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Growing Spider Plants: Watering, Lighting, Propagation, and Pests
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.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I've had some trouble with plants in the past due to inconsistent watering. What approach do you use to have enough, but not too much? Specifically, what will happen to my spider plant if I over water it?
I am starting to see some brown streaks within the inside white (vittatum variety) stripes, near the end.
As for underwatering,
is tip burn an infection or just dead/ dried out leaf?
And last question, sunlight.
I have a large east facing window with a nice sized inside ledge. Will this be too direct of sunlight?
Thanks for the help!
Bryan
Watering: Spider plants don’t like to dry out completely, but they also don’t like to sit in water. Check the plant every few days and water enough so that the soil stays moist, but not wet. Make sure any excess water is allowed to drain through the bottom of the pot and is disposed of. Overwatering can cause root rot, which is a fungal infection. The most common symptom is discolored leaves, followed by leaf drop, then death of the plant.
Brown tips can be caused by dehydration or too much direct, intense sunlight. This is dead tissue, not an infection, so it won’t spread as long as conditions are improved.
Lighting: An east-facing window would be perfect, as it offers bright, morning sunlight. It won’t be as intense as afternoon or evening sunlight, which could be too harsh for the plant.
Thanks!
I have a black thumb but love plants and just got my first spider plants ever. I heard they’re easy to take care of but now I’m a little scared.
For now, since my plants are super healthy my only question is if I have to cut off the pups? I really like how the look hanging down.
Will they thrive on the shoots? Or will they eventually fall off?
Thanks!
The pups can be left attached to the mother plant if you prefer. They may eventually fall off if they grow large enough, but it will take a long time for them to reach such a size.
Two of my spider plants have the brown discs mentioned. I assume it is scale. I have been removing the discs by hand but when I find a stalk with numerous discs I remove it and try to save the babies if they are unaffected. While I have been diligent at this, they still come back. I even washed the plant with mild soap and water as I read it is a way to get rid of scale. It still comes back. Any ideas?
I fought scales for over a year on my mother plant. Nothing seemed to work to get rid of them. Everything I found on the internet said to throw the plant out because, once infected, it was nearly impossible to exterminate these pests.
Here is what I did and it worked:
I snipped off a couple of young pups and submerged them in 2 quarts of water with about a teaspoon of dish soap mixed in it. (I figured young ones would be less likely to be infected and were more resilient for the swishing process)I left them submerged in the water for about 20 minutes. Then I gently swished them around in the soapy water and ran my fingers over the leaves to remove any invisible crawler. After that I rinsed them by swishing them around in fresh water.
I then rooted them in water, with just the bottom of the plant touching the water. This has to be done in a room separate from the mother plant. Once the roots were large enough, I planted them in potting mix, again in room separate from mother plant. After I was sure they didn't have scales (I waited about 3 months, which was probably longer than necessary) I threw out the mother plant, soil and all, and thoroughly washed the pot with a bleach solution. I waited another month or so before I put my rooted pups back in the room the original plant was in just to make sure no errant crawlers reinfected them.
I now have two beautiful two year old "daughter" plants loaded with "grandpups" and NO scales.
I am able to snip and root babies but this past year my plant produced seeds. I collected and am trying to grow. Will this work or not from seeds? Thanks
Yes, you should be able to grow spider plants from seeds. Keep them well-lit, warm, and in moist soil. Note that the babies produced may not have the same foliage coloration as the parent plant, however!
I thought I killed my spider plant. However when I went to remove it from the pot the Tiberius roots seem healthy still. Should I re-pot it and nurture it back or just scrap it? There is zero foliage left.
