Spider Plant Care – How to Grow Chlorophytum Comosum

The spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is one of the most forgiving houseplants you can grow, which is exactly why it has stayed on windowsills and in hanging baskets for well over a century. Good spider plant care comes down to a handful of basics: bright indirect light, water when the soil dries out, and the patience to let those arching stems do their thing. Get those right and you will be rewarded with a fountain of ribbony foliage and a steady supply of baby plantlets you can pot up and give away.

Native to the tropical coastal regions of southern Africa, the spider plant grows in the dappled shade of the forest understory. It stores water in thick, fleshy roots, which is why it shrugs off the occasional missed watering and forgives beginners who are still finding their rhythm. The plant takes its name from the small offsets, or spiderettes, that dangle from long wiry stems and resemble spiders hanging on a web.

Spider plant care at a glance

How much light does a spider plant need

Spider plants do best in bright, indirect light. In the wild they grow under a leafy canopy, so they are adapted to filtered sun rather than the full force of midday rays. An east- or north-facing window is close to ideal indoors. A south- or west-facing window can work too, as long as you soften the light with a sheer curtain so the foliage does not scorch.

Light also drives the variegation that makes most spider plants so striking. In a spot that is too dim, the creamy white or yellow stripes fade and the leaves revert toward solid green. If your variegated plant is losing its contrast, move it somewhere brighter before assuming anything is wrong with it. Direct sun is the opposite problem and will bleach or burn the leaf tips, so the goal is bright but filtered.

Watering a spider plant without overdoing it

The fleshy roots of a spider plant store water, so this is a plant that prefers to dry out a little between drinks rather than sit in constantly wet soil. Let the top inch of the potting mix dry before you water again, then water thoroughly until it runs from the drainage holes and empty the saucer afterward. During spring and summer, when growth is active, that often means watering about once a week. In fall and winter the plant slows down and needs less.

Spider plants are unusually sensitive to the fluoride and chlorine added to many municipal water supplies. These chemicals build up as salts in the soil and are a leading cause of brown leaf tips. You have a few easy ways around this. Let tap water sit out overnight so some of the chlorine off-gasses, or switch to filtered water, distilled water, or collected rainwater. Every couple of months it also helps to flush, or leach, the soil by running a generous volume of water through the pot to wash accumulated salts out the bottom.

The best soil and pot for spider plants

A standard well-draining potting mix with a near-neutral pH suits spider plants well. If your mix holds too much water, stir in perlite or coarse sand to open it up. The single most important factor is drainage: a container with holes in the bottom is non-negotiable, because soggy soil leads quickly to root rot.

Unglazed terracotta is a good choice since it lets excess moisture evaporate through the walls of the pot. And because of their cascading habit, spider plants are natural candidates for hanging baskets and elevated planters where the foliage and dangling plantlets can spill over the edge.

Temperature and humidity

These are tropical plants that like the same comfortable temperatures most people keep their homes at: roughly 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, dropping a little cooler at night. They tolerate warmer rooms but resent the cold, so keep them away from drafty winter windows and do not let them sit below about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Average household humidity of 40 to 50 percent is fine, but dry indoor air, especially from winter heating, can contribute to crispy tips. If your home runs dry, set the pot on a tray of pebbles and water, group it with other plants, or run a humidifier nearby.

How and when to fertilize

Spider plants are light feeders and far more likely to suffer from too much fertilizer than too little. Feed with a balanced, water-soluble houseplant fertilizer diluted to about half strength, no more than once a month during the spring and summer growing season, and stop entirely in fall and winter. Overfeeding causes two telltale problems: salt buildup that browns the leaf tips, and oddly enough, fewer spiderettes, since a heavily fertilized plant puts its energy into leaves instead of offsets.

Repotting a root-bound spider plant

Spider plants like to be a little crowded and actually produce more plantlets when slightly pot-bound, so resist the urge to size up too soon. You will know it is time to repot when the thick roots start pushing the plant up out of its container, sometimes literally cracking the pot, and water runs straight through without soaking in. That usually happens every one to two years.

When you do repot, choose a container only an inch or so wider than the current one and refresh the soil. Water a newly repotted plant well over its first few weeks while the roots establish into the new mix, and keep it out of harsh light until you see new growth.

How to propagate spider plants from spiderettes

Few houseplants are as easy to multiply. Mature spider plants send out long stems tipped with plantlets, and there are three reliable ways to turn those into new plants.

• Root while still attached. Set a plantlet, still connected to the mother plant, onto the surface of a small pot of moist soil placed alongside it. A bent paper clip pinning it against the soil keeps it in contact. Once it roots, snip the connecting stem. This is the most foolproof method because the parent feeds the baby until it can stand on its own.
• Pot a detached plantlet. Cut off a spiderette and press it into moist, well-draining mix. Keep it warm, bright, and consistently moist. Plantlets that already show small roots establish fastest, often within a week or two.
• Root in water first. Suspend a plantlet so its base sits in water, wait for roots to form, then transfer it to soil. Spider plants generally build a stronger root system when started directly in soil, but water rooting lets you watch the process and works well too.

If your plant has never produced babies, it may simply be too young or too stressed; only mature, well-established plants make offsets. Spiderettes are triggered largely by short days and long, uninterrupted nights over several weeks, which is why they often appear in fall, though indoor plants under artificial light may produce them at any time.

Common spider plant problems and how to fix them

Spider plants have a hard-to-kill reputation, and genuine pests and diseases are uncommon. Most trouble traces back to watering, water quality, or light. Here is how to read the symptoms.

Brown leaf tips are the number one complaint

Brown, crispy tips are almost a rite of passage with this plant, and they have several overlapping causes. Fluoride and chlorine in tap water and salt buildup from overfertilizing are the most common culprits, followed by low humidity, underwatering that lets the soil go bone dry, and overwatering that damages the roots. Work through the likely cause for your conditions: switch to filtered or rainwater, flush the soil to clear salts, ease up on feeding, and steady your watering routine. You can trim the brown tips off with clean scissors to tidy the plant, but fixing the underlying cause is what stops new ones from forming.

Yellowing leaves usually mean a watering problem

When whole leaves yellow and fade rather than just the tips, watering is the usual suspect. Overwatering is the more dangerous version: look for mushy stems, foul-smelling soil, and roots that have turned soft and brown. If root rot has set in, unpot the plant, trim away the rotted roots, and repot into fresh, well-draining soil to give it a chance to recover. Underwatering produces yellowing too, but with dry soil and limp foliage, and is corrected simply by watering more consistently.

Faded or scorched foliage points to light

A plant that is losing its variegation needs more light, while one with bleached or burned patches is getting too much direct sun. Move it to a spot with bright but filtered light to restore healthy color.

Pests are rare but possible

Indoors, watch for scale, mealybugs, spider mites, aphids, and fungus gnats, the last of which thrive in soil that stays too wet. Plants moved outdoors for summer can pick up thrips and other insects. A horticultural oil or insecticidal soap handles most infestations, and letting the soil dry between waterings discourages fungus gnats. In hot, humid conditions, leaves that blacken from the tips inward can signal bacterial leaf blight or root rot, in which case you should remove affected foliage and discard severely infected plants to protect the rest of your collection.

Are spider plants toxic, and do they clean the air

Good news on both counts. Spider plants are non-toxic to cats, dogs, and humans, which makes them one of the safest choices for homes with curious pets or small children. They have also earned a reputation as air cleaners; research has shown Chlorophytum comosum is among the houseplants capable of absorbing indoor air pollutants such as formaldehyde, xylene, benzene, and carbon monoxide. They will not single-handedly purify a room, but they earn their place as an attractive, low-effort plant that happens to be a little beneficial too.

Growing spider plants outdoors

In the warm climates of USDA zones 9 to 11, spider plants can live outdoors year-round as perennials, and in cooler regions you can grow them outside through the warm months and bring them in before frost. Outdoors they want bright but shaded conditions; full sun will sunburn the leaves. Their grass-like, arching foliage makes a fine textural contrast in mixed containers and looks especially good cascading from a raised planter or hanging basket. In frost-prone areas, treat them as you would any tender annual and move them indoors well before temperatures dip.

With the right light, restrained watering, and clean water, a spider plant will reward you for years with lush foliage and a generous run of plantlets. Start one plant, learn its simple rhythm, and before long you will have more than enough babies to fill your own shelves and pass along to everyone you know.