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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

Bobbi (not verified)

1 year 4 months ago

I have read several articles that said spider plants do not like direct sun. Not knowing that, I have had my spider plants on my west facing screened porch, near the beach in South Carlina, and they are thriving. They get direct sun for several hours a day and I have so many "pups" I can't plant them all. Maybe it's because I started them from pups and they have always been on the porch. Even during the winter, and if we have a frost I cover them with a sheet. I thought someone might find this information interesting or helpful.

Joyce Brown (not verified)

1 year 5 months ago

Terrible name (arachno-phobic here) and a great plant--so attractive, useful, and easy to grow, whether indoors up North or outdoors down South. A hanging basket of a mother plant and a cascade of pups is striking. However, note to cat owners: cats LOVE to eat spider plants. None of my pride members have suffered any ill effects, but the same can't be said for the poor spider plant that received the severe pruning. On the other hand, proof of the plant's hardiness: none of my spider plants ever died after a cat pruning--of course, the plants weren't prolific pup producers, but they did just doggedly (pun intended) regrow their leaves. Which got eaten again....... ;)

Lol, my cats are guilty of pruning them too. The worst result is the cats get sick from the leaves and vomit them up.

Elaine kaufman (not verified)

2 years 3 months ago

I just found this site and love it.

PlantsCraze (not verified)

2 years 10 months ago

Thank you. loved your article. It was really helpful for my business.
Wish to see more in the coming days.

Gail R. (not verified)

3 years 3 months ago

A few days, before my Dad passed, he asked me to find a plant for my Mom- one that would last.
I picked out a beautiful Spider plant. Dad died in 1978; Mom in 1990. I still have this lovely plant today, in my home. It is a wonderful symbol of their love for each other, and for our family.

Mark A. (not verified)

3 years 3 months ago

I saw a comment mentioning that the root on a spider plant they had were swollen. Since it wasn't mentioned in the article, I'd like to make it clear (to the person who made the comment and anyone else) that that's normal. Spider plant roots are tubers, and the water they hold is why spider plants are so forgiving if you forget to water them for a bit.

Also, spider plants prefer being a bit root bound, so while you might pot up other plants with similar growth speeds by two inches every other year, with spider plants you're safe to go up by one inch every two or three years. And of course, you can plant a few of them together in the same pot, especially with wider pots to help fill up the space and make it look more full.

Brenda (not verified)

2 years 5 months ago

Thank you for your information Mark. I've been looking for those answers.

Shirley Bailey (not verified)

3 years 6 months ago

My spider plant is 1 yr old and only has 1 spider! What do I need to do to encourage more spiders? This plant is indoors and hangs in front of a tinted patio door.