Sansevieira cylindrica leaf is shriveling up

[earthtodan]

Hello,
One of the leaves on my tallest cylindrica, which is otherwise healthy, is shriveling up. The dead part is propagating downward by about an inch per week. I've had it for a few years in fast draining soil and I don't overwater it. There are some fungus gnats in my house, but I try to keep them under control, and they don't seem to be affecting the health of my other plants. Any ideas? This is my favorite plant and I want to save it.

 

[Tetters]

I have some of these as well. How long have you had this one for? The reason I ask, is because I had some trouble with mine, and when investigating the roots, I found out it didn't have any. Evidently, these plants had been simply cuttings stuck in groups in their pots and hadn't yet sent out any roots. They had clearly been circulated to all the nurseries in the area in that condition.
We checked them over, and potted them back up in smaller pots individually. They finally started rooting after a bit of TLC.
The other thing with them is that you only have to accidentally touch the tips of the plant, and they will brown - so that might be the cause if the plant has had a knock. The presence of fungus gnats does indicate too much water!
Anyway ....Welcome to the forums @earthtodan

 

[earthtodan]

Interesting. This plant does have a healthy rhizome and has been in the pot for at least 2 years. I haven't checked the root system in a while, but a year ago it sent up a couple of new shoots that rapidly exceeded the height of the original. I propagated them a bit too soon and they're not growing, but the mother plant has been perfectly happy. Other than moving it outside and back inside once, I don't really handle it.

The fungus gnats were introduced by a friend who gave me a small over-watered plant without a drain hole. I use hydrogen peroxide, but I haven't been able to get rid of them ever since.

Anyway, I showed the photo to the guy at the nursery today, and he said it might just be the natural death of one of the leaves. Too bad if so - I like the sculpture quality of this plant, with its 5 distinct spears, tall and proud.

 

[Tetters]

I like these for the same reason, and have four pots now, all doing pretty well. Fungus gnats are irritating, well that's one way of putting it. I have found those yellow sticky patches to be a help. Washing the entire root system and re-potting in fresh compost might also help.

As an afterthought, and looking at my own plants, I'm wondering if they might need standing in tepid water for a drink, as they tend to be over dry rather than over wet! Watering from the base is usually preferable. I also wonder if they should have a bit more humidity?
Another afterthought... we're supposed to watch out for spider mites and mealy bugs