Spider Plant
Spider plant
Chlorophytum comosum also known as spider plant, airplane plant, ribbon plant originally from Africa and is a member of the large lily family. It was a popular ornamental houseplant in the Victorian era and still is today.
The variegated, strap-shaped leaves which grow in a cluster send out pale, yellow, wiry stalks which can get over two feet long. Initially, the cascading stalks bear small white flowers which later form little plantlets referred to as spiders. There are many varieties of Chlorophytum, some of the most popular cultivars are: C. Vittatum which has a wide white band down the center of the leaf, C. Variegatum has a white stripe down the outer margins and ‘Picturatum‘ has a broad yellow center stripe and ‘Mandaianum‘, a compact form with dark green leaves and irregular dull yellow-green stripes.
Spider plant is primarily used as a foliage hanging basket but recently it is also used as a landscape bedding plant in mild climates. They are frost-tender and grow in zones 9-11.
Care
Spider plants are generally easy to care for. For optimal growth Spider plant grow in bright light with some direct sunlight during the winter. Keep it away from hot midday sun or you will scorch the leaves. It will also thrive in semi shade. It does well at room temperatures 65-75 but does poorly when temperatures are below 45 degrees.
During active growth in the summer, water as often as needed to keep the soil moist and feed it every two weeks with a balanced fertilizer. In winter, keep it on the dry side, water just enough to moisten and then allow the top 1 inch to dry out before watering again. Pale bleached leaves will indicate that the Spider plant is too dry and needs water. A healthy, mature plant will send out plantlets (when the days get shorter) which can easily be rooted in water or when if placed in moist soil.
Repot when the thick, fleshy rhizomes and roots are pot bound and force the soil above the pot rim level making watering difficult. This is also a good time to divide Spider plant. Division will produce a mature plant much faster than from plantlets.
Brown tips or tip burn can occur when the soil is kept too dry or hard/fluorinated water is used. Spider plants are sensitive to fluoride which can be present in low-grade fertilizer and city tap water; to avoid this problem use rain water and a good quality fertilizer.
Common pests that attack Spider plants are: whitefly, spider mites, scale and aphids.
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Good post, I got to thinking about what the water quality is in my area and found this link helpful: http://www.epa.gov/OW/states.html
I have 3 little spider plants that have popped up in my front yard under a tree. Can they be transplanted into an eastern facing flower bed in front of my house or will that produce too much light and heat for them. I live in North Central Florida (Gainesville/Orlando area). Or should I put them in pots and take them in the house?
Thnks you
I recently got myself a spiderplant and later found it to be a ” bonnie ” wich i cant seem to find alot of information about, is there anything to be done or not done diffrently with a bonnie? it currently gets late morning to all afternoon indirect sunlight and its leaves are thick and green with life, it looks stunning but ive had it about 3 weeks now and i wondered if theres any diffrence ? Ive also noticed three babys coming thru so now is the time where i start hoping and i don’t ruin it.
many thanks nikki
Here’s some info
I have sticky spider plant leaves. Can you help.
Hi. I have a C.Vittatum Spiderplant in my bedroom ad recently I noticed that a few of his, Harrys, leaves had started to die. Then I was looking at him the other day and I noticed that there was a fuzzy mold growing on the soil. I water harry with bottled water whenever he feels a bit dry and I feed him slow release plant food pelets. What do you think this mold could be and how can I cure it and prevent it from coming back again?
Hello, I bought a spider plant over the summer (hanging basket) that I kept outsied and it did great, I have tons of babies that grew from it, but now that the weather is getting cold I brought the spider plant inside and placed it on top of my hutch that is in a corner by a window, I have cats who will eat it if I put it anywhere else, but now the plant is looking sad, the stems the babies grow from are truning brown, the plant is dying, I’ve taken out the dead leaves and placed some of the babies in water hoping they will root and I can transplant them, how do I keep my spider plant alive through the winter? I love my plant.
I have 3 of the long stems with multipe plantlets on my spider plant, can I place them all in one plant for now as they are smalll and winter is coming real soon, some have long roots, some have just a nub, should I root the nib ones for longerr roots before placing in soil?
I have a beautiful green spider plant which is dying in the middle. Its leaves are turning yellow. This plant recently was rid of Scale. I have 7-10 plantings of spider plants now. Most are mixed type plantings.
Hi,
I have recently bought a Chlorophytum Comosum “bonnie”. I think it’s absolutely beautiful. I have only had it maybe 2 weeks and in that time have given it one good watering and a couple of light waters.
About a week ago it started losing leaves by way of the leaf rotting near the base. So I have been pulling them off as they start to go brown. I have removed maybe a dozen leaves in this way??? The plant seems to be healthy otherwise. It is in a brightly lit position, gets some morning sun but not direct sunlight all day and it’s produced 3 of the off-shoot things already since I brought it home.
All the websites I have looked at mention the leaf tips going brown, none have said anything about the base of the leaf??I live in Brisbane Australia. Temperatures have reached about 30degrees celcius in the last few weeks but I am I know it should be able to tolerate that.
Does anyone have any ideas what’s going on with my plant?
Thanks!
Tonia
I have 2 spiderplants one big and one small i recently repotted them and now they are turning yellow and falling the small one some of the leaves has wilted and falling so there is a big gap in the pot also its also creating flowers in winter is that normal and will it servive? i dont realy now wat to do with the gap in the pot, as for the big one some of the leaves is turning yellow and falling it also has not made babies yet why? i was told i done the wrong thing by repotting it so i should get some babie plants and fill the gaps but now the babies are turning brown and faling what am i doing wrong some one please help thanks.
I BROUGHT MY SPIDER PLANT INDOORS FOR THE WINTER-AND NOW THEY NEED REPOTTED-IS IT TO EARLY TO REPOT THEM-
Hi Sandy
Wait till early spring to repot, the plant will respond much better to transplanting.
I was given a spider plant with many babies on it for Christmas. It was in “I’m guessing a 6 inch” ceramic pot. The plant was noticably too small for the pot, but was still doing great. I actually had to break the pot with a hammer to get the plant out. The roots were all balled up and smushed at the bottom. I replanted it in a 9″ ceramic pot using African Violet mix which gave it about a 1 inch or so space all around the sides. I also stuck 3 miracle-grow plant food spikes (for houseplants) in the soil. The directions said to use 5 spikes, but after doing some research on the internet they said to use half the ferterlizer so I took 2 out. Does this sound like the right way to have replanted this spider plant? Should I have replanted it? Is the pot too big? I just really love this plant and I’m worried about it.
By doing this A couple babies came off so I stuck them in small vases with water for them to root. Am I doing this right?
I’m an amateur gardener in NJ and the only plant I’ve had sucess with is the madagascar dragon tree which I’ve had for 5 years and is 5 foot tall!
I also have an afican voilet that hasn’t bloomed in 2 months and a money tree that is hanging on by a thread with 4 leaves left on it. I’m determined to be better at this!!
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Last fall, I got one spider plant in 8 inch pot. Early winter, it began to have little babies. I didn’t want to cut them because I wanted to wait until spring. Now, it has 12 babies on it (some of them are quite big), and they all look yellow and sad. Did I overburden the mother plant? When is the best time to cut and plant those babies? Thank you.
I have about 5 or 6 of these plantlets shooting out and are getting about a foot or two long. Where do you cut these at so I can start new Spider plants. Do I plant them in water or in moist soil?
Non-toxic spider plant
Are spider plants harmful to cats/dogs
Yeah! My dog once got a stomach ache and was in for the night; he decided my spider plant looked enough like grass that he would just go ahead and eat it… he later vomited but was fine and surprisingly, after a little pruning so was my plant! haha!
I’ve had my spider plant for about two years. It sits in indirect sunlight, I water it with filtered water about every one and a half to two weeks and I fertilize it once or twice during the spring and summer time but it has not produced any “babies” yet
( I’ve even added “babies” from a friend of mine’s plant! I guess I’m just not sure what I’m doing wrong here as the plant is fully green and is without brown tips!
I have an interesting problem.
There are 2 different bugs on my spider plant but neither are showing any signs of harm(yet and this has been a couple of weeks) first one im pretty sure is a common fruit fly. or its something very very similar. i have set up a cone paper trap that is moving a lot of them into the jar. they seem to be mostly interested in the soil. crawling from the bottom and around the top.
Second which is a little more mystifying is almost microscopic white bugs. really fast for their size. they too are mostly interested in the soil. crawling everywhere there is soil. now i bought this plant off of a random person. im not sure what kind of soil they used but i know they are very plant conscious.
please help. i dont want to use any unnatural chemical if possible. but i do want to move it back to the bedroom.its in the bathroom away from us and other plants.