it, so the stakes are low. It is also great for an adult who has too many things to worry about but also wants a plant, for the same reason.

13. Nurture

Another medical benefit of snake plants is its existence. You have a plant to care for and look after. This can be very therapeutic and can help you relax  at the end of a long day.

14. Nature

And you have a little green in your house, which is always good. Houseplants bring nature closer to those who want to see some leaves but live in a city. Snake plants are a corner of nature that will always be there to greet you and that require very little effort on your side.

15. Wellness

Simply having a plant in your apartment can be a benefit. The sight of green, the cleaner air, and the knowledge that you have a plant in your house can improve your mood and make you feel better.

I said before, snake plant care is very easy, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need any care at all. Check our guide on how to take care of snake plants or look below if all you need a refresher. Remember that snake plants are toxic to humans and pets so if you have any, keep the plants out of reach.