Sansevieria francisii (?) identification confirmation

[Colin Walker]

Here's a pic of one of my smaller specimens of S. francisii just to show how floppy and untidy it can get, even as a small specimen.

Also notice the new offset top right. Most sansevierias flower and then offset, whereas this species has a strong tendency to randomly produce offsets at all sorts of odd angles.

Note too the leaf pointing downward lower right is doing that because it's producing a root at the base of the leaf, forcing it to bend downwards.

As far as I recall the main rosette here has yet to flower.

Finally apologies for the dirty pot. I've scrubbed at the scale and can't remove it from this painted terracotta pot.

Try Kilrock Gel ..... for limescale removal. Use it on empty pot. H&S warning .... highly acidic .... but damned effective .... get it from Lakeland .... the kitchen type shop.

Thanks for the advice, but with the plant still in the pot I'll not be trying this anytime soon. Also this gel is likely to remove the paint too.

[MatDz]

Mat, I've flowered dozens of Sansevieria species over 20 or so years but have hardly ever had fruit develop. So my gut feeling is that they're mainly self sterile, but this isn't really based on any sound evidence.

What I must try to do in the future is a bit of cross pollinating when more than one spike is available.

I've just done a quick trawl of literature and haven't as yet come up with a definitive statement.

What I can say for sure is that most (maybe all) species are nocturnal flowerers and the vast majority have very fragrant scents akin to hyacinths.

Also each flower only lasts a single night.

That's gonna be a challenge for sure! By cross pollinating different spikes I assume you mean two different plants, or there is a chance for two spikes on the same plant, yet different offshoots? Plant biology is still quite a mystery to me, what a disappointment it was to find out Lithops are self sterile!

That last Sansevieria looks much better in the new pot, glad you followed my example! I would keep them pure clay as well, but it's a tiny sacrifice from my side