Snake plants are gorgeous hassle-free succulents with long green serpent-like leaves.

It’s these awesome leaves that make this plant so unique.

And you might be wondering – will my snake plant produce more of these lush, waxy leaves or do I have to make do with what comes in the pot.

Will A Snake Plant Grow More Leaves?

A snake plant with lots of leaves

Yes, as a snake plant matures it will develop new shoots and grow more leaves.

The older leaves will also become longer and thicker.

In addition, your snake plants will send out rhizomes (a type of modified underground stem) from its main root ball that a separate baby snake plant will grow from.

The baby will sprout leaves, develop its own root system and grow alongside the main plant.

How To Care For Your Snake Plant So That It Grows More Leaves

For your snake plant to produce as many new leaves as possible, you’ll need to keep it in a location that gets lots of bright, indirect sunlight, keep it warm, humid, and away from cold drafts, and repot it when it becomes root-bound.

Give It Lots Of Bright light

If you want your snake plant to grow more leaves, put it in a location that gets lots of bright, indirect sunlight.

The more bright light you offer this plant the more it will grow and the better it will look.

However, intense direct sunlight will scorch its leaves so it’s usually best to keep it out of the direct afternoon sun.

Snake plants are tough and many wrongly believe that you can stick them in the corner of a dark room and they will thrive.

They can tolerate lower amounts of light but if you keep them in the shade for too many months or years, their growth will become stunted and their health will go into a slow decline.

Related Article: Can You Plant A Snake Plant With Another Indoor Plant?

Water Sparingly

Only water your snake plant when the soil becomes bone-dry.

Overwatering will seriously inhibit your plant’s growth and may end up rotting and killing It.

Test the soil before you give water and make sure it has completely dried out.

Avoid Cold Temperatures And Raise Humidity

To encourage the growth of new leaves, try to keep your snake plant within a temperature range of 70 and 90 degrees F.

And try not to let it dip below 50 F for prolonged periods.

Snake plants are usually not picky about humidity levels but if you want to encourage yours to grow more, raising the humidity will help a bit.

Keep it in a room like a bathroom that naturally has more humidity.

You could also group it together with other plants to raise moisture levels or buy a humidifier and place it nearby.

Keep It Away From Cold Drafts

Your snake plant will react to cold drafts and may not grow to the best of its ability if being affected by them regularly.

Keep it away from doors and windows that may be letting in bursts of cold air.

Wipe Dust From The Leaves

To grow new leaves, your snake plant needs to be able to photosynthesize as much as possible.

When too much dust builds up on the leaves it inhibits photosynthesis and can slow down growth.

Take a damp microfiber cloth about once every four weeks and wipe down the leaves of your snake plant.

This will allow it to produce more food and have more energy for growing new leaves.

Give It Fertilizer

Snake plants don’t require much fertilizing but giving it a little two or three times per year can help them to grow a bit better.

When you are watering, give it some standard fertilizer two or three times during its growing period (usually the spring and summer).

Follow your fertilizer instructions and be sure not to give it too much.

Remove Flowers

If your snake plant is super-happy and growing in optimum conditions, it may decide to produce a flower.

This sounds lovely but it’s probably not what you want for your plant.

If you allow the flower to grow, your snake plant will divert a lot of energy into its development and the production of new leaves will come to a halt.

Over time, the flower will also divert a lot of nutrients away from your snake plant’s foliage and this can begin to take a toll.

The flowers are also not that pretty and they produce a type of sticky substance that can get everywhere.

Your snake plant will look far better with lush green leaves so if you see a flower stalk growing from the soil, cut it off at ground level.

Repot Your Snake Plant When It Gets Root-Bound

Your plant will grow bigger and bushier when it has adequate space to grow inside its pot.

If you want your snake plant to grow more leaves, you should repot it before it takes up all the space in its pot or becomes root-bound.

When your snake plant has more space, it will be more likely to send out rhizomes and this will result in more leaves and more baby plants, making your pot a lot bushier.

But you don’t want to go ahead and repot your plant without considering a few things first.

When Was It Last Repotted?

Snake plants have quite a slow-growing root system (especially younger plants).

They also like to be rootbound and don’t require repotting that often (roughly every 2 to 5 years).

If your snake plant has been repotted within the last 6-months then it probably has plenty of space within its pot for new growth and shouldn’t be repotted yet.

A young snake plant that hasn’t been in its pot for very long can also have quite a shallow and fragile root structure.

When lifted out, the root ball could quite literally crumble to pieces, right before your eyes.

Only repot your snake plant if its original pot looks like it may be a bit small and inhibiting growth.

If you’re confident it hasn’t been repotted recently, lift it out from its pot and inspect the roots.

If they are growing everywhere and have taken over the pot, you can repot it in a pot that’s one or two inches bigger.

The extra space will encourage your snake plant to produce new growth.

If possible do your repotting in late winter, when it will be less likely to cause shock.

But these plants are tough and should bounce back from repotting at any time of year.

Pot Size

Only choose a pot that’s one or two inches bigger than your old pot.

Snake plants like their soil to completely dry out between watering times (bone dry).

If you use a pot that is too big, the soil will not dry out fast enough and your snake plant may soon begin to rot.

Use A Terracotta Pot With Good Drainage

Snake plants like their soil to dry out quickly after watering and a terracotta pot will help to draw moisture from the soil and allow the plant’s roots to dry out more effectively.

It’s not essential to use a terracotta pot but it will help to save you from overwatering your snake plant.

Final Thoughts

Snake plants are really easy to care for and if you want them to grow new leaves, the most important thing is to provide lots of bright, indirect sunlight and water them sparingly.

You can encourage further growth by not letting your snake plant get too cold, raising humidity and repotting before it gets too root-bound.