Botanical Name: Chlorophytum comosum
Spider plants are an extremely easy, beginner houseplant. They are very forgiving plants, tolerating neglect and thriving in nearly all conditions. Because of this, they are also very common.
The reverse variegated spider plants have leaves with white outer stripes, and a green stripe between. The variegated have an inner white stripe with green outer stripes. There is also the common all green variety.
Spider Plants are one of the plants on NASA's Clean Air Study as an air-filtering plant.
Light Requirements:Spider plants prefer a medium to high light area, filtered afternoon sunlight. Variegated varieties will require more sunlight than the regular all-green variety.
Watering Needs:Spider plants have large roots which store water. They prefer to dry out a bit between waterings to prevent root rot.
Use rain water, distilled water, aquarium water or tap water if you let it sit for more than 24 hours before using. Spider plants do not like the chemicals in tap water. Brown tipping on leaves may be due to tap water.
That said, once or twice a year, I usually stick each of my plants in the bathtub and give them a shower. This gets the leaves clean, gives them a good soaking.. and just seems like it would feel good.
Propagating:Spider plants are a viviparous plant, in which it produces seeds that germinate before it detaches from the mother plant. In spider plants they produce both seed and plantlets growing from stolons.
As a spider plant becomes more root bound, the more babies - or offshoots, it will produce. The plant will require more water, as well. To reduce the stain the babies put on the mother plant as they each, in turn, grow and mature, clip the babies and put the small root system in water or soil. Each baby will quickly grow into a mature plant.
The mother plant may also be divided to gain new plants.
Dividing:I found a reverse variegated spider plant at a local hardware store. It was a reverse variegated spider plant. There were 4 mother plants in the pot. I couldn't resist purchasing it specifically to repot.
Here's how I go about dividing and repotting. Pull the plant out of the original pot. This may require some gentle pulling. I use a butter knife to loosen the inside side of the plant and it usually comes out easily.
The plant had a lot of root system growing at the bottom. It had grown around the plastic drain in the bottom of the pot. I took a sharp knife and cut the bottom roots off. This may not be recommended by others, however, I have always cut the bottom portion off of a root bound plant
Now, the main plant is divided into sections - in this case, 4 separate sections.
I gently cleaned each of the plants root systems off, baring most of their roots.
I used a potting soil mixture with added sand for good drainage.
Finally, I repot into smaller pots, because spider plants do like a snug fitting pot.
I keep empty water jugs filled with tap water, which sits for at least 24 hours before use. Periodically, I add bat guano to it for fertilizer.
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Copyright (c) 2007 Judi Cox.
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Judi Cox is a work at home mom living in the Ohio Valley with her husband and 4 children. She enjoys gardening for fun and for the birds, playing with the kids, reading, and promoting other mom businesses.
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