Plant Finder

Other Names:  Mother-In-Law's Tongue, Viper's Bowstring Hemp

Description:

This popular, easy care plant will form dense stands of vertical leaves, arranged in a rosette, spreading by rhizomes to fill an area; very dark green leaves are contrasted with brilliant yellow margins; a beautiful container or rock garden accent

Ornamental Features

Black Gold Snake Plant's attractive large twisted narrow leaves remain dark green in color with distinctive yellow edges and tinges of black throughout the year on a plant with a towering habit of growth.

Landscape Attributes

Black Gold Snake Plant is an herbaceous evergreen tropical plant with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should never be pruned except to remove any dieback, as it tends not to take pruning well. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Black Gold Snake Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

This plant is native to the tropics and prefers growing in moist environments with evenly warm conditions all year round. In our climate, it is usually grown as an outdoor annual in the garden or in a container. If you want it to survive the winter, it can be brought in to the house and provided with special care, and then returned to the garden the following season. In its preferred tropical habitat, it can grow to be around 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. However, when grown as an annual or when overwintered indoors, it can be expected to perform differently, and its exact height and spread will depend on many factors; you may wish to consult with our experts as to how it might perform in your specific application and growing conditions.

This plant does best in partial shade to full shade. Keep it well away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant will benefit from a regular feeding with a general-purpose fertilizer with every second or third watering. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Black Gold Snake Plant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.