I am looking for some recommendations on plants to buy for my new house. The only problem is that my job has me on the road for 6 to 20 days at a time and it would be difficult to get someone to come in to look after them. I was thinking along the lines of cacti and snake plant and using some sort of wicking system to water with. Are there any permanent 'self watering' methods that work? The general consensus seems to not have much faith in the water globe type system, and I worry of over watering with drip systems.
Are you looking for houseplants or landscaping plants?
It sounds like you are looking for houseplants, as you mentioned the water globes. I would recommend the zz plant, snake plant and Christmas cactus. All 3 of these plants look nice but can go weeks without water.
For landscaping plants, I would recommend a type of gardening called xeriscaping. This section has several articles on the subject:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/xeriscape
Can I spritz my snake plant every day or will that harm it?
This can encourage fungus to develop. Snake plants are pretty hardy and typically do not need extra humidity to do well in a home. If you are looking to add humidity around the plant, consider setting it on a pebble tray instead.
I left my snake plant outside in Texas. We had hot and cold season, so it got a slight freeze. My leaves are half drooping and half up. Should I cut off drooping part or should I cut down to bulb and repot? They need to be repotted anyway. Please help. Thank-you. Liz
The drooping leaves sound like they may have been damaged by cold. The plant has to grow new leaves anyway, so your best bet is to cut droopy leaves down to the soil level, and replant. Snake plants are pretty hardy, it should regrow.
My plant is still in its original pot about 3 year old leaves about 20 inches high. Soil is dry but some leaves fell over and were wet and mushy. What happened?
Your snake plant has root rot. Even when you allow the surface of the soil to dry before watering, have you ever considered what is happening down where the roots are near the bottom of the pot? Sanseveria will last pretty much forever, if you let them get completely dry all the way to the bottom of the pot between waterings. Testing the soil moisture will do that for you: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-moisture-in-plants.htm
The good news is that these plants are so strong that you might well save it. Pull yours out of the pot, remove the soft leaves, cut off all the brown and/or mushy roots, gently wash off the old soil, and repot in well-drained mix (I like to use 50-50 cactus mix and perlite) This article has more information: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/treating-root-rot-gardening-tips-for-housplants.htm.
I've had a border of dwarf snake plants for years. This spring the outer leaves began to wither. Is it a fungus? What can I do? Someone told me that all the snake plants in South Florida were suffering from some kind of disease. Can you help?
Judging by the photo, it looks like you have a leaf spot fungus. For more information on leaf spot fungus and a prescribed course of treatment, please visit the following link:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/plant-leaf-spots.htm
Insects can also weaken plants in this manner. As a precaution, I would examine your snake plants for an insect infestation such as thrips, mealy bugs or spider mites. More information on these pests can be found below:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/controlling-thrips.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/spider-mite-treatment.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/mealybugs-control.htm
For more information on the care of snake plants, please visit the following link:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/snake-plant/snake-plant-care.htm
I decided to buy a snake plant for a bathroom that has no window because I thought it would look nice and clean the air. Can a snake plant survive and/or thrive under such conditions?
A snake plant in a windowless bathroom should work well. While researching I found many others who have done the same with success.
For more information on snake plants, please visit the following link:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/snake-plant/snake-plant-care.htm
An article on other plants for your bathroom:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/hpgen/bathroom-plants.htm
Any special instructions on how to care for Pearsons Snake Plant (very cool looking because of the long tubes), Amorphophallus Konja (really beautiful leaves and interesting stem - but I know to cut the bud before it flowers because of the odor)? Any insight would be great.
This articles will help you with the care of the Amorphophallus:
http://www.aroid.org/genera/amorphophallus/amcult.php
As for the snake plant, I am not familiar with a Pearsons Snake Plant. I may know it under another name. Do you have a picture or the botanical name?