How to Grow and Care for Spider Plant

Despite their creepy-crawly name, spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are among the most popular houseplants to grow. Spider plants are moderately fast-growing plants. Their rosettes of slender, gently arching leaves stretch from around 12 to 18 inches long. The leaves are green or striped green and white.

Mature plants regularly send out long stems that bear small, star-shaped flowers. If the flowers are fertilized, a small fruit forms. Once the flowers fall off, tiny plantlets form in their place, which ultimately grow their own roots and can be snipped off to create new potted plants.

Benefits of Spider Plant

It is not surprising that spider plants are so popular, given their many benefits:

• Though they look great on a counter or tabletop, spider plants don't need to take up valuable space because you can grow them in a hanging basket.
• They require minimal care, which makes them ideal for beginners.
• They produce lots of new plants and are easy to propagate.
• Unlike many other popular houseplants, they are safe around pets.

Spider Plant Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing spider plants:

• Plant in moist, loamy soil with good drainage.
• Prefers to grow in light shade.
• Does well in containers
• Water and fertilize regularly throughout the growing season (spring to fall).
• Thrives in warm and humid conditions.
  

Light

Indoors, spider plants prefer a bright window or patio door that gets indirect sun. Outdoors, spider plants prefer to grow in light shade. They tolerate heavy shade, but their growth won't be as robust. Direct sunlight scorches the leaves.

Soil

These plants grow in a variety of soil types, but they favor loose, loamy soil with sharp drainage. Spider plant prefers a fairly neutral soil pH but tolerates slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil.

Water

Spider plants like lightly moist but not soggy soil. Overwatering causes root rot and ultimately kills the plant. These plants are sensitive to fluoride and chlorine in water, which may brown the leaf tips. If possible, use rainwater or distilled water for container plants. The fleshy tubers retain moisture well, so inconsistent watering, while not ideal, won't harm spider plants too much.

In the winter, keep watering and misting the plant regularly, as spider plant needs to be kept moist in all seasons.

Temperature and Humidity

Spider plants need warm, humid conditions. They won't tolerate temperatures below 50°F and should be protected from drafts and air-conditioning vents. Try to closely mimic their native warm, tropical, and humid tropical environment and maintain a humidity level of 50 to 60%, which is best achieved with a room humidifier.

Fertilizer

These plants like a moderate amount of feeding, roughly once a month during the active growing seasons of spring and summer. Too much fertilizer causes brown leaf tips, but too little fertilizer will result in weak growth. Use an all-purpose granular or water-soluble fertilizer during the growing season, following label instructions. Adjust the amount if necessary depending on your plant's growth. Don't fertilize the plant in the winter when it goes semi-dormant.

Types of Spider Plant

There are several varieties of spider plants, including:

• 'Variegatum' spider plant: This variegated variety of spider plant has leaves with wide stripes of dark green down the middle with white stripes along the sides. The width of each stripe is about the same.
• 'Vittatum' spider plant: Vittatum spider plant has a center strip of white that takes up most of the leaf. Small- to medium-sized green margins line each leaf. The stems of the leaves and plantlets are white.
• 'Bonnie' spider plant: Bonnie looks the most different from the other types of spider plant. It has a more compact size and the leaves curl loosely, sometimes even into large ringlets. The green leaves have creamy stripes down the center, but there's more of a gradient between the cream and green stripes.
• 'Ocean' spider plant: The 'Ocean' variety has green leaves with thin creamy edges. The plant's shorter, wider leaves give it the appearance of a spikier plant.

Pruning

Remove dead or browning leaves as they appear. If a plant is becoming too leggy and sparse, remove the plantlet shoots to redirect energy to the main plant.

Propagating Spider Plants

Spider plants are easy to propagate and so prolific that you'll want to share them with all your friends. Here's how it's done:

1. Once the small plantlets on a spider plant's stem develop roots that are at least an inch or two long, it's time to propagate. Using sharp pruners, carefully cut the plantlets off the stem, keeping the roots intact.
2. Pot them in a well-draining clay or plastic container filled with the potting medium, and make sure the soil stays moist (but not soggy) until they become established.
3. For plantlets without developed roots, place a small pot filled with potting soil near the parent plant. Place the plantlet on top of the soil in the new pot, and keep soil moist. Within a few weeks, roots should develop. Snip the plantlet from the parent plant, and continue growing in the new pot.

Alternatively, remove mature plants from their pot and divide them. Gently pull apart the root ball into sections, keeping as many roots intact as possible. Then, replant the sections.

How to Grow Spider Plant From Seed

Seed propagation isn't very common, since spider plants are so easy to propagate vegetatively by planting the offsets or dividing the roots.

1. To produce viable seeds, spider plant flowers must first be cross-pollinated. Use a small artist's brush or cotton swab to brush across the individual blooms once they appear. Brush all the flowers to ensure the transmission of pollen to all blossoms.
2. After the flowers fade, you'll find small green seed pods in their place. Pluck the dried pods from the plant and collect the seeds inside.
3. Plant the seeds about 1/2 inch deep in a small pot filled with potting mix, and keep the mix warm and moist until the seeds sprout. Fertility will vary, so plant a lot of seeds to ensure some success.

Potting and Repotting Spider Plant

Spider plants are often grown in containers as hanging plants due to the cascading nature of their foliage and their long stems with plantlets. In warm climates, spider plants do well in outdoor planters and as edging or ground cover plants. 

Grow spider plants in containers that are no more than 1/3 larger than the root ball. Ensure that the containers have ample drainage holes, and use a loose potting mix. Spider plants will typically need repotting every two to three years. You'll know it's time when you see roots protruding out of the drainage holes and up above the soil line.

The best time to repot is in the spring. Gently remove the plant from its old container and position it at the same depth in a slightly bigger container. Then, fill around it with fresh potting mix.

Keep watering and misting the plant regularly, though, as spider plant needs to be kept moist during the dry winter months.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Spider plants are generally healthy, but they are susceptible to a few common plant pests, including aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites. Depreciated foliage is a common sign of an infestation. A natural and effective way to combat some infestations is simply to rinse the plant with water. If the infestation is severe, use an insecticide, or a natural remedy such as neem oil.

Common Problems With Spider Plant

Spider plants rarely cause serious problems, and those that do occur are usually quite easy to solve:

Plant Is Too Sparse

A possible remedy is to cut away some of the baby plantlets as this redirects the plant's energy into producing more shoots. Another solution may be to repot and divide a plant that has become overly root-bound. If your spider plant begins to suddenly struggle after months of being a healthy plant, it likely needs more room for its roots.

Brown Leaf Tips

Spider plants are among several types of houseplants that are especially sensitive to the chemicals or salts that are found in treated tap water, which may cause leaf tips to turn brown. If your plant begins to show these burned tips, it's best to shift to watering with collected rainwater or untreated bottled water.

Leaf burn may also occur if a spider plant is getting too much direct sunlight. Remember that these plants prefer indirect light or shady conditions.

Browning Leaves

There are several reasons why your spider plant's leaves could be turning brown. Too much fertilizer and an abundance of fluoride and chlorine in water are also possible causes of discoloration. Overwatering spider plants leads to root rot, which causes browning leaves, as well. Moreover, the leaf tips turn brown if the humidity is too low.