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Snake Plant


Question
I have a snake plant in a terrarium with my White Lined Gecko, and it's getting a bit tall. Is it possible to prune it? If so, how? Will I need to just remove the whole plant and replace it with a shorter one, or can I just snip the top of the one tall leaf? It's the gecko's favorite place to hang out, so I would hate to have to replace it.

Answer
Unlike other plants that have limbs and leaves on the limbs, the snake plant is all leaf, so when you prune it, instead of cutting to a leaf node, and having new growth start from there, on the snake plant, you are cutting a leaf, so no new growth will come for where you cut. It will not hurt the plant to cut it back.  You can cut a pointed end on the leaf, to make it look more natural.
It may brown on the cut edge, as the leaf heals. You can cut the brown off. Snake plants can become very large in time. There are often sprouts that come up on the base of the main plant. You may consider taking one of those sprouts off and starting it, to replace the larger plant when it become too large to prune anymore.

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