Spider Plant
Scientific Name
Chlorophytum comosum
AKA
Airplane Plant, Ribbon Plant
Origins / Hardiness Zones
Central and Southern Africa / 9-11 USDA
About
An absolute classic. The Spider Plant is beloved for their easy going nature and ability to produce spiderettes, or little mini spider plants, that are ready to propagate at will.
Light Needs
Water Schedule
Temperature
Humidity Levels
Toxicity
As far as humidity goes, spider plants will thrive with moderate to high humidity, between 40-80%. This will allow your plants to put on lots of healthy new growth. The leaf tips can brown if the humidity is too low.
A non-toxic plant pal! You can introduce this plant to your whole family, pets and children included. While it'll be a sad day for you and your plant if someone takes a nibble, you don't have to worry about poisoning anyone!
Although very adaptable, bright, indirect light is ideal for the Spider Plant. Susceptible to leaf burn in long stretches of direct light. Can tolerate lower light conditions, but be sure to adjust watering (and lower expectations for their growth).
Spider plants like lightly moist but not soggy soil. Overwatering can cause root rot and ultimately kill the plant. These plants are sensitive to fluoride and chlorine in water, which can brown the leaf tips. So 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.
Warm, humid conditions are ideal for spider plants. They don’t like temperatures below 50 °F - the lower leaves are likely to yellow. This means they should be protected from drafts and air-conditioning vents when grown indoors.
Spider plants are generally healthy, but a few common plant pests, including aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites, can impact them. 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. An insecticide, or a natural remedy such as neem oil, can be used on more serious infestations.
When they're thriving, Spider Plants send out offsets, or pups. If you’ve seen a Spider Plant that has a very long stem with what looks like a mini spider plant on the end, that’s a little pup—also called a spiderette! In this case, you can cut off the pup and place directly into potting mix or monitor in water while waiting for roots. You also can leave the pup attached to the main plant during this process. You’ll wait until they have a root system of their own and then detach from the mother plant.
These ambitious growers are fairly quick to fill out their pot and become rootbound. Try to repot every year in the spring, especially when tending to a younger plant. Increase the pot size by about 2 inches each time or until you're satisfied with the size. It's still important to repot at this stage, but it'll be an exercise of refreshing the soil, keeping the pot size the same, and possibly doing some root trimming to restrict the plant's growth.
These plants like a moderate amount of feeding, roughly once a month during the active growing seasons of spring and summer. Too much fertilizer can cause 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.
Spider plants rarely cause serious problems, and those that do occur are usually quite easy to solve.The natural impulse when a spider plant appears to be struggling is to increase its water or fertilizer rations, but in the case of spider plant, that's the wrong approach. Instead, the solution may be to repot and divide a plant that has become overly root-bound.
It might not be obvious why this plant is called a Spider Plant until you've seen their unique offshoots—which pop out from the plant like a spider suspended on the end of their web! These little mini plants are often called spiderettes.
Repotting
Propagation
Pests / Diseases
Common Problems
Pro-Tip
Fertilizer
