Spider plant

Light and exposure

The spider plant likes bright light without direct sun. A spot near an east or west window, or slightly set back from a south window, suits it perfectly. It is in this light that the cream variegation of the leaves stays well marked. The scorching midday sun in summer yellows and burns the foliage.

It also survives in a darker corner, but the contrast of the leaves fades and plantlets become rare. In our winter light, which is weak from November to February, bring the pot closer to a bright window so the plant keeps its look until spring.

Watering

Water when the top two centimetres of the substrate have dried, roughly once a week in spring and summer, then every ten to fifteen days in winter. The spider plant stores water in its fleshy roots and readily forgives a missed watering, far more than an excess.

Empty the saucer after each watering, because the roots hate to sit in water. If the leaf tips brown and dry out, two causes often combine here: the dry air of the heating and the fluoride or chlorine in the tap water. Water left to stand overnight or rainwater solves part of the problem.

Soil and repotting

A simple potting mix for green plants, lightened with a handful of perlite for drainage, is amply enough. The spider plant is not demanding about soil, it mostly needs a pot with drainage holes to let the water out.

It grows fast and fills its pot with thick roots in a season or two. Repot in spring as soon as the roots lift the root ball or spill out of the drainage holes, into a pot only slightly larger. A plant a little cramped actually produces more plantlets.

Temperature and humidity

The spider plant is happy between 15 and 25 degrees, the usual range of an interior. It tolerates cool down to 8 degrees without harm, but does not withstand frost. Keep it away from scorching radiators and the cold draughts of single-glazed windows.

The Belgian challenge is the air dried out by central heating from November to March, which browns the leaf tips. This does no harm to the plant’s health, but is unsightly. A little moisture in the air, a spray from time to time or the pot set on moist clay pebbles, limits the problem.

Pruning and upkeep

Upkeep comes down to cutting off at the base the yellowed or damaged leaves and trimming the dry tips with a snip of the scissors, following the shape of the leaf to stay discreet. Nothing more is needed.

The long flower stems bearing the plantlets can be left for the trailing effect, very pretty in a hanging pot, or cut off if you prefer a compact clump. Every plantlet taken turns into a new plant, so nothing is wasted.

Pests and diseases

The spider plant is robust and rarely falls ill. In winter, when the air is dry, watch for spider mites (Tetranychus urticae), tiny mites that spin fine webs under the leaves and speckle them yellow. A shower with lukewarm water and more humid air get rid of them. Mealybugs, small cottony clusters, are removed with a cotton bud soaked in diluted methylated spirit.

Brown tips almost always reflect dry air or tap water, not a disease. Soft foliage and black roots, on the contrary, signal excess water: cut back the watering and repot in a dry substrate.

Propagation

It is one of the easiest plants to propagate. Every plantlet at the end of the arching stems already bears small forming roots. Set the plantlet, still attached to the mother plant, on a small pot of moist potting mix beside it, and let it root before cutting the cord. It takes almost every time.

You can also cut off the plantlet and place it in a glass of water for one to two weeks, until the roots lengthen, before potting it up. Finally, a large clump is simply divided in two at spring repotting.

Toxicity

Non-toxic to cats, dogs and children. It is even one of the rare houseplants you can leave within reach of a cat without worry, which does not stop it nibbling the leaves for fun.

Month-by-month care calendar

Green Hub tips

• Brown tips most often come from the fluoride and chlorine in tap water: water with rainwater or water left to stand overnight to avoid them.
• A plant a little cramped in its pot makes more plantlets than a plant repotted too large.
• To take a cutting safely, let the plantlet root in a neighbouring pot before cutting the stem that links it to the mother.
• It is one of the rare plants non-toxic to cats: handy when your cat likes to chew the leaves.