Sansevieria Cleopatra: A Complete Care Guide
The Sansevieria Cleopatra is well regarded for its large, beautiful, and intricately patterned leaves. This snake plant is easy to care for when you know what you’re doing, but mistakes can cause catastrophic damage. Fortunately, we’ll provide everything you need to know to keep your plant happy, healthy, and thriving.
Sansevieria Cleopatra – Basic Information
Sansevieria ‘Cleopatra’ is a hybrid of S.’ Phupramorn Delight’ x S. Rhodesiana /S. Pearson. It is renowned for its full and lush leaves, which grow in a lovely rosette pattern. It makes an excellent decorative plant and can fit almost anywhere – either as a standalone piece or as an accompaniment to add sharpness and contrast to a group of plants.
People love Sansevieria Cleopatra’s long leaves with green stripes running across the length. The leaves become longer, pointier, and larger as the plant becomes more mature.
| Origins | A hybrid of S.’Phupramorn Delight’ x S. Rhodesiana /S. Pearson |
| Light | Bright but indirect sunlight. |
| Watering | Water when the soil is dry. (Check weekly). |
| Soil Mix | Loamy or well-draining soil that doesn’t hold moisture for too long. |
| Pot | Terracotta pots are an excellent choice, but plastic or ceramic with drainage holes will do the job. |
| Temperature | 70 to 90 ℉ (21 – 32 ℃) |
| Humidity | Average humidity (between 40 – 60%) |
| Fertilization | Balanced plant fertilizer (NPK 14-14-14) but dilutes to half strength. Fertilize around once a month in the growing season (Spring to Autumn). |
| Toxicity | Mildly toxic to pets and humans. |
| Pests | Fairly resistant, but spider mites and mealybugs can infest this plant. |
| Repotting | Repot every one to two years. |
| Propagation | Divide the rhizome (underground plant stem) and put plantlets into new pots. |
Sansevieria are “succulents,” which means they use their leaves, roots, or stems as organs to store water. Sansevieria Cleopatra can make excellent houseplants because they don’t demand much attention from their owners.
Lighting
Due to its natural environment being arid, the Sansevieria Cleopatra prefers bright but indirect sunlight.
They will enjoy being in areas where they are exposed to filtered sunlight but can survive in lower light (this is a very robust plant, after all). They can tolerate direct sunlight, but too much can negatively affect the plant’s growth and may lead to issues with leaves turning brown.
We have a complete guide to snake plant light and placement if you want further tips.
Watering
Out of all of the things we’ll cover in this guide – this is arguably the most important piece of information – don’t overwater Sansevieria Cleopatra.
They are adapted to environments of heavy rainfall and long periods of drought. Overwatering can cause all kinds of damage, so you must avoid watering this plant too frequently.
The optimum watering frequency varies depending on the conditions in your home. However, you’ll probably want to water this plant every 10 – 14 days during the growing season.
Stick your fingers a few inches into the soil. If the soil is dry, you should water this plant, but don’t fall into the trap of overwatering. Like any snake plant, S. Cleopatra can rot quickly if the soil is too wet.
During the winter, you’ll want to water this plant even more sparingly. Check the soil weekly, but you’re likely to find this plant’s water consumption is much lower.
Soil Mix
This plant is native to tropical soils and a more arid environment. While there are different recommendations for soil mixes, the Sansevieria Cleopatra prefers well-draining soil. Having the right soil mix can be a preventative against root rot and ensures optimal and healthy growth.
Like most things, the “perfect” mix will depend on individual factors such as where you live and what the natural climate is like. However, there are some good general recommendations:
- Some places will recommend a store-bought cactus soil mix, but the proportion of potting soil could be too high and may retain too much water for your Cleopatra.
- A mix of worm castings, orchid bark/ coco chips, Pumice/ Perlite, peat moss/ coco coir, and coarse sand will provide enough filtration, a blend of nutrients, slow-releasing fertilizer, and aeration.
If you want to take a peek at the proportion of ingredients we recommend for optimal results, check out this snake plant soil mix guide.
Pots
Terracotta pots are an excellent choice for snake plants because they can absorb water, which means the soil dries faster & you are far less likely to overwater your Cleopatra.
A younger plant will do fine with a 5-inch diameter pot. An older plant will prefer a larger pot (around 10 inches in diameter).
We have a guide about choosing the right pots for your snake plant if you want more details.
Temperature & Humidity
This plant hails from warmer countries and prefers warmer temperatures of around 70 to 90 ℉ (21 – 32 ℃). However, it can tolerate slightly lower temperatures, but this may affect growth.
If you have freezing winters, you will want to place this plant in a warmer room or give it access to a heat source.
This plant is adapted to dry soil and long periods of drought. It does very well in average room humidity (40 – 60%).
Fertilization
A balanced fertilizer (NPK fertilizers) diluted to half strength is excellent for the Sansevieria Cleopatra.
You’ll want to feed it monthly in the growing season (spring to autumn). However, in the winter, you should avoid fertilizing this plant and stick to sporadic watering.
This plant is a light feeder and overfeeding it can have detrimental effects on the leaves (causing them to go soft and brittle).
Repotting
Roots growing out of a pot and some kinking of leaves can indicate it’s time to repot this plant. This plant is a fairly slow grower and is unlikely to need repotting more than once a year (usually around every two years). The best time to repot this plant is in the spring.
We have a guide on repotting snake plants if you want more information.
Pests
Sansevieria Cleopatra is a very resilient plant. Part of its charm is that it doesn’t need lots of tending to be healthy, but spider mites and mealybugs can infect this plant. This is most likely to happen if this plant is near another infected plant.
Sansevieria Cleopatra: Common Problems
Soft or Brittle Leaves
This is most likely due to disease (like root rot) or because of using too much fertilizer. The Sansevieria is a slow feeder, and giving it too much fertilizer is bad for its leaves. Reducing the amount of fertilizer will help prevent this issue from recurring.
Root Rot
This is the most common issue with most snake plants due to overwatering. Let the plant’s soil dry out completely before watering again.
If the leaves still look unhealthy, you need to remove any rotting roots. The Sansevieria is a hardy plant and can bounce back from this.
Very Slow Growth
The Sansevieria Cleopatra is not a fast-growing plant. However, if minimal growth happens, this could be due to the plant being in an environment that doesn’t have access to enough light. This can slow down or stunt its growth.
Sansevieria Cleopatra: Propagation
The best way to propagate the snake plant is to divide the rhizome (the horizontal underground stem that sends out roots and shoots). You’ll want to divide the rhizome at a root that attaches to a healthy leaf. It’s best to propagate this plant when repotting it (because it’s already out of the soil).
You can put this healthy cutting in a planting pot of its own, but it can take a few weeks to see initial growth.
MORE ON THIS: 7 Easy Steps to Divide & Repot a Snake Plant
FAQs About Sansevieria Cleopatra
Sansevieria Cleopatra vs Silver Blue
One common question often asked is the differences between a Cleopatra and a Silver Blue.
When these plants are young, they are almost identical. However, once they get more mature, it becomes easier to tell the difference.
The Cleopatra has longer leaves than the Silver Blue, whereas the Silver Blue will have thicker and broader leaves.
The other key to distinguishing them is looking at the leaf patterns. The Cleopatra will have deeper and darker lines than the Silver Blue, and these lines will be more continuous. The Silver Blue will have a slightly more faded look to its leaf pattern, and the lines will be more broken.
Finally, the Silver Blue has slightly paler leaves, especially towards the middle and tips. The Cleopatra often has much darker hues and tints of green on its leaves.
Should I mist a Sanseveria Cleopatra?
Sanseveria Cleopatra does not like to be misted.
The leaves don’t like getting wet; too much moisture can cause brown spots and other problems for the plant.
It’s best to get as little water as possible on the leaves when watering (or none at all).
How do I know my Sanseveria Cleopatra is healthy?
Vibrant green colors and healthy long stripes on the leaves are a big giveaway of a thriving and healthy Saneveria Cleopatra. Most snake plants grow slowly (and Sansevieria Cleopatra is no exception). However, very little or no growth within a year is a cause for concern.
Can my Sanseveria Cleopatra survive without sunlight?
A Saneveria Cleopatra can survive without sunlight – but not for long. They need access to bright but indirect light, or they will not reach their full potential. Indirect but bright sunlight means light that’s enough to cast a shadow but not a dark or defined one.
Final Thoughts
Sansevieria Cleopatra is a resilient and straightforward candidate for any house plant enthusiast’s collection. So long as you remember not to overwater the plant and take care of the fundamentals (like the soil mix, fertilizing at the right frequency, etc.), you will enjoy a healthy and thriving Sansevieria Cleopatra.
