A Mother-in-Law's Tongue Can Be A Beautiful Thing

I walked into my little conservatory the other evening, and was bowled over by the lovely fragrance in the room. It took me a minute, but I suddenly realized that it came from the large pot of sansevieria, or as it's commonly known, mother-in-law's tongue. I had seen the appearance of the flower stalks (for the second winter running), but I generally don't go in there at night. The strong scent made me grab my Mac and start doing a bit of research. Last winter, I had noted the sweet smell of the flowers, but it was very faint. This in-your-face perfume at night made me wonder if it might be a night bloomer - and that appears to be the case. Internet searching and my AHS Guide yielded some very interesting facts.

First of all, Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii', which appears to be the cultivar I have, comes from dry, rocky areas in Africa and some other countries. The plant seems to produce flower stalks only when potbound, as mine certainly is. It originally came from a dish garden that was sent to my mother's funeral nine years ago, and is now a large clump that's as tall as me (5'7"). It's grown on in the same pot all those years, undisturbed. Sansevieria will tolerate a good deal of neglect; in fact, it should be underwatered in winter, as too much water easily causes the plant to rot. The room temperature (a consistent 70-72 degrees) appears to suit it. According to the AHS Guide, a mature plant in happy conditions will send out flower stalks in late winter. The stalks vary in length from about 6" to 12" inches, and have bright, lime-green whorls of flowers all along them. I'd need to do more research on pollinators, because the buds are all dripping with nectar (similar to peonies) which might imply ants, but as night bloomers, moths would be more likely. Interesting. To interested parties, I hope to be able to post a photo, but I'm not a techie by any stretch of the imagination and I haven't figured out how to yet. You can see photos from similar species on GardenWeb.

I had been fixated on the two flower stalks at the front of the plant, but further investigation revealed that there are 6 stalks in total, scattered throughout the plant leaves, so that explains the powerful fragrance. Once the flowers open, they quickly begin to fade and drop their petals. They're a bit messy, but if you're a fragrance freak like me, that's a minor matter. I'll enjoy it every minute it lasts!