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Spider Plant Care: How to Grow and Propagate This Easy Houseplant

Chlorophytum comosum aka spider plant, airplane plant, St Bernard lily, spider ivy or ribbon plant in a terracotta pot
Image Credit:
t50/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Chlorophytum comosum
Sun Exposure
Partial Sun
Shade
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Spring
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
White
Plant Type
Houseplants
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Looking for a low-maintenance, high-style houseplant? The spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is your go-to green buddy. With its ribbon-like leaves and adorable baby “spiderettes” dangling like plant jewelry, this Victorian-era favorite brings a touch of charm to any room, especially when cascading from a hanging basket. 

From watering do’s and don’ts to multiplying your plant family with easy propagation, here’s everything you need to know to keep your spider plant thriving year-round!

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 number 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, and every little bit helps! Learn more about air-purifying houseplants.

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° to 27°C), which makes them a great indoor houseplant.
  • Fertilize 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

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 2 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.

    Learn more about propagating spider plants and other houseplants to share with your friends.

Pests and Problems

  • 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 and Scale

Types

  • 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.

Wit and Wisdom

Houseplant Guides

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening, so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Krista Bass</span> Sat, 02/10/2018 - 20:01
I thought I killed my spider plant. However when I went to remove it from the pot the Tiberius roots seem healthy still. Should I re-pot it and nurture it back or just scrap it? There is zero foliage left.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 02/12/2018 - 11:44

If it's already been uprooted, the likelihood of it recovering is not great. If the plant is particularly dear to you, you could try to nurse it back to health, but otherwise, it's probably better to just start over with a new one.

 <span>Krista</span> Tue, 02/13/2018 - 14:30
Thank you!
<span>Brian</span> Mon, 02/05/2018 - 09:19
I've been growing spider plants for years and thought I knew them pretty well, but I have one that's decided to be a non-conformist. The parent plant is quite healthy and has been producing babies regularly. It's variegated, but the babies are sometimes variegated, sometimes not. And it's producing babies on the normal, thin stalks, but also has one stalk that's four to five times thicker and longer, producing mostly plantlet bunches that don't have roots, along with a few normal babies. Lately, a couple of the non-variegated children seem to be doing well, but they grow much slower than normal, with narrower foliage, even living in the same pot alongside their variegated siblings. Was my "mother" plant bitten by a radioactive spider, causing it to mutate along with some of its offspring? Will it become a superhero with its own movie & comic book franchise? Or is it completely normal, and just has some quirks I've never seen before? (Photos of this abomination available on request.)
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 02/05/2018 - 15:34

Variegated plants are often the result of natural mutations that have been selectively bred for and enhanced over generations by doting horticulturalists. Because of this, variegated plants may occasionally produce non-variegated offspring. (You'll have to consult a botanist or Wikipedia for an explanation on the genetic level, I'm afraid!) Your non-variegated babies' slow growth and slim leaves could be due to their de-mutation, or even the result of a new mutation. As for the super-thick stalk, it sounds like your mama plant is just very happy with its care and is producing all the babies it can! (Also, the loss of variegation in a variegated plant can also be due to insufficient lighting, but since yours is producing both variegated and non-variegated pups, this is unlikely the cause.)

In conclusion, your spider plants are exhibiting a normal, yet interesting side effect of plant cultivation—no radioactive spiders necessary! (Though we would very much like to see an Amazing Spider-Plant movie now...) Thanks for your question!

 <span>New Guy With S…</span> Thu, 03/22/2018 - 08:32
Interesting comments. I've studied some biology, but I'm not great with plants yet. There is a genetic concept we do discuss, however, which may apply - "hybrid vigor." This occurs when two genetically diverse progenitors create offspring. The offspring tends to be larger, stronger, and healthier from the genetic combination. I don't know how the spider plants create their own offspring that can look different. Usually, when a mature adult somehow splits off a new organism, the two are genetically identical and it is more of a cloning situation. If the plant somehow goes through a genetic combination and separation (similar to the process of fertilization) or alternatively, if the epigenetic packaging of the genetic structure is somehow redone, then I suppose that you could see phenotype differences. All of those (admittedly) too scientific of phrases would translate to: I wonder if your smaller babies are some kind of genetic reversal in which the special characteristics that were cultivated by the doting horticulturalist are randomly dropped in the offspring. I could guess that it could either be genetic or the way that the genes are packaged and later used. Interesting!
<span>Brian</span> Tue, 02/06/2018 - 10:49
Thanks very much for your reply. You're correct; the plant is on a southerly-facing window ledge, so insufficient light is definitely not an issue causing the non- vs. variegated plants. Guess I just have to accept that the Mother of All Spider Plants is very happy. You've set my mind at ease, although now I can't get the song out of my head... "Spider Plant, Spider Plant, does whatever a spider can..." p.s. There isn't a Spider-Plant movie (yet!), but there -is- a 2005 "Spider-Plant Man" 14-minute TV short, available on YouTube and numerous other sites. A spider plant also starred in one of the 1987 "Amazing Stories" episodes, The 21-Inch Sun.
<span>Lynne Ryan</span> Wed, 12/13/2017 - 09:43
We just brought our curley spider plant in for the winter and it seems to be doing fine but... Should we occasionally mist it? Is sunlight from our west facing patio doors enough? Does it need any fertilizer over the winter?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 12/15/2017 - 09:33

Hi Lynne,

In winter, most house plants will require less sunlight and less water. There's no need to mist the plant, and doing so may make it more susceptible to disease. Avoid fertilizing during the winter months, and water the plant less than normal until after the shortest day of the year (and sunlight begins to return). 

 <span>Loretta Wilson</span> Wed, 12/06/2017 - 09:28
I recently bought two small baby shoots. Do they have to be put in soil or can I ssrt them in water until they get a little bigger. They are about two inches high. I put them in soil but not doing well. One has gone brown and only has two 'strings' left on it. The other doesn't appear to be doing anything. The soil is still moist. What am I doing wrong if anything?