The Sansevieria Bantel's Sensation is also often called the white sansevieria or simply Bantel's Sensation. Named after the man who developed this plant - Gustav Bantel - it is a unique cultivar of the sansevieria trifasciata. Although this particular sansevieria was developed in a nursery, its parent plant is native to the tropical regions of western Africa.
The White-striped Sansevieria Bantel's Sensation
Rare and unusual, sansevieria Bantel's Sensation has distinctive white vertical striping in the leaves and is sometimes called White Sansevieria. The 2-5 cm wide leaves are narrower than most other sansevierias and in a container 'Bantel's Sensation' grows up to a meter tall. Sweetly fragrant white flowers bloom during the long days of summer or when the plant is under stress, although this cultivar rarely seems to do so.
Sansevieria Bantel’s Sensation 🐍 Love all the variegation on this species and I look forward to the infrequent watering. 🙌 Via @ckhappyhouseplants
It has white vertical striping in the thin but long leaves and is often mistaken with sansevieria Metallica because of their similar appearance. You can distinguish the two best by looking at the leaves; the leaves of the sansevieria Bantel's Sensation are more yellowish and narrow.
Sansevieria Bantel's Sensation via History of This Foolproof Cultivar
This plant was discovered by Gustav Bantel of St. Louis, Missouri who patented the plant in 1948. On the patent application, Mr. Bantel stated "The primary object in carrying out this invention was to fix the unusual dark olive green leaves and silver-white longitudinal stripes of the leaves, their slender transversely concave rapier shape, and their nearly vertical stiff erectness, diverging upwardly from a short basal rosette."
He described the plant as "similar to ordinary sansevieria, however, it differs distinctly in having its slender ensiform leaves stiffly erect, deeply channeled in the lower portion, extending to 70 cm or more in height with a greatest width about 3-4 well above the middle and then gradually tapering in graceful curvature to an acute stiff point. In color, the inner concave face is mostly dark olive green streaked with silver-white with outer convexly curved face much lighter with dark green streaks narrower and more numerous and interspersed with narrow streaks of silvery white." (source llifle)
Picture via Not the Pickiest Houseplant
Place your sansevieria in a nice spot where it receives anything between bright or dim indirect light. This easy-going houseplant isn't too picky about its light conditions and will thrive either way, except for the variegation of this cultivar because the white leaves are less tolerant of low light conditions than your typical snake plant. Watering should be done minimally and infrequently. Sansevieria Bantel’s Sensation is an extremely drought-tolerant plant and only requires water once every ten days or so amidst its growing season.
Temperatures on the warmer side are preferred because of its tropical roots but no extra effort is required for humidity. Keep in mind not to mist this plant because the droplets on its leaves can cause rot. If you fertilize your sansevieria Bantel's Sensation, do it twice a year and during the plant's growing season. The showy sansevieria Bantel's Sensation makes an excellent indoor plant since it filters toxins from the air and is an indestructible houseplant.
