An easy-to-grow tropical plant for Phoenix, Arizona - sansevieria

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To my surprise and delight, the sansevieria pups that I got a couple of years ago are doing great. And I'd never even heard of sansevierias until a gardening friend gave me some pups. I'll see if I can explain.

The most common sansevieria that you see around is usually called a "snake plant". If you're old enough, you will remember them being called "mother-in-law's tongue". And the most common variety looks similar to what I have growing here in the garden, but it's just slightly different. It's bluer, and I think that's why it does better in the heat.

And it's HOT here. I'm in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, and the summer temperatures are always over 100, sometimes getting up in the teens. And since the humidity is very low, a lot of tropical plants won't grow, even if you give them all of the water they want. They simply dry out - I'm talking about most ferns, which I've killed over the years of experimenting with them.

Anyway, sansevierias don't seem to be a popular plant at most garden centers here. And I really have no idea why, mine are growing like crazy. And they send of offshoots (called pups) that you can cut off and transplant (I just transplanted the two pups in the foreground of that photo).

So if you're lucky, you have a friend who will fill a shopping bag with pups, and you just stick them in the ground, and water them. Or you can buy a single plant, and as soon as it starts producing decent pups, you can transplant them. Or you could just be lazy, and watch as the pups are created on their own, at the end of runners. They will pop up all over the place!

Mine get morning sun and afternoon shade from a tree, and my house. They're not cactuses, so you can't plant them out in full sun. But they don't seem to mind the brutal summer heat. Strongly recommended.

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