Spider Plant Care
Common Name: Spider Plant
Scientific Name: Chlorophytum comosum
Lighting: Moderate
Watering: Low
The Spider Plant is characterized by its long shoots of thin foliage with off shoots at the ends of many of the leaves. The Spider plant's foliage is commonly known to be variegated with a white stripe, however some may have the white stripe to the outside or the foliage may be entirely green. The Spider Plant is one of my top easy to grow houseplants as well as one of the easiest to reproduce.
The Spider Plant requires only light watering. Allow the soil to dry completely in between waterings. You only need to water the spider plant once every two weeks. If the foliage begins to show black tips or a yellow halo, you are probably over watering the plant. If the foliage begins to drop, the plant is ready for a drink. If the foliage begins to brown, try watering with distilled water. The Spider Plant has been known to have problems if there are chemicals in the water.
Spider Plants prefer natural light, but do not place them in direct sunlight. If the leaves begin turning brown, try moving the plant out of the direct light. If the plant is kept within 5 to 8 feet of a window it should grow fine.
The off shoots can be removed and placed in soil or water which will then grow into its own plant in very little time. It is actually good to remove these off shoots from the main plant. Too many off shoots can cause the main plant to strain.
Pests and mites are not a problem with this houseplant. I personally have never had any problems with pests on my spider plants, however if they should arrive simply spray a soapy water mixture over the plants a couple of times a day.
Please tell others what experiences you've had with this plant.
Labels: air purifying houseplants, bathroom houseplants, easy to grow houseplants
posted by drayas @ 10:11 PM
28 Comments:
Good tips! Well done!!
a good tip for cat owners: keep spider plants out of the reach of cats
Is it poisonous for my baby?? how does it affect? Can I keep it outdoors.
jd,
Yes, Spider plants are poisonous to children and animals if eaten. If you are in a warm climate you can place it outdoors, otherwise somewhere out of baby's reach.
If injested common poison symptoms include mild stomach ache, rash and swelling around mouth. However, if you suspect your child has eaten some of the plant, you should contact a Poison Control Center ASAP.
Thanks,
drayas
I live in TX and have 2 spider plants in my backyard all year long. In the summer, I keep them in the shady area under a huge schefflera/umbrella tree next to my pond. But they do OK in the sun, so long as I don't let them dry out.
My friend gave me a spider plant last summer, and for an ENTIRE YEAR my cat nibbled on it before I noticed (the constant puking is what finally tipped me off). Once i removed it from reach, it took off, and it now doing great... however, the leaves are getting progressively lighter green, is this okay?
Kate,
Did your move give the plant more or less light? Usually light levels will cause that change.
Thanks,
drayas
I've noticed that the leaves get a translucent look to them and turn a lighter green when my plants need a drink.
I am new to spider plants. I placed one of those aquabulbs in the soil to keep the plant watered. My spider plant is not reacting well to that at all: dead brown leaves and just not appearing healthy. I removed the aquabulb watering device but it is too early to see how it will react. Maybe the plant was being over-watered? Also, I have water a softener unit and wonder if that could be adversely affecting the plant as well? Geraldo
I put an "aquaglobe" in my spider plant and saw the same adverse affects. As with you, I have only taken it out recently. Hopefully the plant's condition improves soon.
I have a peace lily and spider plant in my office. They are about 5-6 feet from the window, and above window height. I have added flourescent bulbs for plants, mostly for my other plants. The lily and spider sit 3-4 feet directly beneath the light. Is this going to be too much for them? Nick
Geraldo,
The globe may have been overwatering the plant, but the water softener is also not good. On all houseplants you should use non-treated water for best results.
How is the plant doing now?
-- drayas
Nick,
I have not used lights before. Can any of my readers give us a hand??
Thanks,
drayas
Spider plants are not poisonous to cats, my sister's cat can freely eat it and she's 18. If it applies to dogs as well I don't know.
Hello,
You are correct. At the time when this was posted, the various sources I used labeled it as poisonous. However since then I have removed it from the list. I do not want to delete the comments therefore why it is still there.
So for clarification, as far as I have found, Spider plants ARE NOT poisonous.
Thanks,
drayas
Can I trim leaves to almost dirt
level,to promote new leaves,because
of dried brown tips?
I received it as a gift last year but it still does not have any shoots at the tips. Is this normal? When does it get new shoots?
I have a spider plant that I truly love. It has now grow to the point I need to repot it. Does anybody know if a spider plant becomes root bound, does that hinder the growth of the plant? As in my case, I have shoots that are becoming entangled with each other. My plant is HUGE to say the least.
hello how do i plant the bulbs a friend just drop off 3 of them so 2 bulbs in water and 1 in a pot with a mass cane as you can see i am new to this. need help thank you
I have a very small spider plant I got at a plant show back in Feb. It was doing good but now it seems some of the leaves are turning a light brown color and getting mushy. I think it may have got to much water. Is there anything I can do or just hold out let it ride it out as the soil dries out?
Well I figured out it was the water that was making the leaves change. There was chlorine in the water. So now I leave some water out for about a week before I water it or just use rain water. Plant really has picked back up again.
My spiderplants seem quite happy but after awhile (a couple of years) develop a sticky sap and bumps on the stems of the babies. Am I doing something wrong and can I prevent this?
Spider plants are the original "How could you possibly kill one?" plant. And they multiply like crazy. I put my houseplants outside in summer and take them to a basement room with multiple flourescent lights in winter. I can't begin to tell you how many spider plants I have. Some are massive--I can hardly lift them. A few years back I gave one of the biggest to a friend. She put it on a tall tree stump in her yard and her chickens discovered it. She was devastated, as was the plant. I had her bring it back, pulled the roots out, replaced the potting soil and stuck a couple of "babies" in to make it look better. Placed out of chicken reach, it recovered completely within a month. Absolutely as foolproof as a plant comes. I've dropped babies on the picnic table and left them for a month and they lived. I've dropped them on the ground and they've rooted and lived until winter killed them. Yeah, the cats will chew on them and it makes them vomit. I don't think it's poisonous--it's just not a good thing. After a few years the roots will completely replace the soil and they will still live. I give them an occasional dose of either liquid plant food or plant food spikes. Very occasional!
I have something eating the leaves of my baby spider that I just potted! I think it might be a worm because I saw one in the soil. Has anyone ever heard of this???
I've had my spider plant for a year and a half now and it seems to be a pretty easy plant to take care, but can anyone tell me about when I need to re-pot it? or how you can tell when it's pot is too small?
I had a spider plant baby in an old mug of water that I saved from its frost-dead mother over 3 years ago. It proceeded to grow in that mug and I kept filling the water, sometimes even letting it go completely dry (exposed roots) but it would always come back. It was obviously small and stunted, but survived and shot tons of baby offshoots, which I doubled back into the mug where most of them grew roots. In the new england winters there it sat by a drafty eastern window sill over a kitchen sink in the mug...until I bought a house. I vowed to give it a proper home so I repotted it into a southeast 4season porch, hanger pot. I had to literally break the mug because the roots where so packed and wound around inside the oddly shaped mug. The root ball was like a casting of the mug's inside. I planted it whole. In about 2 months it's about 6-8 times bigger with many offshoots. It took a good 2-3 weeks to get rolling but then took off.
Long story, but just a testament to its hardiness and tolerance. It's an unvariegated, medium green with a somewhat broad leaf, I water it pretty often and it sits in a picture window with 6-8 hrs direct sun just fine.
Thanks!
I have a small spider plant that I got a couple years ago. During the summer, I hang it outside, then bring it in for winter. Both last winter and this one, as soon as I brought the plant inside the whole main plant and some babies turn completely yellow, then brown. Last winter, it came back after a while. Why does this keep happening? I haven't watered it since I brought it inside this year (about 2 weeks or so)
White and green spider plants look lovely in a hanging basket placed in the corner of a shady, protected porch.
To create a waterfall effect, plant a large spider plant in one half of the pot and smaller spider plants in the other half. Cut off any 'babies' that grow over the large plant's side of the pot.
I adjusted the chains on my pot so that it tipped slightly, with the large plant being higher than the smaller plants. When the babies began to grow from the smaller plants, the effect was of a plant waterfall.
I used a wire and coconut husk hanging basket filled fine gravel in the base for drainage and rotting leaves mixed with rich soil sprinkled over and around the roots. The fleshy roots don't like to sit in water and seem happier with some air pockets in amongst the roots. I give it a cup of water every 10 or so days, taking care to not let the water sit on the leaves.
Every three years, I yank everything out of the pot and cut all of the leaves back to the root cluster. I chop the roots back until the ball is smaller (cutting most of them in half) and then repeat the above process. Each time I do this, the plants grow back more lush than before. Cutting back and re-potting spider plants can solve problems with yellowing or browning leaves, as this improves drainage and promotes new, healthy growth.
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