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Spider Plants: How to Grow and Care for Spider Plants | The Old Farmer's Almanac

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Spider Plants

Photo Credit
t50/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Chlorophytum comosum
Plant Type
Houseplant
Sun Exposure
Part Sun
Shade
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Spring
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
White
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How to Grow and Care for Spider Plants

Catherine Boeckmann
July 27, 2023
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Spider plants produce a rosette of long, thin, arched foliage that is solid green or variegated with white. These easy-to-grow houseplants look especially nice in a hanging basket and were a favorite in Victorian-era households. Here’s how to grow spider plants in your home!

About Spider Plants

During the summer, spider plants may produce tiny white flowers on long stems, as well as baby spider plants (offsets) called “pups.” The pups look like tiny spiders, hence the plant’s name!

NASA once highlighted spider plants for their reported air-purifying ability, though a large amount of plants would be required to reap any benefits in the home. Nonetheless, they are a classic and attractive plant to add to your space.

Read Next

Planting
  • Grow in a soil-based, well-draining potting mix. Spider plants like even moisture; they don’t like to be too dry or too wet.
  • Keep plants in bright to moderate indirect sunlight. Spider plants do not appreciate direct, hot sunlight, which can burn their leaves, causing brown tips and spots.
  • Spider plants grow fairly quickly and can easily become pot-bound. Plan to repot a spider plant about every other year.
  • Spider plants can be grown outdoors as annuals during the summer. They look especially good along the edge of a container or bed, as long as they are kept out of direct sunlight.
Growing
  • During initial growth, water occasionally; once fully developed (within one year), water moderately. 
  • In the spring and summer months, keep the soil moist to encourage growth. Do not let the soil dry out too much.
  • Maintain average room temperature and humidity. Spider plants prefer temperatures between 55 and 80°F (13–27°C), which makes them a great indoor houseplant.
  • Fertilize up to twice a month in the spring and summer; however, avoid overfertilization.
  • See more Houseplant Growing Tips.
Spider plant hanging in a window. Photo by Olga Prava/Shutterstock.
Photo by Olga Prava/Shutterstock
Recommended Varieties
  • The most common varieties are the variegated forms:
    • ‘Vittatum’ has green foliage with a single off-white stripe down the center of each leaf.
    • ‘Variegatum’ is the inverse of ‘Vittatum’, with an off-white stripe running along the edge of each green leaf.
  • Solid green varieties are also available.
Harvesting
  • Healthy spider plants may eventually produce “pups,” offshoots from the adult plant that can be removed and replanted to start new plants. For the best results, allow pups to reach approximately two inches in diameter before removing them from the mother plant. 

    Alternatively, set the still-attached pups into pots of soil placed next to the mother plant. Once the pups have rooted themselves into the soil, they can be cut loose from the mother plant.

Gardening Products

Wit and Wisdom
  • Spider plants also go by the names “airplane plant,” “ribbon plant,” and “spider ivy.”
  • Spider plants are originally from South Africa.
  • Keep spider plants on your desk to reduce indoor pollutants.
  • A favorite among veterinarians, spider plants are safe for cat-friendly households. Learn about more cat-safe indoor plants.
Pests/Diseases
  • Spider plants are prone to tip burn, which can be caused by dry soil, low humidity, or a buildup of salt and chemicals  found in some public tap water. Keep the soil slightly moist. Avoid watering with fluoridated or chlorinated water, and cut off brown tips if they do occur. 
  • To get rid of the brown discs on the leaves, use your fingernail to scrape off the brown residue every few days.
  • Mealybugs
  • Scale
Houseplants

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Comments

Missy (not verified)

1 month ago

Hi there i live in MN and I have my spider plant in a pot on my porch which get direct hot sunlight and it couldn't be thriving any better. Ive had to repot it twice since March and the pups don't stop growing. I got this plant at my mothers funeral and I don't want to do anything to kill it. My question is should I bring it in or let it be? Thanks in advance.

Ps. Its my one and only plant. And my first one ever:)

Hi Missy,

Thanks for sharing. It is wonderful to hear that your spider plant is doing so well. What a special way to honor your mom!

While it is thriving at the moment, just be careful not to allow it to get too much direct sun, as extended exposure can result in leaf scorch.

Spider plants are typically grown as houseplants, but do enjoy time outdoors during the warm season. But as soon as the weather begins to change in the fall and temperatures begin to cool, you should plan to bring it inside to overwinter as a houseplant and follow the growing tips outlined above.

 

Bobbi (not verified)

1 month 1 week ago

I have read several articles that said spider plants do not like direct sun. Not knowing that, I have had my spider plants on my west facing screened porch, near the beach in South Carlina, and they are thriving. They get direct sun for several hours a day and I have so many "pups" I can't plant them all. Maybe it's because I started them from pups and they have always been on the porch. Even during the winter, and if we have a frost I cover them with a sheet. I thought someone might find this information interesting or helpful.

Joyce Brown (not verified)

2 months 1 week ago

Terrible name (arachno-phobic here) and a great plant--so attractive, useful, and easy to grow, whether indoors up North or outdoors down South. A hanging basket of a mother plant and a cascade of pups is striking. However, note to cat owners: cats LOVE to eat spider plants. None of my pride members have suffered any ill effects, but the same can't be said for the poor spider plant that received the severe pruning. On the other hand, proof of the plant's hardiness: none of my spider plants ever died after a cat pruning--of course, the plants weren't prolific pup producers, but they did just doggedly (pun intended) regrow their leaves. Which got eaten again....... ;)

Elaine kaufman (not verified)

11 months 3 weeks ago

I just found this site and love it.

PlantsCraze (not verified)

1 year 7 months ago

Thank you. loved your article. It was really helpful for my business.
Wish to see more in the coming days.

Gail R. (not verified)

1 year 11 months ago

A few days, before my Dad passed, he asked me to find a plant for my Mom- one that would last.
I picked out a beautiful Spider plant. Dad died in 1978; Mom in 1990. I still have this lovely plant today, in my home. It is a wonderful symbol of their love for each other, and for our family.

Mark A. (not verified)

1 year 11 months ago

I saw a comment mentioning that the root on a spider plant they had were swollen. Since it wasn't mentioned in the article, I'd like to make it clear (to the person who made the comment and anyone else) that that's normal. Spider plant roots are tubers, and the water they hold is why spider plants are so forgiving if you forget to water them for a bit.

Also, spider plants prefer being a bit root bound, so while you might pot up other plants with similar growth speeds by two inches every other year, with spider plants you're safe to go up by one inch every two or three years. And of course, you can plant a few of them together in the same pot, especially with wider pots to help fill up the space and make it look more full.

Brenda (not verified)

1 year 1 month ago

Thank you for your information Mark. I've been looking for those answers.