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How to Care for Spider Plants

Chlorophytum comosum aka spider plant, airplane plant, St Bernard lily, spider ivy or ribbon plant in a terracotta pot
Photo Credit
t50/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Chlorophytum comosum
Plant Type
Houseplant
Sun Exposure
Part Sun
Shade
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Spring
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
White

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Growing Spider Plants: Watering, Lighting, Propagation, and Pests

Catherine Boeckmann

Spider plants produce a rosette of long, thin, arched foliage that is solid green or variegated with white. These easy-to-grow houseplants look especially lovely in a hanging basket and were a favorite in Victorian-era households. Here’s how to grow spider plants in your home!

About Spider Plants

During the summer, spider plants may produce tiny white flowers on long stems, as well as baby spider plants (offsets) called pups. The pups look like tiny spiders, hence the plant’s name!

for their reported air-purifying ability, though a large number of plants would be required to reap any benefits in the home. Nonetheless, they are a classic and attractive plant to add to your space, and every little bit helps! Learn more about air-purifying houseplants.

Read Next

Planting

  • Grow in a soil-based, well-draining potting mix. Spider plants like even moisture; they don’t like to be too dry or too wet.
  • Keep plants in bright to moderate indirect sunlight. Spider plants do not appreciate direct, hot sunlight, which can burn their leaves, causing brown tips and spots.
  • Spider plants grow fairly quickly and can easily become pot-bound. Plan to repot a spider plant about every other year.
  • Spider plants can be grown outdoors as annuals during the summer. They look especially good along the edge of a container or bed, as long as they are kept out of direct sunlight.

Growing

  • During initial growth, water occasionally; once fully developed (within one year), water moderately. 
  • In the spring and summer months, keep the soil moist to encourage growth. Do not let the soil dry out too much.
  • Maintain average room temperature and humidity. Spider plants prefer temperatures between 55 and 80°F (13–27°C), which makes them a great indoor houseplant.
  • Fertilize twice a month in the spring and summer; however, avoid overfertilization.
  • See more Houseplant Growing Tips.
Spider plant hanging in a window. Photo by Olga Prava/Shutterstock.
Photo by Olga Prava/Shutterstock

Types

  • The most common varieties are the variegated forms:
    • ‘V¾±³Ù³Ù²¹³Ù³Ü³¾’ has green foliage with a single off-white stripe down the center of each leaf.
    • ‘V²¹°ù¾±±ð²µ²¹³Ù³Ü³¾’ is the inverse of ‘Vittatum’, with an off-white stripe running along the edge of each green leaf.
  • Solid green varieties are also available.

Harvesting

  • Healthy spider plants may eventually produce pups, offshoots from the adult plant that can be removed and replanted to start new plants. For the best results, allow pups to reach approximately 2 inches in diameter before removing them from the mother plant.

    Alternatively, set the still-attached pups into pots of soil placed next to the mother plant. Once the pups have rooted themselves into the soil, they can be cut loose from the mother plant.

    Learn more about propagating spider plants and other houseplants to share with your friends.

Gardening Products

Wit and Wisdom

Pests/Diseases

  • Spider plants are prone to tip burn, which can be caused by dry soil, low humidity, or a buildup of salt and chemicals found in some public tap water. Keep the soil slightly moist. Avoid watering with fluoridated or chlorinated water, and cut off brown tips if they do occur. 
  • To get rid of the brown discs on the leaves, use your fingernail to scrape off the brown residue every few days.
  • Mealybugs
  • Scale
Houseplant Guides
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË found each other. She leads digital content for the ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

Kim ogden (not verified)

5 years 5 months ago

It sounds like the plant is young still . Take care of it and in a little while you will see a new growth like a long straw . This will flower and then set pups little baby spiders . You can get several of these growing at the same time . It is quite beautiful. Just read the how to care for and spider plant , Good luck

Ann Jones (not verified)

6 years 6 months ago

I got some small shoots off a coworker spider plant and put them in soil. How long does it take them to grow? I have one inside the house and a couple outside on my deck.

The pups should be well-rooted in a few weeks. Keeping them in a warm area (65°F or warmer) will help them grow best, so you may want to keep the outside plants indoors if temperatures are below 65°F at night. You can put them back outside once they have settled into their pots. Otherwise, just keep the plants watered and out of direct sunlight, which can burn spider plants. An eastern window would be great.

Michelle Larson (not verified)

6 years 6 months ago

How do I get flowers

William Jennings (not verified)

6 years 4 months ago

Spider plants send out shoots from the plant that will produce small white flowers when the mother plant starts getting root bound. Generally, they don't send out shoots which is the plant looking for new soil. Once the new baby plants are a couple inches across, then you can plant them. Either pinch them off and plant them or set the end flower of top of a small pot with soil until it roots itself.

Geoffrey (not verified)

6 years 6 months ago

To make your plant flower, leave it!
To make the ‘ spider legs’ the plant has to be cramped in its container so feed well. Plenty of water during its growing season. Once the leaves start to get large it will then start to put out legs and the flowers come on those. But they will only put out leaves until the pot is too small.
Good luck. I would show you mine but can't send pic.
G

Jaime Sansom (not verified)

6 years 7 months ago

I bought them as babies and so I put them in a pot of their own and had then for bought 2 weeks and have them sitting on the west wall of my den so then get the east sun in the morning. Is that enough sun for them?

That may not be enough. They like bright but indirect sun. You could put them near a sunny window but out of the direct sunshine that comes in.

Christine (not verified)

6 years 7 months ago

The plant is huge and healthy but the off shoots don’t have nubs or roots coming out of the bottom. the plant has been outside on my patio for over a year We had a mild winter in Az so I never took it inside. Can all the little offshoots still be potted? Thanks

The shoots will probably form roots when you nestle them into rooting medium/potting soil. That’s their natural spreading habit. We can not figure out exactly why they have not developed the nubs/roots.