There are many types of spider plant however it is only the Chlorophytum Comosum which are grown as house plants. Although in saying that, there’s many varieties to choose from. During active growth, the spider plant produces yellow stems 2 feet long. Each stem produces a small white flower which has 6 petals. Later on these are replaced by small spider plants which you can train around an arched cane or you can propagate them.

Light and Temperature

Spider plants need plenty of sunlight but be careful not to place them in direct sunlight during the summer as the heat can scorch the leaves. Normal room temperature is fine, just make sure the temperature doesn’t drop below 45 F.

Watering and Feeding

When your spider plant is actively growing keep it well watered. For the rest of the year make sure that the top half-inch of soil dries out before re-watering. If the leaves look bleached or have brown tips it is because you are not watering your plant enough.

For mature plants that produce “plantlets” then you should ideally apply liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks throughout the whole year.

Potting and re-potting

Spider plants like a soil-based mixture and plenty of space for the roots to grow in the pot. You will know it’s time to re-pot your plant when the roots have forced the soil up to the top of the pot’s rim, making it difficult to water. When potting your plant make sure that the root ball is an inch below the rim of the pot as well as giving it plenty of space underneath.

Propagating Your Spider Plants

There’s more than one way to propagate your spider plants, each method is very easy and can be tackled by even the least experienced gardener.

One way is to cut a “plantlet” from a mature plant when the leaves have grown to 2-3 inches long. You then remove the lower leaves to prevent possible root rot. If the plantlet already have roots, simply place them in a jar of water before transferring them over into some soil. If your plantlet doesn’t have any roots then you will need to use hormone rooting powder and place the plants in a mixture of equal amounts of peat moss and sand. After 6 – 8 weeks of having your plants grow in a warm room, you can transfer them into 3 inch pots, treating them like mature plants.

Alternatively you can place the plantlets into a small pot containing soil. To do this, DO NOT cut the plantlets from the original stem. Instead you will have a number of small pots sitting next to the original mature plant. After about 6 weeks you can cut the plantlets from the main plant. Although this is the best technique in terms of success rate, you will require more space which you might not have.