I bought a snake plant a few years ago, which had leaves with beautiful patterns. However, after repotting, the new leaves appear totally different. I took a leaf from the original plant to propagate, but the new plant again looks different from the original. How can I grow a new plant which looks like the original one?

Beh Siaw Fung

This is a common occurrence when one propagates a snake plant via leaf cuttings, where the resulting plants that grow will look different from the mother plant. This is especially so for variegated cultivars.

A more reliable method to ensure you get new plants that retain the characteristics of the mother plant is to use the division method, where you split a clump of plants into several smaller sections.

Lemon plants need well-draining soil and sunny location

This is my first attempt at growing lemons. After germinating for a week, the seedlings were transplanted to pots. These are about two weeks old. The soil type used is bio-organic compost. I keep them indoor by my kitchen window, which gets a few hou...