The complete guide to caring for spider plants

After graduating from college and moving into an apartment, a spider plant was the first plant I grew. Hanging from the ceiling, the spider plant with its long strappy leaves and cascading baby spiders was such a nice addition. Little did I know that a NASA study from the 1980s showed spider plants to be one of the top indoor plants for removing toxins from the air. Such a bonus!

In this post, I share everything you need to know about growing and caring for spider plants. If you are new to indoor houseplants, this is one of the easiest to grow and care for.

Background

Spider plants are native to tropical and southern Africa and were first described by Carl Peter Thunberg, a Swedish naturalist in 1794. Today, spider plants remain popular as one of the easiest plants to grow.

Scientific Classification

Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are a species of herbaceous (no persistent woody stem above ground) perennial flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae. There are primarily three varieties.

•  ‘Vittatum’ is the most popular with variegated leaves having green along the edges and a white stripe in the center.
•  ‘Variegatum’ also has variegated leaves with white along the edges and a green stripe in the center.
•  ‘Mandaianum’ leaves are only 4-6 inches long and have green along the edges and a yellow stripe in the center. Considered a dwarf variety.

Spider Plant Characteristics

Spider plants grow quickly and can become two feet wide and two-three feet long. Their ability to grow ‘spiders’ or plantlets makes a spider plant unique. Sometimes referred to as an ‘airplane’ plant because the plantlets look like spinning propellers.

Pre-rooted plantlets grow at the end of offshoots and usually develop in the fall in response to shortened daylight. These offshoots also develop when a plant becomes ‘pot bound’. The stress of not having enough room to grow cause the offshoots to emerge. Prior to the plantlets, small star-shaped white flowers will grow at the end of the offshoot. These flowers are then followed by leaves that form the plantlets. Continue reading the propagation section under ‘Caring for Spider Plants’ below to learn how to use these plantlets to propagate new spider plants.

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Caring for Spider Plants

In this section, I will review the most important aspects of caring for spider plants: light, soil, water, fertilizer, transplanting propagating, and potential problems.

Light

Spider plants prefer moderate to bright indirect sunlight. Plants should be placed within 3 feet of large south or east-facing windows. Avoid placing in a west-facing window as the afternoon light is too strong. Spider plants also like it warm with temperatures between 60-80°F (Fahrenheit) (warmer in the daytime).

Soil

Spider plants are not too fussy about soil. A general-purpose indoor potting soil can be used. If you purchase soil, ensure that it is pest free when you open it, otherwise, return. To understand the soil composition, check the ‘ingredients’ on the back of the soil package. Some potting soils have slow-release fertilizer and/or water retention crystals.

Water

Before we get to watering, let’s discuss containers because there is a correlation. It is important to plant your Spider plant in a container that has drainage holes and a removable bottom saucer. Clay containers will dry out quicker than plastic due to the porous nature of the clay. 

Spider plants have evolved to have tuberous fleshy roots and rhizomes. Because of this root system, spider plants can store water and thus endure inconsistent watering.

Spider plants should be allowed to dry out between watering. The question is how to determine when to water. There are two practices I recommend. First, look at the soil. Dry soil becomes lighter in color and may pull away from the sides of the container. Second, stick your finger approximately 2-inches into the soil. If the soil looks and feels dry, then water. Here are a few other watering considerations:

• Tap water is generally fine to use if it does not contain fluoride. Fluoride can cause the tips of the plant leaves to turn brown. Rainwater can also be used. I personally like to use filtered water from my refrigerator. Water that has been treated by a water softener should not be used because it contains high amounts of salt.
• Water during the day as opposed to at night to ensure that any water on the leaves has time to evaporate.
• Houseplants have a period when growth slows. For me in USDA gardening zone 6a, that occurs during the fall and winter. When growth slows, plants need less water.

Fertilizer

Always read and follow the directions on any fertilizer you purchase. Here are a few considerations when choosing a fertilizer:

• Every fertilizer will have a series of numbers such as 5-5-5 or 3-2-1 on the label. These numbers indicate the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) contained within the fertilizer. Spider plants do well with a balanced fertilizer. Balanced simply means that there is an equal amount of each nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) in the fertilizer such as 20-20-20.
• Fertilizers can take the form of either liquid, granular, or slow release. I like using a slow-release fertilizer that can be mixed into the soil. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of remembering when to fertilize.
• Like watering requirements, fertilizer requirements decrease when plant growth slows from late fall through early spring. During the active growing season, fertilize monthly with a half-strength balanced fertilizer. From September through April, withhold fertilizer.

A newly purchased potted spider plant may already have fertilizer in the soil. Because this is difficult to know when purchasing, one option is to transplant it into your own potting soil. Let the plant acclimate to its new environment for a week before transplanting. Remember to check the ingredients on the soil you purchase. Today, many commercial soil mixes contain slow-release fertilizers within the mix.

Transplanting

Due to the root system of spider plants, frequent transplanting is recommended. Transplant yearly during the first three years and then every other year. Spider plants that are somewhat pot bound encourage more offshoots to develop. When transplanting, only go up one size in a container. For example, if your plant is in a 6-inch diameter container, the next size should be an 8-inch container. Transplanting can occur in any season.

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Here are the steps to follow when transplanting:

• Prepare a new container with soil. Start by filling the container one-third full of moistened soil. If the potting soil does not contain fertilizer, add a pelleted slow-release fertilizer to the soil (follow directions on the fertilizer label). Set aside.
• Gently remove the plant from its existing container. It may be necessary to loosen the dirt around the container. Grab the base of the plant and turn the container upside down to release the plant from the container.
• Remove as much of the soil from the roots of the spider plant. If the plant is pot bound, this may be difficult. Just be gentle and keep working around the roots. Eventually, the soil will release. It’s best to work over a container that catches the old soil.
• Set the spider plant into the new container. If the roots of the plants are long, it’s ok to trim the roots.
• Add potting soil evenly around the plant until the soil is one inch from the top of the container. Compress the soil frequently around the base of the spider plant as it is added.
• Water the plant.
• Place the transplanted spider back in its location.
• It may take a few days for the leaves to perk back up, that’s normal.

Propagation

This is the best feature of spider plants. The plantlets that develop at the end of the offshoots can be directly planted in a good indoor potting soil. Plantlets can be propagated during any season. Here is the process:

• Either an entire offshoot can be cut from the mother plant or individual plantlets can be cut from the offshoot.
• Fill a small container with moistened indoor potting soil and make a small indent in the center of the soil.
• Dip the roots of the plantlet into water and then dip into a rooting hormone. While a rooting hormone is not required, it does stimulate root growth.
• Place the plantlet in the prepared soil and spritz it with water.
• Place the container in moderate indirect light.

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Common Problems

There are a few common problems with spider plants but these problems are usually not extensive:

• Root rot from too frequent watering. If this occurs, the spider plant may need to be separated and the roots that are healthy transplanted.
• Tips of the leaves turning brown from one of the following possible causes. The brown tips can be trimmed with a pair of scissors.
  • not enough water (check watering guidelines above)
  • too much fluoride in the water or fertilizer (switch to rainwater or distilled water and/or check the ingredients in the fertilizer)
  • too much soluble salts in the water (switch to rainwater or distilled water)
• Small brown scale insects or mealybugs. Dip a cotton swab in alcohol and use to wipe off the insects.

There you have it, the complete guide to growing and caring for spider plants. As with most plants, the key to success is good light, good soil, and proper watering and fertilization. I hope your spider plants bring you as much joy as mine bring me.

Here are a few other post that you may enjoy.

• The complete guide to caring for African Violets
• How to care for indoor houseplants
• Five great indoor plants to give as a gift