Plant guide:🐍 Snake Plant
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⚠ Moderate🩺
Fungal
Snake Plant Red & Rust Spots — Fusarium Fungal Leaf Spot
Commonly affects: Sansevieria trifasciata / Dracaena trifasciata (Snake Plant)
Small, reddish-brown to rust-coloured circular or oval spots appear scattered across the leaf surface, sometimes with a yellow halo. The spots are dry and slightly sunken. In humid conditions, spots may enlarge and develop a light-coloured centre. This is Fusarium fungal leaf spot — one of the few foliar pathogens that affects Sansevieria. It is opportunistic, typically colonising leaves that have been physically damaged (scratches, tip damage) or that have been kept wet from overhead watering.
Potential Causes
- 1High humidity combined with poor air circulation providing conditions for fungal spore germination
- 2Water sitting on leaf surfaces from overhead watering, misting, or rain
- 3Physical wounds (cuts, scratches) providing entry points for Fusarium spores
- 4Introduction from infected substrate or tools
Solution Steps
- 1Remove heavily spotted leaves and dispose of them — do not compost.
- 2Apply a copper-based or sulphur-based fungicide spray to remaining leaves, covering all surfaces.
- 3Improve air circulation around the plant.
- 4Never water the plant from overhead — always apply water directly to the substrate.
- 5Repeat fungicide treatment every 10-14 days for 3-4 cycles until new spots cease appearing.
- 6Sterilise any tools used on the plant before using them on others.
Prevention Tip
Keep snake plant leaves dry at all times — never mist and never water overhead. Fusarium leaf spot is almost exclusively a problem of plants with consistently wet foliage.
